TNT History Travel Log: From Istanbul to the Altay Mountains (1911)/Part VIII/FINAL

//Ed. note: Halim Sabit Efendi reaches the Altay 
Mountains, as his ferry docks in Lake Zaysan.  There, and 
in the higher mountain villages, he would spend time with 
the local Kazakh Moslem traders and nomads before 
returning to Istanbul via Kazan and Odessa.  

Halim Sabit Efendi taught in schools in Istanbul until 
1919, after which he went to Europe for commercial 
activities, living mostly in the Baltic countries and dealing 
in opium, tobacco, carpet and foodstuff exports from 
Turkey. When the opium trade was nationalized in Turkey 
and war broke out in Europe in 1939 he returned and 
became involved in the Encyclopedia of Islam and the
Ministry of Religious Affairs.  He died in Ankara on 
27 December 1946.//




The journey: from Istanbul, far left-center, to Lake Zaysan,
upper right, near the border area where Kazakhstan, Russia,
Mongolia and China meet.  The route there was Odessa and
Kharkiv in today's Ukraine, then Samara, Ufa, Chelyabinsk,
and Omsk in today's Russian, and onward via Semipalatinsk 
(Semey), Ustkamenogorsk (Oskemen) in today's Kazakhstan
to Lake Zaysan. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am at Ustkamenogorsk and, taking advantage of the 3-4 hour layover
here, a friend and I decided to walk to the city, about 1.5 kilometers
away.  On our way, on the left we noticed a few buildings and a fortress
(built in 1720 on the orders of Peter the Great).  The city itself seems
more like a prosperous Russian village than a local town, thanks to the
rich mines in the vicinity and the Russian and German workers. There
is, however, a sizeable Moslem population here, with a beautiful
mosque and a modern school.

Returning to the ferry, my friend rushed over to me after having a
conversation with a policeman.  My friend told me that the policeman
had asked the ferry captain about my identity and intended destination.
At first I thought nothing of it, since the captain knew all about me.
But then I began to wonder why the policeman had singled me out but
had not talked to me directly.  I thought perhaps that the court officials
who saw me wearing the Ottoman fez in Semipalatinsk had reported
me for inquiry.  Or that the policeman saw me near the fortress wearing
local garb.  In any event, the ferry's departure saved me from any
further aggravation.

Leaving Ustkamenogorsk, the river is squeezed by the Kalba Mountains,

making the Irtysh's current even more ferocious and halving the speed

of the ferry.   We had entered into the Altay Mountain range and there

was no sign of human life on either side of the river.  Six or seven 

hours later we came to Kızıl Yar village, where the Bukhtarma River

joins the Irtysh.  Here some passengers got off .  Continuing on our way,

the ferry's second captain fired a shotgun into the marshes, sending 

thousands of geese to flight.  A second shot brought down a few of the

geese. The summer is a good time for hunting because the nomadic 

Kazakhs leave the area for their high pastures in the Spring and don't

return here until August.  

Lake Zaysan click here for Wikipedia background.

After stopping at a Russian village named Bati in the evening, we 

entered Lake Zaysan around midnight.   The lake isn't all that big but

our small vessel rocked around in the midst of a storm. We were 

grounded for a bit but because the ferry was flat-bedded we were able

get off after a couple of hours and resume our track.  Early in the 

morning, we docked at "Tabavi Mevst" (probably today's Tughyl,

at the south end of the lake), where a 3-horse carriage was waiting

for us, thanks to a telegram sent ahead.

From the lake we traveled about 80 kilometers further south to the

town of Zaysan and then in mid-afternoon we reached an imam's 

house 8 kilometers further on from Zaysan, where we were met with

a joyous reception. Zaysan is a Turk-Kazakh settlement and they run

the commerce here.  The Nogay Turks and the Kazakhs live in
separate neighborhoods and there are Russians posted here for
bureaucratic and military jobs.

On the second night we were in Zaysan, one of the wealthy traders

invited us to a feast and had us transported to his house in a handsome

horse carriage.  There were about 30 guests sitting in a dining room 

decorated in European style.  At the request of the host, 15-20 verses 

from the Ku'ran were recited and we prayed.  Then the delicious feast 

began.

//END of PART VIII/FINAL//