Has anyone here been to Kyrgystan?

[grasswire]

I have an opportunity to go in 2017. The son of my cousin works for the State Department and is stationed there for a few years, and wants family to visit.

I am just starting to learn about it.

[PoliticAverse]

1. If you go be sure to bring extra vowels. n/t

[grasswire]

2. :-) nt

[Betty Karlson]

3. What I know of it is that the desert nomads are rather rebellious against the sedentary

and sovjet-inherited government. With ethnic tensions (Turkic versus Russified) and religious differences (the nomads are more salafist than the sedentary people) thrown into the mix, the country had a brief civil war a decade ago. And sadly, the present situation is not much better than a truce. Al-Qaeda was known to have "moving cells" in the country, which was one of the reasons why Kyrgystan was happy to give the USA use of its airspace when the war against the Taliban started.

[grasswire]

4. yes, it is a complicated place.

But very strikingly beautiful, and right on the Silk Route. Intriguing.

[Recursion]

6. Would you be in Bishkek?

I don't think we have any consulates, just the embassy, but I'd have to check.

The dust can be a killer, depending on the time of year, plus a lot of people still use dung for fuel. Air quality in pretty much all of Asia is always an issue.

[grasswire]

8. very interesting

I don't want to get too explicit about my family member, but I will PM you.

Gee. None of the photos I see on the Internet show any dust. LOL. Just lovely mountains and yurts.

[Recursion]

5. Yeah. It's gorgeous. It's still my dream to walk the entire Silk Road

But until that part of the world stabilizes I'll just have to go piecemeal to the parts I can.

The State Department community there is really cool (my wife's a Statie too, which is why I'm in India). I'll add, it's really awesome when you're deployed overseas and a friend or relative can come visit. It makes it a lot less isolating (and Central Asian posts are some of the most isolating to begin with).

[malthaussen]

7. Whom did your cousin's son offend?

It's the back of beyond.

-- Mal

[grasswire]

9. they like that aspect.

they get to choose their location every few years. Last time was a very primitive African area. Great education for their kids.

[KamaAina]

10. No, nor have I been to Kyrgyzstan