Tag: Uzgen

Swarm Of Earthquakes Strikes Chong-Alay Region

Published on by Mark Jahnke

It didn’t make headlines internationally, but the Chong-Alay region that I’ve been doing so much work with has in the past week has experienced a swarm of 11 earthquakes above 4.5 magnitude (out of 16 total recorded).  The largest of these, around 5.9 magnitude according to USGS (initially reported as 7.0 by local authorities, now said to be 6.5) on May 3rd, was strong enough to evacuate some buildings in Osh, and several of the aftershocks have been up to 5.8 in magnitude.  Technically, they were centered in Tajikistan, but their heaviest impact has been felt here. They may not have made international headlines or even local headlines, but they have been devastating nonetheless.  I want to share with you a bit of what I’ve been able to learn about the situation. Continue reading “Swarm Of Earthquakes Strikes Chong-Alay Region” →

Road Trip Part 1: Driving North

Published on by Mark Jahnke

In late July, my host family, who is from Issyk-Kul, invited me along on their annual road trip to the massive lake at the opposite end of the country. They’re from a small village at the very far end of the lake, in a town that is just about as far away from Osh as you can get without leaving Kyrgyzstan. With a short whirlwind of planning, I got permission to join them, and we set off on August 2nd, with the stipulation that I had to be in Bishkek by the evening of August 9th.

The minaret at Uzgen
The minaret at Uzgen

Rather than drive directly, though, we decided to travel a more circuitous route to see more of the country. Our plan included a drive on the spectacular Osh to Bishkek highway, a detour through a remote corner of Naryn oblast up to the world-famous jailoo at Song-Kul, and finally down over the mountains to Issyk-Kul.  We started out driving most of the way to Bishkek along the main north-south road, which winds its way out of Osh, around the pinnacle of Uzbekistan in the side of Kyrgyzstan, and up over the mountains to the Toktogul reservoir, before crossing more mountains. Continue reading “Road Trip Part 1: Driving North” →