A farewell to the Tian Shans

I'm so surprised at how deep my affection for these last two Stans has become.  It's not just that I've had such a lovely time in these mountains (though honestly, I've had an outrageously lovely time in these mountains).  It's also the kind people, many of whom are patient with me across at least one language barrier.  It's how livable are these places I've spent the last several weeks, especially Karakol and Almaty.  I could happily settle down in either place for a longer period.  I'm very sorry to leave them behind and to pivot to the next stage of this strange adventure.  

A couple of keepsake photos from my time in Almaty:

1. This amazing Himalayan Griffin at the Almaty Zoo.  

2.  This beautiful piece by Rashida Mugaveyeva from the Abilkhan Kasteev State Art Museum, which renders the Kazakh landscape in the patterns of traditional nomadic feltwork.

3. This kylkobiz from the Ykhlas Folk Music Museum.

4. This charming quintet at a symphonic performance I attended, gamely bewigged for their recital of 18th-century pieces.

5. And here: how the Alatau/Ala-Too/Tian Shans showed up for me as I prepared to leave, the whole sturdy line of them white in the clear blue sky over the botanical garden.