Soaring Over the Middle Ages

When one of the adventure tourism groups approached me with a request to develop an archeological trail in the Chu River valley, I was not very optimistic about the prospect. They proved me wrong…

As revealed by earlier scientific explorations, the Red River archeological site represents an early mediaeval city known as Navekat - a uniquie legacy, but its significance and historical value is only accessible to professionals. The city lies under a thick alluvial of hundreds of years. A few recent digs, which uncovered a Buddhist temple, fortification structures of the citadel, and an independently positioned castle with round shaped corner towers had soon turned into vague ruins and fall far from appealing to one's esthetic emotions. Neusses burial places of fire worshippers zoroastrians, destroyed by cattle farms constructed at the site also envoke emotions far from positive. For now, from my point of view, there isn't much at the site to see for an average tourist yet. But the adventurous guides proposed to take off and catch a bird's eye perspective on the ancient city. As a trail-blazer, I was supposed to be the first one to test fly the route and catch a few effective views on camera for advertisement purposes.

The views uncovered from 200m (650 ft) were worth the few unpleasant moments when the motorized hang-glider steeped up and the wind blasted tears from my eyes. It's amazing how much detail comes to view when you are looking from above. Beside the fortress walls one may distinguish living quarters and even outlines of separate buildings. The pilot of the ultralight would pass down by the hills, obliterating ancient temples or gain altitude letting you assess the size of this grand city on the route of the Great Silk Road.

The excitement of free flight, resembling only those emotions from dreams, mixed with the thrill over a great perspective to a medieval city and beauty of the Chu River Valley.

The trail yet needs to be perfected, there is much work in progress - the route needs to be detailed, a guidance narrative has to be translated to several languages and recorded on tape, to be played back in the air explaining what is seen under feet of those daring adventure tourists. By now I have a belief in the future of our adventure tourism, and can use the words of Gorky's characters in “The Song of the Felcon” to say: “I've seen the sky… I know happiness…”

A. M. Kamyshev,
Kyrgyz-Russian Slavonic University professor