An Ode to the Unexpected

In travel, we’ve found it’s often the random and unexpected that linger in our memories far longer than the sights and experiences we looked forward to when we were planning a trip. Bonus points go to finds that are photogenic.

Take the statues of Old Oak Park in Bishkek.

In the heart of the city, Old Oak Park grew — quite literally — out of oak plantings by a Russian botanist and local agricultural students in 1890. Some of the trees are almost as old as Bishkek itself, which is your tipoff that Bishkek is not exactly a Silk Road attraction in the Stans

We spotted the statues the first time we strolled through the park on our way to bigger, more iconic attractions of the city (e.g., the statue of Lenin, the 100-meter flagpole). We found the outcroppings random and charming but powered past them on our mission to see the icons. Only on our final stroll, now with our guide Eldar, did we learn their story.

In 1984, an art symposium was held in Bishkek (then called Frunze, but that’s another story). Artists from all over the Soviet Union were invited to contribute sculptures reflecting the theme “Work and Peace.” Scores of sculptors answered the call.

When the symposium ended, the sculptors went home and the sculptures stayed behind, eventually attracting more sculptures until Old Oak Park morphed into a living sculpture garden. Look across the park today, and statuary in stone, metal, wood and other materials erupts from the landscape like a bumper crop of spring wildflowers, each blooming with its own story.

We crossed the park maybe a half-dozen times in our three days in the capital city. Each time, the statues felt random, unexpected, memorable and irresistibly  photogenic. As we leave Bishkek, the icons are already fading from memory. The statues will travel with us.

PS – Leaving the city for a national park yesterday, this plywood patrol car was also random, unexpected, memorable and irresistibly photogenic. We won’t soon forget it either.

COMING SOON! Barreling Into the 21st Century