Bishkek

The next morning we  met up with the group at hotel. There are 10 of us for the trek. I had met everyone before except for Robyn and she seems like a lot of fun. Part of the group went for a walk through Bishkek to see some of the sites , look at the local art and wonder through the parks. 

We all went for dinner and sampled the fermented mares milk. 

AND of course some beer!

Our day of driving towards the start of the trek included a visit at the Bryan's Minaret , a 26m tall structure made from fired brick. It originally stood at 45m. 

The area included a collection of old grave stones. The figures carved with goblets were wealthy men. The ones with carved knives were warriors. 

We also visited a Chinese Mosque, which is unique to Kyrgyz. The women all wore the robes to cover our heads. 

NEXT STOP.....the Tian Shen and 10 days of trekking!