Dusharin: "The mountains are severe there. But from the point of view of climbers
there are some very interesting objects. Right in front of the village there is a huge
mountain Rakaposhi (7,788 m). There were only two accents: one attempted by Pakistanis and
another one by Japanese. That's all. It's a wonderful mountain for a climber. We tried to
make some explorations to get acquainted with the mountain. That was an interesting thing
for us. There were other mountains around us. Those are hard to explore and very
interesting for mountaineers. Nobody has tried to accent them. |
Hunza
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Actually the whole region where Hunza people live is a beautiful place. There are
settlements in the mountain splits. It is a Kashmir autonomy, the former Indian territory.
Officially, it is considered to be an Indian territory, but Pakistan owns it. There is no
agreement signed between these two countries. Most people are not Muslims. Of course, the
official religion there is Islam, but people are raised in a different way. They are more
democratic in their relationships. More often women go out without veils even though they
are always accompanied by men. Girls go to school. In Muslim settlements it is prohibited
for girls to go to school. Things are different here. People are friendly and outgoing
here. |
The history of this nation goes back to ancient times. People have been living in this
region for hundreds of years. This is the region where the Great Silk Way went from China
into Europe. Gradually people started moving and cultivating the land here. It was rather
crowded at that time. Then the sea way from China and India into Europe was found. And the
Great Silk Way lost its importance. The people in the severe region of Karakoram were left
in isolation. But people stayed. They have their own culture and their own lifestyle and
understanding of the world. Actually, they are not Hindus, but they are not Muslims
either. There is the Karakoram highway there. It was built ten years ago to connect the
center of Pakistan with China. It is a miracle to have such highway in the mountains. It
was built by people's hands (it's fantastic).
The city of Karimabad turns out to be the center of the Hunza people. They had a ruler
before. This nation has never been conquered. At the time India and Pakistan were invaded
by England, Hunza people were free. It was just impossible for the troops to get into such
an unreachable region. Though once an English major came into this region to declare that
it was under the control of England, they still had their own elected Tsars and the system
of rules. There still is a Tsars palace in Karimabad. It is a museum now.
We were the first Russians to visit the land of the Hunza people. I saw a typical Russian
samovar in the palace. I asked whether it was from Russia. And the guide said that it had
been standing there since the previous century. Sometime in 1800 or later there was an
expedition exploring Tibet and Karakoram. The samovar was a gift from Russian soldiers who
were in Asia. At those times Russia included the major part of Afghanistan. There was a
relationship between these two countries. We were the first Russians there and the fact
impressed the locals a great deal. They were friendly with us.
Several days later we left this wonderful region. There was a farewell party and the
people said a lot of nice words to each other. We became close friends with the family of
Ali Madat. We had warm relationships with those people. Ali Madat said that Hunza is the
best region in the world. He is very proud living there. He considers Hunza people to be
the best and Hunza land to be the most beautiful. We respect this land and its people
tremendously. |
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