Today we went to climb the super green mountains of Kok Zhailau with my friend Saltanat. We went to this mountain a couple months back to get signatures to prevent the building of resorts the way it is built in Shymbulak. This time we didn’t plan to collect signatures. Instead, we wanted to make a campaign to raise awareness in the eminent destruction of this particular mountain. You see, this mountain is very popular among locals and international students who live here long term. When you climb here, you can meet people by the hundreds passing by for walks, hikes and even spending the night in the wilderness. We planned to play musical instruments, dance, and watch Saltanat pray to the spirits to protect Kok Zhailau. Saltant is a Neo-Tengrist, which is a kind of Shamanism. She is a City Shaman. So, we carried a lot of musical instruments with us to the top. For me, this was like training in order to keep fit. We hoped by our campaign people would be interested and we would interact with them by letting them know what will happen to the mountains.
Climbing Kok Zhailau
For me, climbing mountains was something I never did before in my country of origin since my home city is an international city of concrete jungles of endless skyscrapers and cars.
Reaching Kok Zhailau
Climbing up Kok Zhailau is no easy task. Unlike the road from Medeu to Shymbulak, which is not too difficult for casual walking, Kok-Zhailau takes a lot of stamina if you are not already fit. To climb up this mountain can take around an hour and a half to two and a half hours of steep slopes depending on your fitness level. I saw elder men who would be our grandfather’s age running and jogging like it was nothing for them. They made us all look bad! The road to Kok Zhailau is all nature, no roads, no buildings, nothing but forests, bushes, wildflowers and animals. You’ll even see wild horses running around climbing too! Everyone you pass by says “Здравствуйте!” (Hello)” or “Заботиться!” (Take care) or “Будьте осторожны”(Be careful). Some may even offer you food and drink or help you if you seem a bit distressed. They are very polite and friendly residence from the city. I climbed it once before with Saltanat in our previous gathering when we went to collect signatures. The first time was very difficult for me because I had no idea how far and long the path was. but this time, it was not bad. We had a little bit more people with us although we split paths early on. When we went half way, we could see the deep blue sky.
Most of the trip was just the four of us. During our walk, I practiced speaking Russian most of the way. Anzhar tried to teach me some Kazakh words. Kazakh language is nothing like English or Russian. We also had deep conversations about history, the city of Almaty, traveling the world and anthropology. After traveling in hot countries like Meleca, Malaysia and Bangkok, Thailand, the temperature wasn’t so bad for me despite the searing sunlight. We took some short rests here and there but overall, we were energetic and determined to reach Kok Zhailau.
Eating breakfast
Once we reached the top, we decided to take a rest. We walked around to find some shade. There were some mini-forests and isolated trees and bushes. The area was populated by hikers eating, laughing, sunbathing and overall had a good vibe. We picked one tree and took a seat. Anzhar had cooked some Russian Pancakes and gave us some sweet pepper, tomatoes and cucumber. Saltanat bought some boiled eggs and sour cream, bread with butter and hot tea. S. had apples. We sat and ate for about 20 mins . The pancakes were so delicious.
Preparing
and
Music and dancing:
[Photo and Video]
“СОХРАНИМ Кокжайлау!!! В воскресенье мы с Ажар Джандрсвой и Мирославом собирали живые подписи против строительства на Кокжайлау. Практически все туристы – жители Алматы и гости столицы против строительства, и за сохранение девственной природы, экологического равновесия, биоценоза, за развитие ЭКОТУРИЗМА!ДРУЗЬЯ! Подпишите петицию перейдя по ссылке,- необходимо больше подписей, чтобы нас снова услышат президент Касым Жомарт Токаев! Строить на Кокжайлау ни в коем случае нельзя – и с научной точки зрения, и с экономической, и с экологической!Вместе мы – сила!
Салтанат Ташимова
“LET’S SAVE Kokzhailau!!! On Sunday, Azhar Dzhandrsva, Miroslav, and I collected live signatures against the construction on Kokzhailau. Almost all tourists, residents of Almaty and guests of the capital, are against construction, and for the preservation of pristine nature, ecological balance, biocenosis, and the development of ECOTOURISM! friends! Sign the petition by clicking on the link – more signatures are needed so that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev can hear us again! It is absolutely impossible to build on Kokzhailau – both from a scientific, economic, and environmental point of view!Together we are a force!
Saltanat Tashimova
References:
Защитим Кок-Жайляу: Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
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