Heliskiing in Uzbekistan

The Ugam, Pskem and Chatkal ranges of the Western Tien Shan with their comparatively mild climate and great powder offer ideal conditions for heli-skiing and heli-boarding. The Western Tien Shan with pristine expanses of virgin snow from the high mountain peaks and passes and its continental climate the is one of the best skiing areas in Asia. 

 

The area is known for its stable sunny weather conditions. Usually in five out of seven days, the sun is out making for comfortable skiing. In winter, the temperatures are about -12° C. Ski conditions are ideal its deep powder adheres well on the steep slopes from October up until early May each year.

The Chimgan-Charvak-Beldersay” resort area has become a popular location for Heli-Ski being located conveniently less than 100km from Tashkent. The beautiful mountain slopes of Chimghan tract, at altitudes from 2500 to 4200 m above sea level have runs with an amplitude drop downhill of up to 2 km finishing in the valley.

Chatkal Range
Point	Region / reference	Altitude difference start/finish points of descent, m.	Δh, m	Length, km.
1	Big Chimgan	3300 - 1700	1600	6
1a	Crest of Chimgan	2200 - 1700	500	3
2	Akkul	2890 - 2000	900	6
3	Kyzylnura	3300 - 2400	900	6
4	Aktahta natural boundary	3320 - 2200	1100	5
5	Turasai Akbulak	3200 - 2300	900	6
6	Davan pass	3150 - 2300	850	7
7	Muz Ter pass	3450 - 2300	1150	6
8	Peak 3504	3500 - 2300	1200	6
9	High pass	3800 - 2500	1300	4
10	Peak 3582	3500 - 2500	1000	5
11	Peak 3582	3500 - 2500	1000	5

Photo: Uzbekistan Airways Mi-8 MTV Helicopter. Pskem range
Point	Region / reference	Altitude difference start/finish points of descent, m.	Δh, m	Length, km.
1	Padyr pass	3200 - 1700	1500	8
2	Padyr pass	3300 - 1700	1600	7
3	Kaptarkumysh	3350 - 1600	1700	8
4	Pskemsai	3000 - 2000	1000	6
5	Pskemsai	3600 - 2000	1600	6
6	Ikhanch	3000 - 2300	700	5
7	Oygaing	3400 - 2300	1100	6
8	Oygaing	3400 - 2300	1100	6
9	Barkraksai	4000 - 3000	1000	8
10	Barkraksai	3800 - 3000	800	6
11	Barkraksai	3900 - 3000	900	6
12	Akkapchagai	3900 - 2900	1000	5

Helicopters used on the Range

The Mi-8 with some 50,000 helicopters so far built is by far the largest helicopter make in production world wide. The Mi-8MTV powered by two Klimov TV3-117VM high altitude turboshaft engines has  a hovering ceiling of 6,000 m and a load capacity of 4,000 kg external load. 

Designed to operate in a wide range of ambient air temperatures and so is ideal for mountain use. Able to carry cargoes of up to four tons and has a winch with a capacity of 150 kg the helicopter's cargo cabin is equipped with a heating and ventilation system and has collapsible seats for up to 24 passengers. It can also be converted for air ambulance duties or as a rescue machine with an electric hoist with a boom, over the movable door of the fuselage. Its maximum speed with normal take-off weight is 250 km/hr. Cruise speed with normal take-off weight is 230 km/hr with a flight range with fuel in main tanks of 650 km. Requires a crew of 2-3 (two pilots, one mechanic).

BEAUTIFUL CERAMIC PLATES OF UZBEKISTAN

Map of Uzbekistan

Case Study : Managing Soil Salinity in the Lower Reaches of the Amudarya Delta: How to Break the Vicious Circle

Akmal Akramkhanov, Mirzakhayot Ibrakhimov, John P. A. Lamers (2010). Case Study #8-7, "Managing Soil Salinity in the Lower Reaches of the Amudarya Delta: How to Break the Vicious Circle".  See http://cip.cornell.edu/dns.gfs/1284648728

Soil salinity is one of the critical factors responsible for the ongoing land degradation in the irrigated lowlands of Central Asia, including in the lower reaches of the Amudarya Delta. This land degradation hinders sustainable development and presents a major challenge for the area's rural population, whose livelihood security depends on irrigated agriculture. The factors causing soil salinity are multifaceted and interlinked; recent studies and interventions confirm that no one action alone will deliver a sustainable solution.

Recommendations for alleviating soil salinity should take into account the complex interactions and can be formulated only once the interlinked factors causing soil salinity are understood. In the past, little attention was paid to creeping land degradation, which has resulted from soil salinisation and waterlogging across huge agricultural and even non-agricultural areas.

This case study focuses on the vicious circle of soil salinisation: agriculture's consumption of large amounts of water contributes to shallow groundwater, leading to recurring soil salinity, which in turn demands more water for leaching (flushing the salts out of the rooting zone). The situation is exacerbated when water is not available in sufficient amounts in time and in space. The seemingly stable present water flows in the major water source (the Amudarya River) since the major drought in 2000–01 is being caused by increased (ED: unsustainable) glacier melt in the upstream countries. This water supply in turn diverts attention from the strong need for improved irrigation and cropping practices. Efforts aimed at reducing the amounts of irrigation water use face the problem of the "devilish" vicious circle, which has not only technical but also financial and political dimensions.

Follow Link to read full article in "Food Policy for Developing Countries: Case Studies." 2010 
Per Pinstrup-Andersen and Fuzhi Cheng (editors) Click  Link to article 

Karakalpakstan Blog has reached 100,000 hits - Bolshoe spasibo

Note from the Editor: Karakalpakstan Blog today reached 100,000 hits.  I would like to very much thank all the past and present readers of my posts for your continued support over the last four and a half years. All the best Vance Painter

Uloq-kopkari - "Dzhigit" - Skilled Horseman of Central Asia

The spectacular equestrian sport of "Uloq-kopkari" is a tradition all over Central Asian. Also known as “kupkari” or “uloq” are equally close to all the Turkic  speaking nations of the region ; Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Kyrgyz, and Turkmen. Also  popular with Tajik and Dari speakers of Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan where it is known as buzkashi. The word “kupkari” in Uzbek literally means the “business of many people”  

Photos: Uloq-kopkari
 

The object of kopkari is for
a single horseman to grab
the "ulog" (usually the carcass 
of a goat or  sheep filled with
salt) while riding a horse at full
gallop and then get it clear of
the other players and pitch it
across a goal line or into a
target circle or vat.

To start the kopkari competition the referee throws the "ulog" into the middle of the pitch. 
It can weigh up to 40 kilos and all the opponent horsemen will do all they can to capture the "ulog" and try and score themselves. The common tactic is for the horseman to pick up the "ulog" (carcass) and press it using his leg to his saddle. He then tries to race through his rivals on the pitch without them stealing it away and take it to the appointed spot.

Huge clutters of horsemen fighting to grab the "ulog" can occur during the game. Sometimes it is very hard to tell what is going on in all the clutter. As a rule the bearer of the "ulog" is surrounded by his fellow team members to protect and assist him from the opposition competitors until he carries the "ulog", clear the way from the clutter and races to the finish line.

Competitors have to be very tough, since it is very hard to tell what is going on in the clutter, occasional punches in the arm or slash from whips are used to assist in grabbing (stealing the "ulog" from an opponent). Generally only the most nimble dzhigit (skilled horseman) using a strong and swift-footed horse who has good allies has a chance of scoring. Kopkari Horsemen have handed down the secrets of correct feeding and training of their horses across the generations.

The season for kopkari usually starts in spring usually tied to the Navrus holiday or other popular local festivals such as the end of the harvest or weddings. Months or weeks before "ulog" game callers go around in crowded places or bazars of the villages in the region and announce the competition holder, the day, the place, the reason, and the prizes for the "Uloq" competition. Horsemen generally compete in groups and divide the prize among each other. In Karakalpakstan the prizes typically are a carpet, a traditional overcoat and some amount of money.

Sources: novotours.uz/kopkari_game.html and Uzbekistan today http://old.ut.uz/eng/tourism_and_travel/spanish_fervors_in_uloq_game.mgr‎

Photos: Source http://www.monkboughtlunch.com/uzbek-kokpari-buzkashi/

 

Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu - A Short Biography of Khorezms most famous son

Photo: Jalal ad din Manguberdi

Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu al-Khwarazmi (full name: Jalal ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Abul-Muzaffar Manguberdi ibn Muhammad) or Jaloladdin Manguberdi (Turkic for "God-given"), also known as Jalâl ad-Dîn Khwârazmshâh, was the last ruler of the Khwarezmian Empire. Following the defeat of his father, Ala ad-Din Muhammad II by Genghis Khan in 1220, Jalal ad-Din Mengübirti came to power but he rejected the title shah that his father had assumed and called himself simply Sultan. After the fall of Samarkand Jalal ad-Din with the remaining Khwarazm forces beat a forced retreat into Afghanistan, while pursued by a Mongol army. At the battle of Parwan, north of Kabul, the Khwarezmians with local Afghan Tajik allies defeated the Mongols (ED: the only time in Gengiz Khans lifetime that the Mongols were defeated in battle -  Interestingly even to this day no foreign army however mighty has ever been able to hold sway in Afghanistan).

After being deserted by his Afghan allies (as legend has it over a dispute about whom would have the white steed of the defeated Mongol General) the Mongols regrouped and soon after Jalal ad-Din and his troops were forced to flee towards India. On the left bank of the Indus River, however, the Mongols caught up with the Kharwarezms and at what has become known as the Battle of Indus inflicted a major blow against his army, killing most of his men along with slaughtering thousands of civilians with his army. He and his core followers famously putting up a heroic struggle against huge odds along the banks of the river, with the survivors including Mingburnu escaping across the Indus.

 

Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu was to spend the next three years in exile in India. Entering into an alliance with the Khokhars he captured Lahore and much of the Punjab. The next year he requested an alliance with Iltutmish against the Mongols. However the Sultan of Delhi refused, not wishing to get into a conflict with Genghis Khan and instead marched towards Lahore at the head of a large army. Mingburnu retreated from the city and moved towards Uchch inflicting a heavy defeat on its ruler Nasir-ud-Din Qabacha, and occupied Sindh and northern Gujarat before returning to Persia in 1224.

Once again he gathered an army and briefly re-established a kingdom, however he was unable to consolidate his power for long as once again his forces were pursued by the Mongols who met his forces in battle in the Alborz mountain range (located in northern Iran  stretching from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea) after which he and his men had to make a forced crossing of the Caucasus whereupon they captured Azerbaijan in 1225, setting up their capital at Tabriz. After initially forming an alliance with the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm against the Mongols, Manguberdi fell out with them and his forces went on the attack once more in 1226 sacking Tbilisi (capital of the Kingdom of Georgia). Several years of skirmishes were to follow and in 1230 his army captured the town then Armenian city Akhlat (now situated in Turkey) from the Ayyubids. However his forces were overextended and in 1230 where defeated by Sultan Kayqubad I the Seljuq Sultan of Rûm at Erzincan on the Upper Euphrates at the famous Battle of Yassıçemen (Yassi Chemen).

Once again he and a core group of followers managed to escape into the Mountains of Kurdistan finding refugee in the city of Diyarbakir, however in the ensuring confusion the Mongols capture his previous stronghold of Azerbaijan. (ED: Diyarbakir today is one of the largest cities in south eastern Turkey and in the heartland of the Kurdish struggle for self determination). Diyarbakir was to be his last sanctuary, as he was assassinated there in 1231 by a Kurdish assassin hired by the Seljuks.

Manguberdi's loyal followers, however, remained loyal to him even after his death, transforming themselves into a mercenary force called the Khwarezmiyya. Thirteen years later they made history when in pay of the Ayyubid Sultan Salih Ayyub of Egypt, the Khwarezmiyya they invaded Christian-held Jerusalem, capturing the city's citadel, the Tower of David; and on July 11, 1244, forcing the surrender of the crusader army. Of great note is that after being conquered by the Khwarezmiyya, Jerusalem would stay under control of Islamic sovereignty until 1917,  near the end of World War I, when it was taken from the Ottomans by victorious British and Commonwealth forces.(ED: The Australian Light Horse brigade playing a critical role in the battle).

 
Video: Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu (2:08)



Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalal_ad-Din_Mingburnu