05/17 – Osh Market and a Rice Mill

We will be driving a lot today but not before we take a short walk-through town where we saw a number of statues.

And then it was off to the Osh Market.  It was very much like many of the markets we have seen.

We did see a lot of product packaged in recycled soda bottles and other recycled containers. 

And one section was the meat market.

The amount of fresh, lovely fruits and vegetables we have seen on this trip is almost overwhelming.  It is strawberry and cherry season so we have really seen a lot of those.  There are also lots of spices and some of the markets have lots of clothing and household items. 

Leo got in on the shopping. 

From there we boarded the bus and headed out through the lovely countryside.

Out in the country some of the locals were moving a herd of horses. 

We stopped at a rice mill to see the operation.  Our driver knows the miller so this was a special stop.  Unfortunately, the miller wasn’t around to tell us about the operation.  Fortunately, Arsn knew a bit about the operation so we got a mini tour.

Then it was back on the road to Uzgen.  There we saw visited an archaeological park with a tower

and a partially restored madrassah building, complete with scaffolding...or maybe just a reinforcing framework to hold it all up.

We also had good views of the mountains around the area

and the town of Uzgen.

From there we walked through a park with more statues...

and on to the market.  We didn’t really stay long...

but we did see some of the red rice for which the area is famous.

Then it was back on the road where we saw many flocks of sheep being driven down the road.  Apparently, this is the time of year when the flocks and cow herds are moved to summer pastures.

This horse was taking the easy way to wherever he was going. 

We ended the day in Jalal Abad.  Didn’t do much sightseeing here but Paul did take a walk and stopped by a bakery for photos.