Abshir-Ata beckons

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OSH, Kyrgyzstan –In a scenic valley surrounded by fruit and nut trees is the Muslim holy place of Abshir-Ata, known to the faithful across Central Asia.

The only problem, travel agent Lada Khasanova said, is getting there.

“This place could bring the government revenue if the authorities built normal roads”, said Khasanova, owner of Osh Travel. She said many people want to visit Abshir-Ata, about 100 km from Osh.

The faithful pray at the Abshir-Ata spring for healing — mostly for skin disorders. Across from the spring is a cave in the wall of a gorge where pilgrims pray. The tourists come for the natural beauty of a waterfall fed by an underground river. It emerges from the mouth of a cave and plunges 35 metres.

Sheikh Islmail-ajy, the keeper of the holy place sitting at the entrance of the cave, said, “The ritual of worship at Abshir-Ata includes bathing in the holy waters and necessarily includes going up to the waterfall and praying in the caves”.

In his job, he reads prayers at the request of visitors, but said sometimes they complete the ritual.

Khasanova said she often brings foreigners to Abshir-Ata, including pilgrims from Muslim countries, and tourists from elsewhere.

According to the Osh Oblast government website, more than 100,000 tourists from 15 countries visit Osh tourist sites annually. While the website says the government is “interested in foreign partners to lift the tourism industry to an international level”, Khasanova says the government has done little to develop the area.

“If only the authorities would build normal roads and local residents could get work in the structures that accompany such tourist facilities. But for now getting to Abshir-Ata is very difficult”, she said.

Though the road is worn out, worshippers come by the thousands until the winter snow cuts Abshir-Ata off from the outside world. The dirt road climbs into the mountains and zigzags through a narrow valley, crossing the river several times.

The bridges were built by wealthy local people. In front of each, an inscribed plaque says who donated the money for that bridge. Ergesh Suyunbayev, a resident of a village in the valley, said that without these bridges the valley would be cut off from the world all year.

“The rich countrymen didn’t stop to wait for the goodness of the authorities and, with the money they earned in the big world, they built the bridges themselves. Without them, there would be fewer worshippers and tourists. And that means we would not be able to earn even a little money”, he said.

Another resident, who declined to give his name, said, “The authorities expressly do not want to build roads because they fear an increase in the number of pilgrims, which means the possible transformation of nearby villages in the valley into hotbeds of religious extremism.

“But, we do not care about all these religious propagandists; we have our heads on our shoulders”.