What an Urban Park Could and Should Be
Candace here. I think the word for the day is poignant. (Although David might argue that it is nauseous -- no scolding, Elliott -- more about that later.) We had an excellent morning and afternoon, but I kept feeling like everything we did would have been better if Otis and Bruno were along. Again, it is a gorgeous day...
Sagat picked us up at 11 and drove us to the Green Bazaar, at which point we realized we had forgotten the camera card, so no pictures of the Bazaar. They'll come later, because I intend to do all shopping there from now on. It is a huge two level, semi-enclosed market with literally thousands of small vendors selling amazing spices; trucked-in-from-the-farm fruit and vegetables; dried fruit and nuts that blow Sahadi's away; all kinds of cheese, meat, and fresh and smoked fish; cheap clothes and shoes; musical instruments for amateur musicians; souvenirs; etc. Very much like the open air markets in the Caribbean, but much, much bigger and much better quality. The meat section alone, which was awe-inspiring for an omnivore, sickening I guess if you're not, would have filled the average Manhattan supermarket twice. We sampled a lot, bought a lot. My personal highlight: buying about a quarter cup of powdered saffron for $.40 because the vendor didn't have change for the $.80 half kilo of apricots and $.80 half kilo of pistachios.
After a quick tour through the adjacent conventional supermarket (best quality, best value we've seen so far), we zipped back to get the card and then to a traditional Kazakh restaurant for lunch. We ate too much, and David may have gotten a tad too adventurous. Lunch for three included: a horsemeat cold cut platter (I particularly liked the belly, reminiscent of pork belly but a lot butterier), an amazing sorrel soup, lamb shashlik (sort of like a loose lamb sausage in a tortilla), what turned out to be a rack of lamb cooked with pomegranate molasses and a coriander rub, and mixed roast mutton offal with potatoes.
We also learned that Sagat: (1) was the distributor of Pepsi syrup for Central Asia for a number of years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, became a very well-to-do man as a result, and then lost it all when his partner embezzled the profits and spent them gambling; (2) has a son who went to Oxford and the LSE and now works in the telecommunications industry here; and (3) has a daughter who went to Western Kentucky U at Bowling Green and is trying to make it as a photo-journalist in the States. The world is endlessly fascinating.
Then to walk off lunch, to Central Park nee Gorky Park. This next bit is for MJ, Donna, the HR&A folks, and everyone else who cares about urban parks. Almaty's Central Park is the sort of park we should be building. This is what Governor's Island (taking into account different topography and flora) could be. I'm guessing it's about 500 acres. Something like Tivoli Gardens, but more distinctly park-like, the park's designers have cut a network of paved paths and roadways (but not for cars) into what seems to be a fairly well-maintained woodland. The dominant feel is of walking in the woods with lots and lots of other people. Here and there, a glen has been cut for a meadow or garden. The park is surrounded by clearly desirable multi-story residences. And in the park .... pony rides, go-cart tracks, paddle boats, canoes, the zoo, picnic areas, an aqua park, beer gardens, a theater and cinema, an amusement park with arcades, food vendors..... and all the tremendous diversity of Almaty's population, drinking beer, pushing kids in stollers, watching each other, flirting.... For those of you who collect pictures of parks, see below.
Then the mutton offal caught up with David, so he is napping, and I am blogging.
One last story, which I realize we should have told you yesterday. (It came up in an e-mail conversation with Mel that started out being about Otis' future baseball allegiances. Go Sox!) Yesterday at the orphanage, Zoya asked us what we would tell the judge if she asks about our religion. This threw us for a bit of a loop. David began by saying that he was a Communist. When Zoya responded with peals of laughter, and an, "And?," we realized she was serious. So we fumbled around a bit, which is not great, because uncertainty about these kinds of questions is regarded as peculiar here. (This last happened to us during our Ministry of Education interview when we said that we were going to have to wait to see who/how Otis was before making final childcare decisions.) So now David is deciding whether he will be a New York Yankitarian or simply convert to Unitarianism (how I was brought up) in the next week or so.
Sagat picked us up at 11 and drove us to the Green Bazaar, at which point we realized we had forgotten the camera card, so no pictures of the Bazaar. They'll come later, because I intend to do all shopping there from now on. It is a huge two level, semi-enclosed market with literally thousands of small vendors selling amazing spices; trucked-in-from-the-farm fruit and vegetables; dried fruit and nuts that blow Sahadi's away; all kinds of cheese, meat, and fresh and smoked fish; cheap clothes and shoes; musical instruments for amateur musicians; souvenirs; etc. Very much like the open air markets in the Caribbean, but much, much bigger and much better quality. The meat section alone, which was awe-inspiring for an omnivore, sickening I guess if you're not, would have filled the average Manhattan supermarket twice. We sampled a lot, bought a lot. My personal highlight: buying about a quarter cup of powdered saffron for $.40 because the vendor didn't have change for the $.80 half kilo of apricots and $.80 half kilo of pistachios.
After a quick tour through the adjacent conventional supermarket (best quality, best value we've seen so far), we zipped back to get the card and then to a traditional Kazakh restaurant for lunch. We ate too much, and David may have gotten a tad too adventurous. Lunch for three included: a horsemeat cold cut platter (I particularly liked the belly, reminiscent of pork belly but a lot butterier), an amazing sorrel soup, lamb shashlik (sort of like a loose lamb sausage in a tortilla), what turned out to be a rack of lamb cooked with pomegranate molasses and a coriander rub, and mixed roast mutton offal with potatoes.
We also learned that Sagat: (1) was the distributor of Pepsi syrup for Central Asia for a number of years after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, became a very well-to-do man as a result, and then lost it all when his partner embezzled the profits and spent them gambling; (2) has a son who went to Oxford and the LSE and now works in the telecommunications industry here; and (3) has a daughter who went to Western Kentucky U at Bowling Green and is trying to make it as a photo-journalist in the States. The world is endlessly fascinating.
Then to walk off lunch, to Central Park nee Gorky Park. This next bit is for MJ, Donna, the HR&A folks, and everyone else who cares about urban parks. Almaty's Central Park is the sort of park we should be building. This is what Governor's Island (taking into account different topography and flora) could be. I'm guessing it's about 500 acres. Something like Tivoli Gardens, but more distinctly park-like, the park's designers have cut a network of paved paths and roadways (but not for cars) into what seems to be a fairly well-maintained woodland. The dominant feel is of walking in the woods with lots and lots of other people. Here and there, a glen has been cut for a meadow or garden. The park is surrounded by clearly desirable multi-story residences. And in the park .... pony rides, go-cart tracks, paddle boats, canoes, the zoo, picnic areas, an aqua park, beer gardens, a theater and cinema, an amusement park with arcades, food vendors..... and all the tremendous diversity of Almaty's population, drinking beer, pushing kids in stollers, watching each other, flirting.... For those of you who collect pictures of parks, see below.
Then the mutton offal caught up with David, so he is napping, and I am blogging.
One last story, which I realize we should have told you yesterday. (It came up in an e-mail conversation with Mel that started out being about Otis' future baseball allegiances. Go Sox!) Yesterday at the orphanage, Zoya asked us what we would tell the judge if she asks about our religion. This threw us for a bit of a loop. David began by saying that he was a Communist. When Zoya responded with peals of laughter, and an, "And?," we realized she was serious. So we fumbled around a bit, which is not great, because uncertainty about these kinds of questions is regarded as peculiar here. (This last happened to us during our Ministry of Education interview when we said that we were going to have to wait to see who/how Otis was before making final childcare decisions.) So now David is deciding whether he will be a New York Yankitarian or simply convert to Unitarianism (how I was brought up) in the next week or so.
posted by Candace and David at 6/26/2005 08:55:00 AM
1 Comments:
much love...wonderful....very exciting
Post a Comment
<< Home