It’s the end of the month and time for another look at my favorite photos from the past month! Some are prompted, some are spontaneous, and some are some throwbacks. Take a look, read about it, and click to enlarge if you want to see more closely.
#1 Universiade
The 2017 Winter Universiade in Almaty was a fantastic adventure filled with exciting performances from some of my favorite skaters and from skaters I’d never heard of. Seriously, when Kazakhstan gets the Olympics, it’s going to be amazing.
#2 Ski Day
Up in the mountains above Osh is the Chyirchik Pass, which in addition to occasionally hosting horse games, also happens to have a “ski base,” which means there’s the world’s sketchiest rope tow (it’s free, so no complaints) and a long ski run that you can ride down on a snow tube. It’s amazing.
#3 Squad
So this photo is blurry (thanks, iPhone 4S with shattered screen!), but it captures everything that was everything about a bunch of expats holding on for dear life while flying down a ski run on a snow tube.
#4 Uzbek Fabric Shopping
I love Uzbek fabric. And to prepare for COS, and to help other volunteers who also love this stuff, I spent a lot of time last month at the Kara-Suu Bazaar with the ladies who bring this stuff across the border from Uzbekistan.
#5 Hat Game
My new fur hat is my favorite accessory I’ve bought here. It’s fluffy and warm and from Russia. Everyone here owns real fur, because as you can see from this photo, we experience real winter here. And there just isn’t really a substitute for fur that’s as affordable as fur is here. It’s not about the fashion, it’s about the cold. In fact, some of the nomads of Central Asia traditionally had to use animals for all their clothing needs because the climate and the nomadic lifestyle didn’t allow them to cultivate things like cotton, silk, or other fibers that could be woven. Nowadays, they wear woven fabric, but there is still a lot of fur everywhere.
#6 Arslanbob
I got this insane shot from the window of my flight from Osh to Bishkek. In the centre is the tiny yet sprawling mountain village of Arslanbob, famous for being home to the largest walnut forest in the world.
#7 Meeting Dimash
OK, so I know this is like the 4th consecutive blog where I’ve bragged about meeting Dimash Kudaibergen but it was literally one of the most epic things that happened in February.
#8 Khazret Sultan Mosque
I fell in love with this beautiful mosque we visited in Astana, which combines features from Russian, Kazakh, Turkish, Roman and many other styles into a uniquely beautiful mosque that represents so much of the heritage of Kazakhstan.
#9 Khan Shatyr
This photo of the interior of the Khan Shatyr (the world’s largest “tent”) turned out really well, showing the pattern of the ceiling and its supports. The building is often cited as the one most closely related to Astana’s reputation as “Dubai North,” because whereas Dubai’s shopping mall has a ski slope, Astana’s flagship mall has a beach resort water park in a heated greenhouse on the top level.
#10 I Heart Astana
I’m still Team Almaty if I had to choose my favorite city in Kazakhstan, but Astana charmed me in many ways I wasn’t expecting. I look forward to visiting again soon to get a good feel. And if you’re around this summer, you should definitely check out Expo 2017, the Worlds Fair being hosted by Astana this summer.
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