Life in Bishkek

• Little more than one block from Ala-Too Square, Jennifer and Louay’s single family home is a rarity; high rise apartments are the norm in central Bishkek. It is a large house with interesting architecture. This side faces the street ...
  

  

  ... and this side faces the spacious back yard:
  

  

  
  Out in that back yard one fine day, Louay posed his pride and joy for inspection:
  

  

  Temporarily out of work upon arrival in Bishkek, he busied himself with this project. It is a 1990 Ural M-62 Russian motorcycle that he purchased in very rough shape. He completely disassembled the machine, except for the transmission, and painstakingly rebuilt it. (What a mechanic!) The spider web motif is his own creation and handiwork. The side car, of course, is removable:
  

  

  Nice piece of work, I’d say.
  
  When the motorcycle with sidecar attached is too small, the family car takes over. It is admirably suited for going where roads are not:
  

  

  
  As for the rest of the family, here’s Jennifer with mom enjoying Ala-Too at night ...
  

  

  and Noor and Adli at a butterfly exhibit:
  

  

  

  Both of them rode their bikes, many blocks from home, while the rest of us walked. Needless to say, they were always far ahead.
  
  On the Muslim holiday, Eid al Atar, gifts are expected; these brought smiles to the recipients:
  

  

  
  With both parents working, their housekeeper, Hurshida, keeps the house running. Below, she is making noodles from scratch for a dish called “lagman”:
  

  

  She was the first to introduce us to “plov,” a meal usually made with meat, rice and vegetables. There are, however, many variations.
  
  One morning, the family handyman, Nicholai, gave us a ride to the Dordoy Bazaar, a sizable public market in Bishkek. There, Hurshida provided a tour and all four of us enjoyed a tasty lunch. Some shops, such as these, were not yet open:
  

  

  Shipping containers offer shopowners convenient and safe storage for their wares. All it takes to open for business each day is to unlock your container, fling open the doors, switch on the lights and greet the customers!
  

  

  Elsewhere in Dordoy are more traditional market stalls with an abundance of locally-grown fresh and dried produce:
  

  

  The market attracts customers from all over:
  

  

  
  Directly behind the White House is a leafy amusement park named after a Soviet general, Panfilov. There, we spent several pleasant hours watching children of all ages burn up excess energy. On this “ride,” the goal is to reach the top of the tower ...
  

  

  ... however, dad or an older brother often did most of the work. Meanwhile, Adli honed his accident-avoidance skills in this Russian version of bumper cars:
  

  

  Not noticing my camera, these two Kyrgyz kids were focused on big sis on a nearby ride:

  

  
  Finally, Noor and Adli head off to school on a crisp October morning, our last in Bishkek: