We caught the 12.30 Mercedes Sprinter at the Arslanbob square and found it full of mostly tourists, Germans, Poles and Belgians. We passed through a suburb of newly built but not completed houses outside town and were reminded that lots of people from the area go to Russia to work and send the money home to build these fancy places.
At the Osh bus terminal we had a hard time finding a short distance taxi to take us to the guesthouse we had booked in the middle of the city. After approaching a few drivers we managed to find one to drive us and a Belgian couple to the city.
Our guest house was a complete apartment with a small kitchen, large lounge and a washing machine above a garage. The Belgians decided that the only other apartment available was too expensive for them so they headed off to a hotel across town that was owned by the guesthouse owner's neighbour.
Osh has 3000 years of history, with locals claiming it is older than Rome. Legends tell of all sorts of people in its founding from King Solomon to Alexander the Great. As you arrive in the city you can see the huge five peaked rock looming above it. A pretty spectacular landmark in a place that has been a Silk Road hub from its earliest days.
We got up early one day and walked up to the mosque at the bottom of the crag and were directed by some young lads to a trail that took us up through the Muslim cemetery. Although the sign said it was the main trail we could see it was overgrown, rocky and steep but followed it anyway. It got us to the top where we saw young girls sliding down a part of the healing rock which is supposed to help fertility. Various caves and parts of the rock are visited to heal other kinds of ailments. Suleiman Too has been a place of Muslim pilgrimage for centuries. On the way down we realised we had missed the official entrance and cashier.
Near the bottom was a silver Dalek-like dome that was locked up but we could peer in the doorway and see it had a stage and backdrops that brides would visit to have their photographs taken of places that they had never been.
We bumped into a Dutch guy who was on a tour with some alpinists to climb Lenin Peak at 7000 m. Unfortunately his boots got wet during the acclimatisation camp and bruised his toes so he had to spend his days wandering around Osh instead.
We were the only visitors to the National Museum and it was nice to be out of the 35 DegC heat and check out the history of Osh.
We have made arrangements online to meet a Kyrgyz man called Turat. He will be our driver for eleven days on the Pamir Highway and through the Wakhan Valley and then onto Dushanbe in Tajikistan. The 56 year old has been driving tourists for twenty odd years in his Landcruiser. We decided to offer a seat to a lone traveller so advertised it on Indyguide.com as it is expensive for a single person to hire a driver. We could have taken more people but decided we wanted to be comfortable as well. When we checked our emails we had had a reply from a 42 year old English guy called Mark.
We met Mark at a nearby restaurant where we had eaten the evening before. We sorted out the details of the trip and were all in agreement about the trip and just as we were about to order our meals after a beer we were told by a waiter that the cook had fallen in the kitchen and was rushed to hospital so there would be no meals for us. We headed down the road to find another place to eat and get to know each other. This place seemed very popular for Osh families with money, as it was quite expensive and had a playground in the middle and lots of Mercedes and BMWs outside.
We visited the huge Osh market for tomatoes and cucumbers for the trip and with the help of our Google translator were able to find some white spirits for our MSR cooker.
Saw a group of boys playing with huge cow knuckle bones the same way we would have played with marbles when we were kids. Their male relatives nearby were drinking some kind of alcohol and wanted to pose for our camera.
The bazaar is one of the largest in Central Asia. Some stalls were for men to play in billiard competitions. It was a higgledy piggledy place of stalls and converted containers selling everything you would want.
Baby rocking cots
Around the corner from our guesthouse was a supermarket with flashing neon lights that was open 24 hours a day and we were able to get bread, cheese and snacks for our trip. On the way out of town, our first stop was the money changer near the bazaar to exchange our Kyrgyz som for Tajikistan somoni.
As we headed out of Osh Turat asked several times if we had any problems with altitude sickness. I had persuaded my doctor to give me diamox as a preventer for altitude sickness and had given Mark some as well. He told us that recently a young Norwegian lady had to be airlifted by an American helicopter off the highway as she was seriously affected.
We headed up the Taldyk Pass at 3615m to Sary Tash via Gulcha. The small border town was a good stop for a snack and tea.
We had an easy crossing to Tajikistan as Turat presented our e-visas and passports to immigration. We didn't have to get out of the vehicle. There was a long military fence along the eastern side of the highway designating the neutral zone between Tajikistan and China.
We continued up Kyzyl-Art Pass at 4282m with great mountain views. John said he counted about 25 4x4 vehicles on the highway as well as many cyclists crawling up the passes. There was a lone female trying to hitch a ride on the misty, cold, wet road. Some people want to travel without spending any money and see no problem with putting themselves in such predicaments. Most of the passing vehicles were hired by tourists and their drivers do not stop for anyone. A few vans were shared taxis but they are always full before they leave for their destinations.
Next stop Karakul, Tajikistan.
At the Osh bus terminal we had a hard time finding a short distance taxi to take us to the guesthouse we had booked in the middle of the city. After approaching a few drivers we managed to find one to drive us and a Belgian couple to the city.
Our guest house was a complete apartment with a small kitchen, large lounge and a washing machine above a garage. The Belgians decided that the only other apartment available was too expensive for them so they headed off to a hotel across town that was owned by the guesthouse owner's neighbour.
Osh has 3000 years of history, with locals claiming it is older than Rome. Legends tell of all sorts of people in its founding from King Solomon to Alexander the Great. As you arrive in the city you can see the huge five peaked rock looming above it. A pretty spectacular landmark in a place that has been a Silk Road hub from its earliest days.
We got up early one day and walked up to the mosque at the bottom of the crag and were directed by some young lads to a trail that took us up through the Muslim cemetery. Although the sign said it was the main trail we could see it was overgrown, rocky and steep but followed it anyway. It got us to the top where we saw young girls sliding down a part of the healing rock which is supposed to help fertility. Various caves and parts of the rock are visited to heal other kinds of ailments. Suleiman Too has been a place of Muslim pilgrimage for centuries. On the way down we realised we had missed the official entrance and cashier.
Near the bottom was a silver Dalek-like dome that was locked up but we could peer in the doorway and see it had a stage and backdrops that brides would visit to have their photographs taken of places that they had never been.
We bumped into a Dutch guy who was on a tour with some alpinists to climb Lenin Peak at 7000 m. Unfortunately his boots got wet during the acclimatisation camp and bruised his toes so he had to spend his days wandering around Osh instead.
We were the only visitors to the National Museum and it was nice to be out of the 35 DegC heat and check out the history of Osh.
We have made arrangements online to meet a Kyrgyz man called Turat. He will be our driver for eleven days on the Pamir Highway and through the Wakhan Valley and then onto Dushanbe in Tajikistan. The 56 year old has been driving tourists for twenty odd years in his Landcruiser. We decided to offer a seat to a lone traveller so advertised it on Indyguide.com as it is expensive for a single person to hire a driver. We could have taken more people but decided we wanted to be comfortable as well. When we checked our emails we had had a reply from a 42 year old English guy called Mark.
We met Mark at a nearby restaurant where we had eaten the evening before. We sorted out the details of the trip and were all in agreement about the trip and just as we were about to order our meals after a beer we were told by a waiter that the cook had fallen in the kitchen and was rushed to hospital so there would be no meals for us. We headed down the road to find another place to eat and get to know each other. This place seemed very popular for Osh families with money, as it was quite expensive and had a playground in the middle and lots of Mercedes and BMWs outside.
Anyone for cow legs?
We visited the huge Osh market for tomatoes and cucumbers for the trip and with the help of our Google translator were able to find some white spirits for our MSR cooker.
Saw a group of boys playing with huge cow knuckle bones the same way we would have played with marbles when we were kids. Their male relatives nearby were drinking some kind of alcohol and wanted to pose for our camera.
The bazaar is one of the largest in Central Asia. Some stalls were for men to play in billiard competitions. It was a higgledy piggledy place of stalls and converted containers selling everything you would want.
Baby rocking cots
Baby cots with covers
Around the corner from our guesthouse was a supermarket with flashing neon lights that was open 24 hours a day and we were able to get bread, cheese and snacks for our trip. On the way out of town, our first stop was the money changer near the bazaar to exchange our Kyrgyz som for Tajikistan somoni.
As we headed out of Osh Turat asked several times if we had any problems with altitude sickness. I had persuaded my doctor to give me diamox as a preventer for altitude sickness and had given Mark some as well. He told us that recently a young Norwegian lady had to be airlifted by an American helicopter off the highway as she was seriously affected.
We headed up the Taldyk Pass at 3615m to Sary Tash via Gulcha. The small border town was a good stop for a snack and tea.
We had an easy crossing to Tajikistan as Turat presented our e-visas and passports to immigration. We didn't have to get out of the vehicle. There was a long military fence along the eastern side of the highway designating the neutral zone between Tajikistan and China.
We continued up Kyzyl-Art Pass at 4282m with great mountain views. John said he counted about 25 4x4 vehicles on the highway as well as many cyclists crawling up the passes. There was a lone female trying to hitch a ride on the misty, cold, wet road. Some people want to travel without spending any money and see no problem with putting themselves in such predicaments. Most of the passing vehicles were hired by tourists and their drivers do not stop for anyone. A few vans were shared taxis but they are always full before they leave for their destinations.
Next stop Karakul, Tajikistan.
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