The unbearable side of Karakol.

It has been a much better day. The weather has been fine so I have been to see all the sights from the unusual mosque to the old church.  Unusually the church had washing facilities rather than the Mosque.

 The houses look as if they have been here years, and many are the traditional style If they were in somewhere like Vancouver they would be highly desirable. Here some have been loved and are being updated with new windows and insulation, others have been replaced and others are occupied but look like they are falling down.  Many Kyrgyz were forced out of the Ashu area and moved to Ukraine in Stalin's time, but whether that happened here I do not know and since the collapse of the Soviet Union the reverse trend has happened with many Russians leaving the area.  But the town's old properties do indicate a vibrant and long standing community of both Russian and Kyrgyz origin and the local museum also reflects these dual strands.

It is the countries fourth biggest town but has very few shops, a market and a few cafes.  It also has a zoo. When I was in Budapest I foolishly went to their zoo.   The buildings were interesting but I do not know why but the dead animals and the lack of staff totally put me off.  So I left. I know a lot of people will wonder why on earth I went in the first place, well the answer is the visit was free and I was stupid. Today I went because I thought it would be my only chance to see some of the unusual indigenous animals.  And I knew it would be problematic.  It is a small zoo and some of the animals were housed in families (the wolves) or loving couples (the lynx). The presence of other animals visible in the next cage means that these animals are keeping some of their instincts but cannot use them  for example the lynx poised and were ready to pounce as a stray dog passed by  was interesting to watch but of course were not free to pounce. The wolves looked more like dogs, one was happily playing with a pine cone,  whereas some of the wild dogs definitely look like wolves.   But I do not understand why birds like peacocks are caged or animals such as sheep and squirrels as present as they are available to see everywhere. However, the bear, who should have been the star of the whole zoo and deserved a nice big paddock if he/she had to be kept in a zoo was pacing like the animals used to do at London Zoo because they were contained in a tiny space.  The zoo has plenty of room, they have staff, no money I suspect, but these are creative people, I am sure that they can find a better way to house this beautiful animal.   And whilst you are at it, give the big birds more space so that they can fly.