I have been away the first two weeks of August to a faraway land called Tuva. I can guess the vast majority of you have never been there, but don’t feel bad about it, people go there either because they have an interest in throat-singing (!), unspoiled nature or they have married someone from there.I belong to the last category, but first of all: where the hell is Tuva? You may (rightly) ask?
Well, Tuva is a republic in Russia, but not the White Russia we all think of, such as Moscow or Saint Petersburg. The Russia I am talking about is actually Siberia, that big mass of land covering 77% of the Russian territory that almost everyone has heard of, but at the same time almost nobody ever dares to visit.
Siberia is a very weird place indeed, no doubt about it: freezing cold in winter, boiling hot in summer, thousands of miles away from any urban environment, and even more miles away from the sea. Talk about Siberia and people think about the hard weather, Communist gulags and a very big chunk of land that to see it all it would take you a couple of lifetimes. This is rather true, not only because Siberia is so damn big, but also because travelling around is not that easy, they haven’t got four lane highways over there and not many airports too.
Tuva is located in the southern part of Siberia (but it is still on average -30 degrees Celsius in winter), on the border with Mongolia. It is slightly more than half the size of Italy, but with the population only of a city like Bologna, and actually one third of this population live in the capital, Kyzyl. Basically, once you drive outside the capital, you have the whole country for yourself.
I have mentioned throat-singers at the beginning of this article. Throat-singers are, as the name indicates, singers who sing using their throat. The kind of music they sing and play is not for everybody’s taste, but the sound they create is rather amazing. They can come up with up to five different tones at the same time and they master the art from an early age.
Tuva, as all geeks of geography know, is located right in the centre of Asia and the exact spot is in the capital Kyzyl, right next to the river Yenisei (the fifth longest river in the world, sorry geeks, I beat you again) that runs through the city. A monument, consisting of a big world-shaped stone and a kind of triangular obelisk rising from it, has been raised on the spot.
But I cannot talk about Tuva without mentioning the nature. I have been exploring a very tiny part of the country, but in that tiny bit I have been to a lake with the same level of salt as the Dead Sea in Israel! I didn’t know about its existence until I was there and never before I had seen so many eagles flying across the sky and an open road in front of me with mountains and valley as the only companions.
There are many things to say about Tuva, some good other rather not, that it would take me quite a while so I will leave it for future posts, anyway I feel like a kind of an expert in the country being now linked with it by marriage to one of its daughters and also by the fact that no many foreigners have actually been there.
3 comments:
Ekii!
Lucky guy to have married a daughter of Tyva. How did you come to meet such a rare being? Is she Tyvan or Russian? I lived there for a couple of years as a rare westerner and appreciate your comments, all true in my experience. And amazing experiences I could expect at least once a day!
How exciting that you have tasted Russia at last! You have asked for feedback in the past, so here is food for your thoughts. I feel I must comment on several points you have made in this article.
Firstly, you cite several reasons for people not having heard of Tuva. This is not actually true; after all, the world is becoming a smaller place these days, and there is a good chance that this little place is known by more than just those geeks interested in maps and things. If only en route from Siberia to China. The military - Asian and American - have a base on at least one of the islands off Siberia. Hmm...not always a good reason for it to exist.
The weather is not so unusual in the scheme of the earth's atmosphere. It is similar to the climate found in the deserts of central US of A, and North Africa; and no doubt in other parts of the globe you have yet to visit. Freezing in the winter or the dark, and scorching in the summer and the day.
Similar to a lot of puffy 'communist' countries, remember that in this age of 'civilisation', there is the large chunk of capitalism intertwined in its ethos. A reason, I understand, why those natives who have the opportunity, would endeavour, to partake of such monetary returns existing in the cities.
Tuva and Siberia is not so special or unique that it is an exclusive out-of-bounds destination. I have a friend who has travelled there years before - certainly before you had married into the natives, I daresay! Mongolia - well, that is another story. I believe the reason why few people travel there is the inhibition of the country's powers that be - the powers, which incidentally, has decided to allow some folks in in recent times. Gung ho to you!
I would think that the reason for a visit would be to see the beautiful, barely populated steppes, not particularly for the weather, nor because an individual has married into one of the local folk - this smacks of 'marrying for a visa' and quite a vulgar whim.
I am minded by a comment made by an open minded, benevolent individual many years ago: one is never an expert of a strange land unless one has lived there and has toiled with the locals.
My dear boy, you are still a tourist!
She's Tuvan and I met her in London. When did you use to live in Tuva?
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