Taldykorgan

Almaty Region

Kazakhstan

October 8, 2018

Hello,

The visit to the Buddha Petroglyphs at Tamgaly-Tas is a long somewhat bumpy and sometimes gentle ride across the Steppe and then down into the gorge for a leisurely stroll along the riverbank.  The setting is peaceful and picturesque:  rugged cliffs to the left and the river on the right.  In the grasslands on the opposite shore, horses graze unperturbed and indifferent to our presence.

Legend has it that a caravan was moving to the river when an earthquake dislodged huge boulders that rolled into the water forming a river crossing.  The pilgrims took it as a blessing from the gods.

 The central rock of Tamgaly-Tas has an image of Arya Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, the subject of the famous Buddhist mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum.”   The inscription says, “I worship the holy Avalokiteshvara.”  Other 4m high (13 ft) Buddha figures and golden inscriptions adorn the huge flat boulders that overlook the river.

This site is surely an outstanding monument of art, history and culture of 14^th – 16^th Century Kazakhstan.

Finding the 4000-year-old petroglyphs site is quite a different challenge.  The ride is long and bumpy across the Steppe and then up the rocky track into the mountains.  My driver is determined to continue to climb.   But I decide for us that the road is becoming dangerous for our vehicle.  I hop out of my seat and climb on foot. 

There are no indications of any sort that petroglyphs can be found here.  I continue to climb.  The landscape is splendid, but still there is no sign of any rock carvings.   How high shall I climb?  The path under foot seems unclear.  And where do I look? 

I stop to take photos of the mountains.  I consider heading back to the driver and my ride.  OK, no petroglyphs today.  Yet I must consider the one brutal fact.  At my age, will I ever return to this spot?  I continue to search.  I continue to climb.  The narrowing path is more brush than dirt.

And then, success.  My eye catches something and then something else and then something more.  I must veer off the path.  I must look for large flat rocks.  Of course!  Where else would an artist choose to leave his contribution to eternity?

Let’s not get too dramatic.  But, really, I am standing on the very spot that four thousand years ago, some fellow decided to engrave the image of an antelope or a sheep on the very rock I can touch now.

I touch the rock with reverence. 

Mind you, I have stood at many ancient sites before.  But for the first time I get a real appreciation for the enormity of time.  Can I assume that long ago, Neolithic man roamed here?  And then groups of Stone Age men?  And then Iron Age men? And the artists of the Bronze Age?  Here on the very path I now tread?

For centuries upon centuries successful nomadic and pastoralist cultures herded and bred cattle and domesticated the horse and created tools of flint and then iron and then bronze.  They mined copper and zinc.   

And four thousand years ago, the artists among them announced to us that they are here.  With us today.  High in the mountains.

We just need to look.

 

Almaty (pop 1.5 million)

Kazakhstan (18 million)

October 7, 2018

Clear and Cool

Dear Friends,

When I planned my trip to Kazakhstan, I never expected to be almost immobile after I arrived.  I should have checked the elevation of Almaty, my first stop. (700-900 m or 2300-3000 ft)

For two or three days I am quite dizzy and barely able to leave my hotel room except to eat lunch and dinner at a nearby restaurant and to buy a Kazakhstan SIM card at the local telephone company.

I do manage to visit the State Museum and to have dinner with my charming Facebook friend Sardana and her friend and their young daughters.

 Downtown Almaty is spotlessly clean with wide, carefully-tiled sidewalks and broad boulevards with patient and considerate traffic.  Shopkeepers and restaurant staff are welcoming and make every effort to assist this non-Russian speaking visitor. 

Of course, I carry my Wordless Travel Book and point to the illustrations of chicken or beef or soup. (Easier than apps on my phone.)  I do know the Russian words for water (voda) and milk (moloko).  Coffee or tea here is kafe-chai.

In 1911, Almaty suffered a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that reduced the city to rubble.  It’s rebuilt now with modern, yet low office buildings, shops and apartments, all with attractive stone exteriors.  Occasional multi-story shopping malls pop up.  And as I said before, everything is orderly and clean – not a speck of litter anywhere in town.

And as I have witnessed in other countries, especially the Caucasus’s and former Soviet republics, everyone wears neat and stylish clothing.  Young and old sport bright, totally clean shoes or smart boots for the approaching winter months.

Surrounded by this amiable and immaculate modernity, my camera is frustrated.  What to shoot?

Finally, I realize that downtown Almaty is sprinkled with fountains. 

On my quest to capture the sprays, I chat-up a lovely woman enjoying a quiet moment in the fresh air.  I meet an energetic group of medical students taking a break from their books.  I spend time with a young woman eager to speak English.  I spy a pair of lovers hiding behind a curtain of water.  And is that a grown woman riding her son’s scooter?

There’s always something interesting to shoot.

There’s more. Much more in KZ.

First stop on my tour:  The Steppe – the Boundless Grasslands of Central Asia.

Jan