Blogs from Karaganda, Kazakhstan, Asia

Asia » Kazakhstan » Karaganda August 22nd 2014

Just 600km ride south to Balkhash lake, so arrived in city 2pm. Beach in city is quite bad with broken glass & rubbish, lake is still cool & refreshing - not salty. Took Vitaliy's advice, went to resort further south, Chubar Tubliek I think. But 'Butlins' describes it better, beach kept near perfect, so both beaches have fresh water, but same lake is very salty - probably 100km futher east and 1.4km deep. Vladimir and Ludmiller, a young couple from Germany looked after me after poseing for photos on bike. Much drink, food & banter. Early swim then south to Almaty, but must taken 4hrs to get past southern portion of lake, suppose this why is 12th largest lake in world.... read more

Central Kasakhstan

Asia » Kazakhstan » Karaganda August 31st 2011

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Bri and Chri

SURPRISING STEPPE DISCOVERING THE ROOTS OF KAZAKH CULTURE Petroglyphs of Terekty-Aulie Leaving the asphalt behind, our driver has to win the fight against the jolty tracks of the steppe – and he succeeds brilliantly. The first stop of the journey: Terekty-Aulie – a collection of rock carvings (petroglyphs) in the heart of the Kazakh lowlands. With its origins in the Middle to Late Bronze Age (about 1500-100 BC), the carvings bear a central meaning for Muslim-Kazakh faith. In Terekty-Aulie we are faced with the remains of past nomadic cultures carved into granite. The word “Aulie” relates to the Arabian name for a saint (“wali”) and alludes to the significant meaning this place embodies for Muslim pilgrims. Islamic Mysticism contains the belief that the prophet’s cousin and son-in-law blessed this place with his godly gift (“barakah”) on ... read more

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