Leaving Khorog, I headed towards Murgab for the At Chubysh festival, a festival celebrated on the the 2nd weekend of August which celebrates the horsemen heritage of the Kyrgyz people. The festival itself was interesting and the drive provided some scenic views. However, the seating arrangement of the shared taxi to Murgab was something less to desire, being stuck in the middle row with 2 adults and 2 kids(5 total) but made up for the friendly locals in the car. Not to mention the car constantly breaking down with a leaking radiator.
Road to Murgab
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| Stuck in the middle seat... |
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| Trying to fix a leak. In hindsight, the constant breakdown probably gave a nice needed break to stretch those legs and opportunity to take a few snaps. |
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| Fauna in the Pamirs |
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| Getting water for the car's radiator. |
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| Nomadic Kids |
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| Yurts in the mountains. |
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| Nature at its best... |
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| Nature's calling. |
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| Roadstop. Guarding the Pamirs. |
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| Serene landscape. |
Murgab
A small town sitting at 3600 above sea level, it provided some great views with my homestay sitting on a hilltop. However, beyond the view and unless you're up for some serious hiking, I found there wasn't much and was only attracted to stay here for a few nights to see the At Chabysh Festival which didn't disappoint with some gorgeous mountain backdrop.
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| Murgab town. |
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| Sitting by the river. |
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| Kids from Murgab |
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| View from the guesthouse as the sun sets. |
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| Moon lighting up the landscape. |
At Chabysh Festival
Held in Murgab on the second weekend of August each year, the festival celebrates the horsemen heritage of the Kyrgyz people. During the festival, four horse events were held: Oodarysh(wrestling on horseback) , Tyin Enmei(picking up the coin) and Kyz Kyymai(running down the girl) and a horse race.
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| Opening ceremony to At Chabysh Festival |
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| Tyin Enmei: Trying to pick up to 4 bags of coins from the ground whilst riding on the horse. |
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| Oodarysh: Wrestling on horseback |
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| Oodarysh. |
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| Oodarysh |
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| 12km horse race |
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| Leading the race. |
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| Kyz Kyymai: In the event, the man tries to chase down the girl and give her a kiss |
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| Kyz Kyymai. |
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| Enjoying the event. |
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| Getting ready. |
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| Dancing to the music. |
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| Coming to the festival in true spirit. |
Murgab to Osh on the Pamir
Having met up with
Nico and Gabi again the previous day, we sorted out a ride for Osh before leaving the next morning. This was probably the most scenic part of the the Pamir albeit taking a toll as I fell extremely sick and the experience of a flying wheel going off our car going at 70-80km/h. A first for me and twice in a row for Nico and Gabi.
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| Leaving Murgab. |
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| At the top of the pass. |
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| Highest pass in the Pamir. |
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| Retrieving the wheel after it flew off the car going at 70-80km/h. |
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| Signs of life. |
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| Karakul Lake |
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| Border marking no-man's land between Tajikistan and China. |
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| Entering no-man's land between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. |
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| Glacier water flowing into the valley. |
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| Allay Mountains near SaryTash. |
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