Karakol; 1st August

1st August -- rest day in Karakol

Almost all towns and many villages have monuments in WW2 in Kazhakstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgystan. When studying the period as part of the national curriuculm in the UK as a 16 year old, the impression I got was that the war was very much a European one; a white person's one. Travelling through Central Asia you realise this was very much not the case. The Soviet Union lost about 27 million soldiers fighting the Nazis, many from Central Asia; an utterly incomprehensible figure, involving human tragedy on an unimaginable scale.

Dungan Mosque designed in Buddhist Chinese style -- several hundred KMs east of Karakol is the Uyghur region of China

Beautifuly intricate detailing of the mosque

This is the main Orthodox Church of Karakol. When we visited a service was occuring -- it looked very traditional, with the priest dressed in opulent clothing. Karakol was a garrison town during the Russian Empire's expansion, hence the mix of Muslim and Christian cultures

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