Almaty.

Ascension Cathedral, also known as Zenkov Cathedral.

We had two full days in Almaty. It started yesterday with a half day city tour.  The first thing on our agenda though was to get money and we had time to do this before meeting back up with our guide.  We had no tenge on us and we knew we had to pay for our meals today.

Roadtrip to Almaty.

Roadtrip lunch break.  Today, it was Turkish food.

Today will be another spent driving - we're on a roadtrip from Bishkek to Almaty, Kazahkstan!  Though the distance between the two cities is not all that far, Lilya told us that crossing the border can take quite a bit of time so she was preparing for a full day's ride.

On The Way Back to Bishkek.

Even heavy clouds can't take away the beauty of the landscape here.

A

fter visiting the petroglyphs, which comprise the *open air* exhibit of the  Issyk Kul State Historical and Cultural Museum, we drove to the town of Cholpon-Ata to see the museum proper.  Cholpon-Ata is a popular lakeside resort, located on the northern shore of Issyk Kul.

Issyk Kul. Petroglyphs.

Ancient petroglyph at Issyk Kul.

After a very restful night's rest, I woke up to another gloomy day. We've only had glimpses of sun since we've been in Kyrgyzstan :-(