Discover Kyrgyzstan

It's only a small house in a small village in Suusamyr. However, it is a little bit of Kyrgyz identity: Кожомкул (pron.: Kojomkul). Here, a giant man of 2.30 m and 164 Kg lived in the first half of the 20th century. His name was Kojomkul and the village is named after him. The way he lived was highly appreciated by his contemporaries and he was considered to be a model for Kyrgyz manhood.

The road from Too Ashuu pass is going down in steep serpentines. It was a bright day and easy to drive. Even we already had November there was not too much snow. The road authorities are working hard to keep the pass open all around the year as it is the main link to Osh, the capital of the South.

I do not want to know how to drive this road when it is covered with snow and semi-trailer are heading down head to tail.

We heard that very special sound of the light-weighted four-wheel-drive -- a Njeva -- that Bakyt always preferred when our aim was off-road. I haven't counted the time we spent waiting for him to return with that kind of car. It should bring us to the top of the mountain high above Naryn city were the television station is located. Now, he obviously found a driver and a Njeva.

We have had been at the Naryn television station high above the city with our taxi driver waiting for us and chatting with the guys. Well, it was such a kind of wonderful day, I couldn't fancy to sit down in the car and drive downhill.

Hey, what'd you think about walking down these meadows? I asked. Bakyt and Gulira joined in. Bakyt instructed the taxi driver were to wait for us and off we went.

Kyzyl Oi is Kyrgyz and means Red Valley. If you look around you understand where the name comes from. The clay hills around show this typical reddish color.

Kyzyl Oi is the name of a small village in the valley of the Kokomeren river on the connection road from Suusamyr to Kochkor. It is a very remote place. A mobile phone is silent here (at least as of 2005). Here, in this small village a host family belonging to the CBT organization provides our night's lodging. The next morning we plan to have a ride to the mountains.