Karakol's Sunday animal market and much more

Kyrgyz man in typical felt hat

sheep awaiting sale at Karakol Sunday market, always displayed butt end out

Internet access has been very limited in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, so I am just now resuming my blogs, at the end of our trip--a very fascinating and memorable one for all of us as I'll hope you'll find in my blogs over the next few days.

3 women selling goods at Sunday Market

But first to Karakol, Kyrgyzstan, a town at the eastern end of the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan, Issik-kol. Traders from China used to come over the high passes of the Tian Shan Mountains, stopping in Karakol on their way to points farther west along the Silk Road, bearing tea, silk and spices among many other goods, and returning to China, often years later, laden with goods from the west.

lady with her goats

Every Sunday, there is a large animal market, not unlike the much more famous Sunday market in Kashgar, China, a key departure point for Silk Road caravans.  I've been to both of these markets twice.  They are similar in their chaotic melee of animals and people, buying and selling and hauling their poor creatures to vehicles and places they (the animals) most definitely do not want to go.

rear ends of fat-tailed sheep, popular for eating

Karakol's market features, particularly, cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys (the most hapless of third world creatures) and horses, with a smattering of pigs in the mix. There are several kinds of sheep.  One breed, with particularly fatty buttocks, is much in demand because of the flavorful fat on their behinds.  Others are less curvaceous and fatty, but valued for their wool and meat.  Some of the goats have beautiful horns and faces.  Horses and colts prance through the crowded market or rest in their owners' trucks or in a long line of their kin all tied together.  Many breeds of cattle flock to the market, some quite handsome and most in good condition.

patient horses in truck

Some modes of transporting the animals are a bit unusual, as with this unfortunate sheep slung across a horse in front of its new owner.

an unusual ride home

 It's pretty amazing how the animals get from the ground to truckbeds with no ramps.  And some resist with all their force, to no avail. There is always a helpful human to lift or haul them on their way.

loading unwilling sheep

Obviously market day is a significant community event for everyone, from old men to children to girls and their mothers watching over their animals or selling treats in stalls along the edge of the market.  There is lots of gossip exchanged and shy glances between young girls and boys who have little other social contact.  Meanwhile, forlorn animals are wedged into the trunks and back seats of ancient cars and beds of rickety trucks and pickups to make their way to their new homes where, hopefully, they will cheer up, if they aren't to become Sunday night's meal.  In Kyrgyzstan, horse meat is a staple as well as lamb and beef, so not all the horses at the market were destined to be ridden by their new owners.

pigs in trunk of car

By midday, the market is played out and most people have headed home.

curious goats in truck