Kyrgyzstan - Central Asia - page 257

Kürk¨Art¨Gallery¨ SOUVENIRS
(Lenina 152, Makish Bazaar) Many of the most
artistically imaginative shyrdaks that you
see around town are created by this fam-
ily company, which has several small work-
shops tucked into the moldering buildings
behind the contrastingly spruce shop.

mer, til 4pm Mon-Sat in winter) genial Azamat
is knowlegeable and extremely helpful when
answering questions and helping you find the
activity, accommodation or trek that suits. As
well as homestay options in town, CBT can or-
ganise seasonal yurtstays (from mid-June) at
Jeti-öghüz, the Bel-Tam lakeside and Karkara
along with excursions, guides, equipment and
advice on permits.
TIC (Tourist Information Centre; % 523 41;
[e-mail]; Jusup Abdra-
khmanov 130; h 9am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-2pm
Sat) Run by student volunteers from the
next-door language faculty, this handy office
sells 100som city maps, postcards (25som)
and has stacks of brochures and information
booklets on various accommodation and
eating choices.
TRAVEL & TOUR AGENCIES
IGPA (Issyk-Köl guides & Porters Associa-
tion; % 529 29, Aygula 055-255 2529; www.
kyrgyz-tours.info; Lenina 130/1; h 9am-9pm)
This cooperative of young guides can arrange
treks with English, French or german inter-
preters. Also leads five-day mountain-biking
trips to Barskoön via Saruu, Juuku Pass and
Ara-Bel Valley (you must bring your own
bike). The office is an internet cafe. Aygula
speaks English.
Turkestan ( % 054-391 1452; www.turkestan.
biz; Toktogul 273) Turkestan specialises in
group trekking, has an 'indestructible' Ural
6WD truck-bus and is the local agent for
helicopter flights to the Inylchek base camps.
Also runs mountaineering trips to Khan

8 Information
INTERNET ACCESS
Several accommodations and eateries now have
free wi-i. Internet clubs are reasonably common
including one at IgPA (p263).
Vista (Tynystanova 23; per hr 30som; h 10am-
10pm; W ) Friendly, central place near the
university.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Karakol Medical Clinic ( % 513 23; Jusup
Abdrakhmanov; h 8am-5pm) Clinic with a
pharmacy on the ground floor.
MONEY
There are several moneychangers along Tok-
togul, including banks with ATMs accepting Visa
cards. However, the nearest ATM for MasterCard
or Maestro is in Cholpon-Ata.
RSK Bank (Toktogul; h 8.30am-noon & 1-3pm
Mon-Fri) Changes US dollars into som and has
a Visa ATM.
TOURIST INFORMATION
CBT ( % 550 00, after hr 055-515 0795;
[e-mail]; Jusup Abdrakhmanov
123/20; h 9am-noon & 1pm-5pm daily sum-

GREAT¨GAMER
Karakol's Soviet-era name, Prezevalsk, honoured the great explorer Nikolai Przewalski,
who died nearby.
Born in Smolensk on 12 April 1839, Przewalski joined the Imperial army but was
reputedly unhappy as a young oicer. However, he persuaded them that he'd make a
better explorer and set of to explore the Ussuri River region in the Russian Far Eat
from 1867 to 1869. Funding proved insuicient but, undeterred, Przewalski managed to
cover the cots by raising 12,000 roubles in a poker match. The results of the expedition
impressed everyone. The Russian Geographical Society agreed to help inance future
trips, and the army gave him the time he needed in return for debrieing him on his
return from each trip making him, in efect, an army agent. He never married, going on
intead to become a major general and the mot honoured of all the tsarit explorers. He
focused on Central Asia, launching four major expeditions in 15 years, mainly to Mongo-
lia, Xinjiang and Tibet. On one of his journeys, he discovered the tiny teppe-land horse
that now bears his name - Przewalski's horse. You can see a pair of them at Karakol zoo
(p259).
During 1888, while preparing for the lat of these trips, he unwisely drank the Chuy
River water while hunting tigers near Bishkek (then Pishpek). The result was a bout of
typhus. He was bundled of to Lake Issyk-Köl for ret and treatment, but realising his
imminent demise he wrote to the tsar asking to be buried beside the lake, clothed in full
explorer's dress. His grave site at Pritan is now home to a Przewalski museum (p259).