Desert Crocus

My friend Askar Mambetaliev provided several interesting links to learn more about the situation in Kyrgyzstan. The sites are in various languages to choose from: 1. http://www.birdamlik.info (Uzbek website in Uzbek and Russian languages) 2. www.facebook.com/kyrgyzdar (the largest social network of Kyrgyzstan, in English, Russian and Kyrgyz languages) 3. www.facebook.com/kudaiberdi (Social network for Good News in Kyrgyz) 4. www.studentstan.kg (Christian website in Kyrgyz language) 5. http://kutbilim.narod.ru and www.isa.ucoz.ru (Bible in Kyrgyz) 6. www.ferghana.ru (Russian Agency for Ferhgana valley with English page) 7. www.centralasia.ru (Kazakh & Russian News Agency, in Russian language)

There are several ways to reach Osh: 1. Ground transport is safe to use. The 710 km road is in good condition. It is very picturesque taking you through high gorges along the al kinds of mountains. It was reconstructed by the Asian Development Bank project involving a 140 million loan for Kyrgyzstan: a) marshrutkas (scheduled shuttles to Osh departing from the Western bus station) and other vehicles for more than 6 people passengers are not allowed to go to Osh. The taxi now cost 1500 som (32 dollars) per seat comparing to 1300 (28 dollars) som before the clashes. It takes 8-12 hours to reach Osh. There are 3 large blockposts along the road where each car is stopped and checked and approximately 67 small block-posts checking the cars occasionally. b) Traveling in your own car you should plan your route and timing considering the curfew time (10pm-5am) in Osh and Djalal-Abad regions. 2. Airplane – the cost of the air tickets significantly raised after the clashes in Osh from approxima...