Translator Takes Fifty and Faces the Music
I finally received the first 50 copies of the English version of “Spiritual Wisdom from the Altai Mountains, Altai Bilik”. I packed a medium-sized rucksack with 50 books in it, bought […]
Summer Solstice: Safe & Small
On the day of the summer solstice an international fire ceremony was held for the protection of the sacred karakol Valley. Despite my best intentions to attend I arrived late by […]
In the Light Looking Forward With Hope & Resolve
This photograph was taken 23rd June in Karakol village at a friend’s wedding. Altai wedding rituals are fascinating. This photograph illustrates just one part of a single ritual in which the […]
Lambing and the Magic Bottle
Dear Friends, This photograph was taken in the Karakol valley, Altai 8th April this year, right in the middle of the lambing season. Here, as I wander up and down […]
Altai Indigenous Ecotourism & Climate Change
Dear friends, I was invited to give this talk at the UNDP/GEF International Practical Conference ‘Ecotourism, Climate, Local Communities – Developing Ecological Tourism as a Climate Change Adaptation Means for Local […]
A Mountain Inside
Loving Mountains – Respecting Worldviews This article is a response to a request by Svetlana Katinova that visitors to Altai send contributions concerning their experience of sacred Mount Belukha and […]
Spiritual Wisdom from the Altai Mountains
Now Available on Amazon: ‘Spiritual Wisdom from the Altai Mountains, Altai Bilik’ by Nikolai A. Shodoev, translated by Joanna Dobson and produced for publication as a project of the Altai Pilgrim Friendship Circle […]
2011 The Year of the Hare
The year of the hare, the metal hare to be precise. What a fantastic combination! See below for my 2011 slideshow (in place of new year resolutions) As always, […]
Happy Christmas from Russia – ‘keeping the arrow poised’
There are some things that I really miss about England such as ‘fish ‘n’ chips’ and a pineapple fritter served in newspaper, Cornwall and the sea but most of […]
Ice-Hole in Altai
There is a well-known eastern proverb that goes: ‘Before enlightenment, chop wood, haul water; After enlightenment, chop wood, haul water. This is my friend Vitya, my neighbour, who helped me haul water in the short, […]
Conservation Film ‘The Pines of Askat’
THE PINES OF ASKAT by Lena Chevalkova, translation into English by Joanna Dobson This film by Lena is exactly what’s needed to draw attention to the types of issues local people face in Altai. This […]
‘El Oiun’ Altai National Festival
Every two years the Altai Republic holds an annual, national festival called ‘El Oiun’ which means ‘the people’s games’. The festival which was originally created by Nogon Shumarov used to […]
Pilgrim’s Pages Autumn, ‘kyrgyzstan, Squirrels & Marina’s Library’
10th-21st September, Kyrgyzstan In September I went to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan to renew my visa for Russia. Whilst there I visited an American woman who was conducting research on wolves […]
‘Ceok’ – Indigenous Altai Social Structure
‘Ceok’ (clan/tribe) in Altai means ‘bone’ Ceok is the word used to mean kin, clan or family. The Altai people attribute themselves to a Ceok. When they introduce themselves they […]
‘Kalbak-Tash Rock Art Sanctuary’
‘His soul lies in a gold box hidden in the belly of three small spirit deer.’ Kalbak-Tash Rock Art Sanctuary – Using theatre to interpret ‘narrative composition’ in rock art […]
Altai Pilgrim 