Kyrgyzstan's Fairy Tale Canyon

About 10 kilometres from the village of Tamga, on the south side of shimmering Issyk Kul lake, is a canyon of remarkable beauty - Fairy Tale Canyon - or Skazka Canyon as locals call it.

The magical Fairy Tale (Skazka) Canyon, near Tamga, Kyrgyzstan

It is so named because of the magical shapes and colours of the stones, eroded and transformed over the centuries by wind, ice and water.

Locals have given the formations names such as sleeping giants, dragons, snakes, young girls. Even the Great Wall of China is represented.

The entrance is not far from the main road - the fee is 50 Kyrgyz sum per person and it is open from 09:00 - 16:00 daily.

If the weather is fine it is easy to spend most of the day here tramping around the canyon. Good footwear is vital: although the landscape is dry, it is easy to skid.  No rivers run through the canyon now. However, if it rains, then walking around will be muddy and slippery.

Many of the herbs and plants used in traditional Kyrgyz medicines grow in this canyon: sage, ephedra, plantain, dog-rose, milfoil, sea buckthorn, barberry and many others.

The changing hues of the stones - yellow, orange and red - according to the light, are enchanting. Sit atop a small hill and gaze over this remarkable landscape to the blue waters of the lake and beyond to the snow-capped peaks of the Tien Shan mountain range.

View from Fairy Tale Canyon over Lake Issyk Kul

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Uzbekistan's Secret Underground

The very first post on this website, in May 2011, was about Tashkent's metro. In those days it was forbidden to take photographs of the glorious stations. Earlier this year, Uzbek President, Shavkat Mirziyoyev lifted that ban.

RFE/RL’s photographer, Amos Chapple, went underground to reveal the art, architecture, and nuclear-blast protection in Central Asia’s oldest subway system.  His photo-essay below is stunning.

Writhing figures in a relief at the exit to Buyuk Ipak Yuli (Great Silk Road) station.

A moment between trains in Kosmonavtlar (Cosmonauts) station. The stop is famous for its dreamlike portraits of cosmonauts.

Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, immortalized in Kosmonavtlar station. The ceramic wall panels fade from blue
to black in imitation of Earth’s atmosphere.

Passengers squeeze into a carriage in Pakhtakor (Cotton Worker) station.

Gafur Qulom station, named after an Uzbek intellectual. During the Soviet period, planners required a city’s population
to top 1 million before work would begin on a subway. Tashkent’s population reached the milestone in the early 1960s. 

Commuters in Pakhtakor station. Tunneling for the underground system got under way in 1971, and the Metro opened in 1977. 

A glistening corridor linking two stations. After an earthquake devastated Tashkent in 1966, newly cautious planners reportedly reduced
the depth and increased the strength of the Metro, tunneling within a few meters of the streets above. 

A late night commuter in Ming O’rik (Thousand Apricots) station. Metro trains run from 5 a.m. until midnight. 

A ceramic mural is revealed as a Metro car rolls out of Tashkent station. 

Chandeliers in Chilonzor station, named after a region of Tashkent. Artists were brought in from across the Soviet Union to work
on the Tashkent Metro. These 5-meter chandeliers were designed by Latvian artist Haim Rykhsin. 

A carefully monitored portrait of Alisher Navoi, considered one of the founders of the Uzbek poetic tradition. 

Mosque-like architecture inside Alisher Navoi station. 

A Metro car rumbles into Novza station, named after a region of Tashkent. The underground mostly operates similar cars to the
Moscow Metro, a model known for its screeching roar when driving at speed. 

A cashier at an entrance to the Metro. A trip costs 1,200 Uzbek soms, the equivalent of $0.15, making it the cheapest
subway ride in the former U.S.S.R. 

Many of the Metro stations were “decommunized” and had their names changed after the breakup of the U.S.S.R. in 1991. Amir Temur
Khiyoboni (Amir Temur Square) station is the former October Revolution station. 

A Red Army soldier waves a blank flag that apparently had its hammer and sickle removed. 

A ceramic panel depicting a woman playing a lute inside Alisher Navoi station. 

A mosaic of freshly puffed cotton bolls inside Pakhtakor station. Uzbekistan is one of the world’s leading producers of cotton 

Photography inside the the heavily policed Metro was forbidden until June 2018 because of the military sensitivity of its
second role: as a nuclear bomb shelter. 

This slab of steel is a blast door that would swing locked behind soldiers and civilians in the event of a nuclear attack. 

While the threat of a nuclear strike on Uzbekistan has faded, the new perceived menace of terrorism is reflected in signage
like this declaring: “Awareness is a requirement of the modern era!” 

While the threat of a nuclear strike on Uzbekistan has faded, the new perceived menace of terrorism is reflected in signage
like this declaring: “Awareness is a requirement of the modern era!” 

A decorative panel inside Alisher Navoi station. 

A portrait of Soviet cosmonaut Yuriy Gagarin, the first man in space, in Kosmonavtlar station. 

A wall relief shining in the glow of an approaching Metro car’s headlights in Milliy Bog (National Park) station. 

A mural celebrating 2,200 years since the founding of Tashkent, inside Tashkent station.

Characters from an epic poem by Oybek in the station named after the Uzbek poet. 

Commuters peering out at the novel sight of a foreigner taking photos of their Metro. 

Most of the Metro stations have humble entrances, giving no hint of the dazzling architecture below. Now that photography is permitted, however, the fame of the Soviet-era spectacle is likely to spread quickly.

Note: On an Uzbek Journeys tour, a visit to the loveliest metro stations in included. If you have free time, it is easy to spend an afternoon travelling on the metro admiring these underground works of art.

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

Related posts:   Tashkent's Open Air Railway Museum
Travelling by Rail in Uzbekistan
Azerbaijan: Baku's Metro
Almaty, Kazakhstan - Riding the New Metro

Kathleen Walsh's Central Asian Album

Kathleen Walsh

For photographers, Central Asia is a wonderland : monuments, architectural detail, people, landscapes, textiles, a vast sky, bazaars.

Recently Kathleen Walsh travelled with Uzbek Journeys and very soon after her return, she curated an exceptional selection of her images of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

Most of the images on the tours pages of this website were taken by Kathleen in spring 2018.

The design of her album is brilliant: all in one page (just scroll down), concise and witty text, and outstanding images organized into interesting categories. It is a very *human* album about her experiences in Central Asia.

Uzbek Journeys asked Kathleen to write a little about her work and travels:

"I am an amateur photographer and an obsessive traveller. Having discovered both of these in my 30’s, I am worried that there might not be enough time and resources to fulfill my passions to their fullest, but I'm giving it my best shot!

The ancient mud brick walls of Khiva

I have  been lucky enough to work in international development, and between travel for work and leisure I have visited most of Asia and the Pacific, South America, and a little of Africa and Europe.

With my partner Graham, we  have only recently returned from our first trip to Central Asia and can’t believe that it has taken us so long to get there. We are already planning our next visit, and are also thinking about a walking trip to Japan - in the snow! (That should make for some spectacular photos.) 

I studied photography way back when we used film cameras and darkrooms and learnt a few skills then that I still find useful today.  I very much enjoy the whole editing and curating process.

Inside a bric-a-brac shop, full of Soviet memorabilia, in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Worried that one day someone will press the ‘delete’ button on my computer and all my photos will be gone I try to share my pics as much as I can - online and in photo books, and recently I re-discovered the quirky practise of printing photographs".

If you have travelled in Central Asia, Kathleen's photos will evoke sweet memories. If you are planning a trip, her photos will be a catalyst to visit as soon as you can. [If you cannot view the album on your device, please visit https://spark.adobe.com/page/qGongXqzs8zIj/ directly].

View Kathleen Walsh's Silk Road album.

Related posts:
Paul Nadar's Images of Turkestan 1890
Rosemary Sheel's Images of Uzbekistan & Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan's Quest for Historical Photographs 
Ernst Cohn-Wiener Collection: Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan 

A dome at Shah-i-zindar, the necropolis at Samarkand