Exploring Bishkek
I decided to spend an extra day in Bischkek to finish calibrating and recover a little bit from the previous long rides and the heat. Alessia and Artëm had to work, so I took their suggestions and rode my bike around the city for most of the day.
My first stop was what they described as either “the great emptiness museum,” or “the museum of the great void.” It was located back along the foothills of Bishkek in a random neighborhood with dusty, pothole-ridden streets. Although I was following the map, I was becoming very skeptical that I would find, something resembling a museum in this area. Arrived at the address, I was surprised to find a concrete bike rack where I could attach my bike. The rose of houses looking for something that might resemble a museum. Alessia had described it as a very, very very strange place. There was a house that had a bunch of Kyrgis writing on the walls. It appeared as if I had arrived at the museum, but it wasn’t entirely apparent that it was open. I tried the door and it was locked, so I stood there and tried to figure out what I was going to do next. Suddenly, the door opened, and a man came out and asked me, if I was in favor of, in English, “weapons war.” I said, “no, not at all.” And he said “yes, peace is the only way, put your money in the slot.” And he gesture to a small slot between the writings Engraved on the wall of the front of his home. I pushed some money into the opening and he granted me entry into his house.
The entry was somewhat attended to a living room, and was littered all over the place with large canvas oil prints that he had done. He also had several unfurled scrolls containing his various manifesto about the cosmos, Nicola Tesla’s ideas about the mind, and general ideas about the nothingness of space and the universe.
He could speak a little bit of English, but it was very broken, and the words were often out of order as well as mixed with various Kyrgiz and Russian words. He told me that he would show me around his house first so that I would know the layout and then I could go through it on my own. He called the layout a “labyrinth” and shared that he had been working on it for the past 30 years of his life.
Every room was covered in beautiful, original oil paintings. Some hanging on the walls, some propped up on chairs. Many of the walls themselves were decorated, too. At various points he would stop to show me a particular piece, speak about Nicola Tesla, explain how he channels his divine spirit into art, or to point out the light switches in every room, since he wanted to make sure I would turn off the lights when leaving any room to save power.
The first “room” was a concrete pyramid that he had decorate on the outside with stones and painted in gold. Inside the pyramid was an inverse pyramid, forming rows of benches with some cushions scattered around. He told me to come back there to meditate.
A view of the pyramid outside his living room
Then he took me to a veranda that he had constructed out of mirrored panels. There was a large section of the veranda separated by glass panels where he had hung large, empty crystals. This was his shower and he told me that the crystals had protected him from getting sick during Covid.
His art includes mixed-media, discarded circuit boards and female forms
We went through several other rooms - this place is definitely a labyrinth. Some rooms were just filled with art, others seemed more like offices, with desks and computers covered in transparent dust-covers.
The tour also included a photoshoot on this wall that he had painted. He told me to make a bunch of poses for the desired effect.
He showed me to the bathroom which sported a beautifully decorated door. The toilet was a squatter, so he just hung toilet seats on the wall. And he kept a communist flag with Vladimir Lenin’s face in clear view, to be admired while doing one’s business.
After the tour, he told me to go around, check out the view, take photos of whatever I want, and then come back and join him for tea.
Aleksei in one of his many home studios
I perused at my leisure and then had tea with him for about an hour while we talked about art and the universe. It was fascinating. Aside from his ethereal demeanor, he studied art and received degrees from universities in Bishkek, Almaty and Moscow.
He packed up some sweet bagels, that he pointed out were filled with the “great void” because he didn’t want me to go hungry on my bike ride.
View from the museum balcony
I then rode off back towards the center of town. I went down a beautiful grand avenue. It had a very nice bike path, sidewalks, and the road was separated by trees. Probably because this avenue is where the presidential palace is located.
The Kyrgyz presidential palace
I had a nice, relaxing descent to the center of town, where I went to the Osh Bazar, a traditional marketplace. My hosts had warned me to be vigilant, as the market has a reputation for being dangerous and full of thieves. I prepared myself for something like the Analakely open market in Madagascar, which was densely packed and rampant with pick-pockets. But the Osh market was tame by comparison, although I remained alert. I can’t really acquire anything at this stage of my trip, because I would have to carry it along dusty roads for another 800 miles. Mostly I saw cheap Chinese products, and lots of delicious dried nuts and fruit. It’s apricot season so I bought some to take back to my hosts. There was an area with women selling prepared food in vinegar. I came up to one of them and pointed to something that looked a little bit like pad Thai and asked what it was. She proceeded to scoop out portions of every single tub of food that she had (probably 10 or 11) and put samples on a plastic bag for me to try. That ended up being a lot of food in and of itself. I selected a few of my favorites to bring back.
A large variety of nuts and dried apricots
My bag was repaired at the bazar in 15 minutes for 250 som, about $3
I even managed to get the holes in my bike pannier repaired.
I ate a lunch of “ashlyan-fu” at a restaurant recommended by my host. Ashlyan-fu is a traditional Kyrgis summer dish consisting of a tomato base, some spices, noodles, peppers and starch blobs (ok, you can tell I am not a fan of those). The soup is great in the summer because it is hearty, but only served chilled.
A bowl of Ashlyan-fu from the Osh Bazar
Unfortunately, most of the museums were closed, as it was a Monday and I was unable to view the Frunze architectural museum. Instead, I went around to a bunch of parks and admired the large historical monuments erected in most of the squares and parks in the area.
My bike in front of the philharmonic. I would have loved to see a concert but when I went to buy tickets they said they were on vacation.
I rode back up the hill to my host’s house but the day wasn’t over yet. I hung out a bit with Olesia and Vladimir, Artëm was still at work. A couchsurfer had messaged me about going around for a Bishkek night tour. We met up at the Azerbaijan-Kyrgistan friendship park. A grand space erected just a year prior to celebrate some pact between the two countries. The park was fun and had vendors selling ice cream, an amphitheater where people were singing karaoke and little electric light-up Flinstones cars for kids.
One of several huge fountains at the Azerbaijan-Kyrgistan friendship park
We then went to the aptly named “panorama bar”, which was just the end of a dirt road overlooking a cliff, with a great view of downtown Bishkek. There was an archery and airport range at the top as well, and there were many cars parked near the cliff with people eating, drinking and hanging out.
I returned home and flopped into bed around 1:30, my plan is to still beat the heat tomorrow and leave before 7, which includes putting the rest of my things together.
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