Fall in Almaty

October 18

I can't believe I haven't posted on this blog in over a month! I keep putting pictures on Facebook and forget to tell my other friends about what's going on.

In September we spent a lot of time keeping up with new curriculum at school. However, not too far from our apartment is a beautiful park called, First President Park. The park has a magnificent wide semicircular colonnade at its entrance and an illuminated musical fountain just inside. The park is still under construction and will boast of seven fountains and numerous other water features when it is completed. We enjoyed all the beautiful wedding parties taking photos throughout the garden area. The park is 180 acres of various trees, flowers, and paths. At the far end of the park is a knoll with a vantage point of the city.

 

 

                                                 The fountain isn't on until the evening.

 

One Saturday the 15th of September the AIS staff took a trip to Turgen Falls. It took us about 2 hours to get to our destination. It really wasn't that far but the roads are difficult outside of the city. Along the way we stopped at a memorial area for the country's Golden Man and Snow leopard. The Golden Man was found in 1969 in a burial mound just 31 miles from Almaty. The warrior dates back to the 4th century.  

The park area also had a springs with water claiming eternal youth...so far no luck in that area for either of us!

                                    This Terry's buddy Austin...watching for a miracle!

 

The Turgen gorge has hot springs, a trout farm, waterfalls and thick forests. We hiked to one of the waterfalls. The area is rich in coniferous and mixed trees, alpine and sub-alpine meadows, lakes and springs, medicinal herbs and berries. Long ago, caravans from Europe and Asia passed through the "Royal Gates" on their way to China and India.

 

On our way back through the gorge we stopped at a Trout Farm and ate our lunch. People bring their children here to fish in a stocked canal. We also stopped at an ostrich farm but my camera battery went dead. We did see these young men near the entrance practicing to be cyclists. I'm sure they were encouraged by the gold medal win of man from Kazakhstan in this summer's Olympic games.

 

 

 

The US Consulate invited American citizens to join them for a informational night at the Consulate's home. We met Ian Turner, Consulate Section Chief, Micheal Snowden, Consulate General, and the US Chief of Security of Kazakhstan. It was a night of information and registering as American's abroad. Since 911 the US encourages Americans to register with the Embassy in case of emergency notifications or evacuations. I can't stress enough how safe we feel here. Women and children walk alone along the streets without incident. The gypsy cabs pick up women and children traveling alone and deliver them to their destination with care. Well...if you've seen the traffic here you might not agree with the "care" part!

 

In October AIS staff took two more trips. Aren't they great! The Charyn Canyon is often compared to the Grand Canyon on a smaller scale. Charyn Canyon is an 80 km canyon in Kazakhstan on the Charyn River, 120 miles east of Almaty, close to the Chinese border. It is part of the Charyn National Park, which was established February 23, 2004 and located within the territory of the Uyghur and Kegen Districts of Almaty Province. It stretches 96 miles along the Charyn River in the northern Tien Shan mountain range. In parts, it attains a depth of 490–980 ft. One part of it is known as Valley of Castles for its unusual rock formations. The width of it ranges from 66–260 ft and the length is 1.2 miles.

 

 

 

                                        

                                        

Our second trip was this past weekend October 14th to a Russian Orthodox Monastery in the nearby mountains. It was a beautiful day! We even sunburned  our cheeks a little bit. The hike was fairly steep up a trail made with steps, railings, and tree root steps.

                                         

Here is a sign at the entrance to the path nearing the Monastery. No shorts, smoking, tank tops... Up the path a little ways was a burial area for the unknown monk.

 

The Monastery is a beautiful pine structure. It had a basement, some side rooms, and the main interior. We were both able to go inside. Elizabeth, our music teacher, brought along a huge scarf. She knew that women wouldn't be able to enter the Monastery without a skirt on. She was so generous and let us all wear it and visit the interior one by one. I'm glad I was able to see the structure after climbing all that way.

 

We were also blessed to see eagles fly overhead. They really put on a show. They must of known we were captivated because they came from the valley below and flew right over our heads.

 

 

The fall colors were spectacular. The hills were covered with apple orchards. We stopped on the way back and picked up apples one of our friends shook from the tree. I made an apple crisp and shared it over soup with our friends the Browns from Texas.

It's been a beautiful fall in Almaty. The trees have turned colors, the air is crisp in the morning and warm in the afternoon. Today turned rainy and this evening we had our first snow. Our school is hosting a soccer tournament for 15 teams from 6 schools and 3 countries. To say the least they were wet today. There are two more days of games. I hope the snow holds off for the athletes.