Snow Leopards: ‘Seek and Ye Shall Find’
My closest encounter with a snow leopard took place in the Altai Mountains with an ink brush in hand. My eyes locked onto the powerful hind legs and broad paws […]
My closest encounter with a snow leopard took place in the Altai Mountains with an ink brush in hand. My eyes locked onto the powerful hind legs and broad paws […]
What I Have Heard and Seen of the Snow Leopard (Letter from a reader, A. Kachakov, UlaganVillage, 2012) “Altaidyn Cholmoni” Altai Republic Newspaper, № 127, 10th July 2012. Translated from […]
This image is copied from a tattoo image worn by an individual from the Pazyryk culture. The tattoo was found on mummified remains excavated by researcher Rudenko from a permafrost […]
Photographs of snow leopards have recently been published on the UNDP Altai-Sayan Ecoregion site. The fact that snow leopards still inhabit the Altai Mountains fills the soul with hope. Not […]
This week travelling into the valley I followed the line of the horizon waiting for the sacred mount to appear round the corner and greet us. Finally, there it stood. […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
‘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 […]
‘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 […]
GPS Training for Nature Park Rangers, FSDA, July 2006 Early July I was asked to translate for an expedition group intending to set off for twelve days on […]
Pilgrim’s Pages April 2006 UNESCO conference, Gorno-Altaisk, “The problem of preserving permafrost burials in the Altai” Unesco have just held a conference at the Gorno-Altaisk (capital) state university on “The […]
Many of the carved standing stones from the Turkic period have been removed from the steppes and meadows of Altai. The Altai people deeply feel the loss of these ‘monuments’. […]
Living in the Altai Republic, Siberia one hears little mention of global warming. Of course everyone discusses the weather and compares last years temperatures with this years; how high the […]
When I first visited the lands of Altai, I dreamt of one day, riding a horse freely through a particular sacred valley; never though, did I dream, that I would conduct an […]