Efendi visited Semipalatinsk and Ustkamenogorsk -
names which later became famous in Soviet times for the
nuclear testing conducted to the west of both cities.//
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Semipalatinsk
At mid-afternoon of the fourth day after leaving Omsk, the other
passengers told me that we were approaching Semipalatinsk and two
hours later we got off the ferry at one of the city's very well-ordered
docks. I went to see the agent for ferries going to Lake Zaysan and
was happy to learn that one would be leaving early the next morning.
I bought a ticket and had my belongings stowed in my cabin.
I boarded a horse cart en route to visiting a friend here. We passed
along the sandy, geometrically-arranged avenues of Semipalatinsk,
which was built on a sand sea, and arrived at my friend's house toward
evening. After enjoying his hospitality, I returned to the ferry around
midnight and when I awoke in the morning the ferry was already
underway and far from Semipalatinsk.
This trip would last four or five days so I settled into my cabin and
put on a local outfit I'd bought for myself. Up on the deck, I noticed
a couple of older fellows dressed in European style, although such
dress in rare in Siberia's far reaches. There were some Nogay Moslem
men and women, along with some students returning home for the
summer from an agricultural school. It turned out that the well-dressed
fellows were court officials heading to Ustkamenogorsk-Oz Zaysan to
hear a case.
Semipalatinsk is at center-right and Lake Zaysan is at lower
right, near the border with China. Ustkamenogorsk is to
the right of Semipalatinsk, about half-way to Lake Zaysan.
The Irtysh's current was even more fierce here and the depth quite
shallow so a crew member had to constantly use a pole to measure
the depth so the ferry could follow the current and avoid sand bars.
The Russian government has done a good job of measuring and
marking the river from here all the way to Lake Zaysan. The hills
on either side of the river gradually elevated to become mountains.
On the second day of our voyage, we noticed the villages of Russian
Cossack cavalrymen on the slopes along the left side, with everyone
wearing a red-striped hat or pants and some even in uniform. The
outsized churches were quite disproportionate to the other village
buildings but in keeping with the mysterious Russian policy of
reliance on religion, which was quite difficult for me to fathom.
On the moring of the third day since we left Semipalatinsk, we
reached Ustkameogorsk.
//END of PART VII//
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