A Sacred Lake in Kyrgyzstan is Threatened by Change

Pilgrims, Choitonbaev explained, come from around Kyrgyzstan to this spring and half a dozen others nearby to seek healing from illnesses or help bearing children. This community leader lives in nearby Bokonbayevo, a town of 14,000 people at the foot of the snowcapped Tian Shan mountains in this central Asian country. For the past seven years, he said, he has noticed less and less water in the springs, a decline he attributed to both lower rainfall and to the constant flow of visitors who drink the water or bottle it for its sacred properties. ...Known as Manzhyly-Ata, after a holy man buried nearby, the springs are located along the shores of Issyk Kul, the 10th-largest lake in the world; its name translates to “warm water” as its slight salinity prevents it from freezing over even in the depths of winter. It has also been called the world’s “third eye,” partly because of its curved shape, but also for its spiritual power as a source of life in an otherwise arid region.