Recently, four of us neweurasians had the chance to travel parts of Central Asia in order to hold small seminars on blogging and its prospects in the region. The trip took also took us to southern Kyrgyzstan, where we broke our journey for one night in Sary Moghul (which is about 30 km west of Sary Tash).

I had visited Sary Moghul two years ago and got to know some people there (e.g. the parents of a former colleague from Bishkek), so it was a fantastic experience to be able to return to that place and see what had changed.

Sary Moghul is one of the few settlements on the Alay range, a high plateau afoot the mighty Pamirs. At 3,100 meters above sea level, agriculture is limited to growing potatoes. Marco Polo, who traversed this part of the world in the 13th century, found this stretch of land particularly hostile and must have felt incredible relief when reaching the fertile oasis of Kashgar.

It was only until the Soviets forced settlement in this region in the 1940s that Sary Moghul came into existence. Its primary function was to act as a support settlement for the even remoter Murghab (in today’s Tajikistan), where around 4,000 souls live at 3,500 meters altitude.

Today, no one really knows exactly how many people live in Sary Moghul. Officially, the number of inhabitants is put at 2,000 people, but there seem to be many more Kyrgyz who migrated here from Tajikistan. They can obtain Kyrgyz citizenship and many use Sary Moghul as a stop on their way to Bishkek or even Kazakhstan and Russia - in search of jobs and a better life.

While it is a reality in most parts of rural Kyrgyzstan, the significant lack of an adult (predominantly male) population is particularly striking here. The population is almost entirely made up of young children up to the age of 20, women and elderly people.

Although most families have some sort of livestock and work in the Jailoos during the summer, there are few jobs in Sary Moghul. Winters are harsh and long, with temperatures often under minus 20 degrees Celsius. Only a few people found work near the adjacent Pik Lenin, which is thought to be one of the easiest 7000+ meters mountains to climb in the world - and without doubt Sary Moghul’s most striking tourist attraction.

The proximity to China has brought some sort of economic impetus to the Alay Valley region. First, as in Tajikistan and partly Kazakhstan, China is investing heavily in road construction projects and is currently rebuilding the Osh-Kashgar highway, a road in dire need of essential repairs. Second, oil explorations were recently carried out by the Chinese state-owned CPNC a couple of kilometers away from Sary Moghul. The findings of these explorations have not been fully disclosed to the public, but rumours have it that a small deposit of oil has been found.

Sary Moghul is a striking place. If the weather allows for it, the first thing to see in the morning is a gigantic wall of rock and snow about 20 km to the south of the village, towering above all other mountains is the majestic Pik Lenin. The most striking experience to be made, however, is meeting the people living in this remote and seemingly hostile place. What awaits each and everyone coming here is a warm and friendly welcome, endless cups of tea and a lot of topics to be talked about.

For how long Sary Moghul can sustain itself remains unclear, though. In many families, it is the older generation that is left with raising the children, feeding the cattle, and farming the potatoe plots.