In order to get to the Eiffel Tower of Paris, Nursagit Abrahman had to Zig-Zag through the insidious mountain passes and avoid the avalanche before getting a foggy look at a 15-meter monument in a mountain farm in Kyrgyzstan.
The settlement is one of the few places of civilization on a single road connecting the north and south of the Nation of Central Asia, a noisy route against the background of fast trade with Russia and China.
About 100 “Parisians” live in an improvised village, which got its name from the truckers attracted to the glow of its roadside cafes, and somehow the idea of the city of light was stuck.
“I stopped in Paris because the roads are closed, there is too much snow. While they are planted roads, I’m going to eat and rest,” Abkhman said, 22 years, AFP from the interior of trucks.
“There is a small repair shop here, we can change the tire,” said Abkhman, who shifts the cargo from the capital of Bishkek to the southern city of Osh, which moves about 700 kilometers and at least 15 hours.
The route goes through the valley of Kyrgyzstan, which in 2023 placed a record temperature -47 degrees Celsius.
The road also has a gloomy difference between the most deadly traffic in the country.
During the winter storm, the visibility is almost equal to the zero, and the faces were exposed by the crystals of the ice, whipped with a blizzard.
Paris has become a popular stop for more and more vehicles moving through one of the most mountainous countries.
In honor of the name last summer, the village was gifted by its own version of the famous tower.
“Our village is called Paris, and in Paris there is Eiffel -Tya,” said Nurjan Kubatbekov, Kyrgyzstan’s response to Gustav Eiffel, who paid $ 14,000 for a replica.
Although 20 times less than the real thing, it still lights up at night, as the original.
But it is here that the comparisons with the French capital end.
Where there is a Notra Cathedral in one Paris, the other boasts a new mosque. Instead of pigeons collected on open squares or rats, leaning through the subway stations, shot down stable for the abominable mountain horses and cows.
But there is no state officials for state officials, it is just a kilometer of 152 highway Bishkek.
The village jumped to meet the growing demands of long -distance drivers, but has never been officially included.
“There was nothing before, then the containers appeared, and the village was formed,” said Tamara Kachkinbaeva, a 55-year-old guy who runs a cafe where traditional meat dishes are served.
“We started feeding and warming the drivers between the mountain passes. Even the first aid,” she added.
The locals are now encouraged to receive recognition for the village and its inspired by the French name.
“The population asks to legalize the situation and make the name Paris official,” Kachkinbayev said.
Urmat Nugaliev, one of the first to settled in Paris 27 years ago, is waiting for the answer to spring.
“Nobody has any documents for this land. The village is technically belonging to two different districts,” said a 47-year-old boy. “Either they legalize us or they grow it.”
But the future of Paris is uncertain.
In order to fight the growing volume of cargo, the authorities plan to open an alternative route between Bishkek and Osh, bypassing the village later this year.
That would be faster, but probably just as risky.
After Paris, truckers should move with several gaps at an altitude of more than 3000 meters, including a dangerous place known as a camel pass, where the cliffs are covered by phone numbers.
The stuffed vehicles can be quickly buried under heavy snowfall.
The 26 -year -old Eldiar Dulatov was one of the unfortunate drivers who met with AFP journalists on the road during a stormy day.
“I have no signal and seven people in the car,” he lamented. “The pipe burst and the fuel is traced.”
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This article was created from an automated news agency channel without modifications to the text.
