Given that my plane tickets for the end of my time in Kyrgyzstan are now purchased and the reality that I’m leaving in four months has set in, I think that it’s time to reflect back on the things here, both physical and cultural, that I’m going to miss most about living here in beautiful (and presently ice cold) Kyrgyzstan.

#10 Suleiman Too

Suleiman Too is one of the holiest mountains in the world, and is a symbol of Osh in addition to being Kyrgyzstan’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site.  To me, it greets me in the morning as I walk to my bus, and it is my beacon that tells me where I am, and lets me know when I’ve made it home at the end of a distant journey, much as it served as such a symbol in the days of the old Silk Road.  Said to be the final resting place of the prophet Solomon according to local tradition, the mountain also was an important place of prayer and meditation for Babur, the founder of the Mughal Empire in India (and the person who brought samosas to India from Osh!!!!).  Today, it is an important pilgrimage site, and every day pilgrims can be found visiting the fertility slide (go down 7 times without shoes on for fertility!), or to visit the hundreds of caves and crevices to pray for blessing and healing for various ailments.

#9 Public Spaces

Soviet culture placed a premium on public spaces like parks and government buildings and universities.  Because they were public goods that benefitted everyone, cities here are filled with parks and monuments, and government buildings, universities, libraries and clinics are built with fine materials to create a beautiful spaces that are both functional and conducive to their purpose.  I will miss the many parks here that I walk through and drive pass on a daily basis.

#8 The Adzhan

The Adzhan, or call to prayer, plays every day five times a day at the mosque around the corner from my house, and I still love hearing its beautiful music every day.  It goes at sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening/bedtime, adjusting times as the days shorten and lengthen.  With it, I actually don’t check the time as often.  Morning prayer means it’s time to wake up, noon prayer means it’s time for lunch, afternoon prayer means it’s time to go home, sunset prayer means it’s dinner time, and evening prayer means it’s bedtime.  It’s beautiful and elegant, and I love especially when it sounds just as I leave the airport upon landing in Osh.  It’s another part of why I love Osh.

#7 Specialty Foods of Osh

Osh is unusual in Central Asia in that it has many foods that are considered local delicacies or that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.  This includes the famous “Oshski” tandoor samsa, a large pastry filled with juicy marinated meat and onions baked in a large clay oven, “maida” manty, which are little bite-size steamed dumplings with potato inside, and “kök chuchvara,” a special type of steamed dumpling filled with spinach.  Not only does Osh have some of the most flavorful food in Kyrgyzstan, but it’s also some of the healthiest.

#6 Vibrant Civil Society

I get really angry whenever an article from the US or Europe talks about Central Asia as a solid block of evil brutal dictatorships.  Kyrgyzstan is a democracy, a functioning one. and it deserves to be credited as such.  Not in some sort of afterthought or in parentheses, it should be credited straight up front for its successes.  Kyrgyzstan has faced challenges in its 25 years of independence, but for such a young country, they’re on the right path.  I have enormous respect for the work of the government and the work of people here, because so many people are working so hard for the benefit of their country.  We’re all in this together, and I’m proud of the people who have inspired me every day.

#5 Christmas Until January 14th

Because of Russian influence here, the Christmas traditions like trees and Father Christmas have been moved to New Year’s, but because Russians still celebrate Old New Year of the Julian Calendar alongside Gregorian, the trees and decorations stay up until January 14th.  This means that there’s enough time for me to keep watching Love Actually and The Irony Of Fate several extra times each year.

#4 Kok-Boru 

The charge for the goat took the players down the hill and straight towards us at one point.

More kokboru.

Kok-Boru, also known as “buzkashi” and “dead goat polo” is the national sport of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and is played competitively in a few other countries nearby, and more recently by the American Cowboys at the World Nomad Games.  The rules in formal Kok-Boru are to ride horses and capture the dead headless carcass of a goat, then carry it across a large field to a goal area, and throw it in, without the opposing team taking it from you.  Informally, it’s the world’s most epic game of keep away.  It’s lively, exciting, a bit insane, and if you’re watching it played socially in the mountain pastures of Kyrgyzstan, a borderless game where you could be stampeded upon by horsemen at any second, so you have to stand as you watch so you can sprint out of the way if need be.  Now THAT is a spectacular sport!

#3 Simplicity of Nomadic Life

I’ll miss spending weekends high on the plateaus of the mountain pastures without internet or cell service, simply living in the purest air with the pureness of life surrounding us, before lighting up the stove and climbing under a pile of blankets to watch the stars through the top of the yurt before my family closes the flap and we drift into sleep, until awaking in the middle of the night to see the clearest night I’ve ever seen in my life, then returning to sleep until we wake with the light and sit out in the dew and drink tea and ponder what simple beauty life will bring the next day.

#2 Plov

What can I say, whenever I return from Bishkek or abroad, my family always welcomes me home with towering piles of the traditional dish of Osh, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.  You can try some for yourself using my handy recipe.  I love plov so much that it gets its own special entry separate from other Osh foods on this list.

#1 My Friends and Family

My host family, my Osh friends, my Bishkek friends, my sitemates… you all know who you are, and you know that I’m going to be an emotional wreck when it comes time to say goodbye for now.  Because every place I’ve visited, everything I’ve seen, and everything I’ve experienced has been thanks to you.  Whenever someone tells me that my Kyrgyz or Uzbek or Russian is like a native speaker, I give you credit.  Whenever someone is amazed that I “omeen” at the end of meals, you are the people who taught me that.  And every last thing that I have accomplished at work is because of the language and the cultural traditions you gave me.  Without you, I would never be where I am today.

Kyrgyzstan is a place where I have felt more accepted as myself than many places I’ve lived in the world – and I’ve lived in a LOT.  It’s going to be very hard for me to find another place that has so openly welcomed and embraced me, flaws and all.  I love you, Kyrgyzstan, and it breaks my heart to have to leave you.

This post is part of Blogging Abroad’s 2017 New Years Blog Challenge, week three: Cultural Differences.