Hakloot

First contacts with Caucasus, Central Asia and Mongolia

The big news this summer 06 however was that I would take responsibility for Procter & Gamble’s business in Caucasus, Central Asia and Mongolia as of September 1. As a result we will be moving from Karachi to Almaty towards the end of 2006. However I have started working in the region since September. To date I’ve been rather busy traveling in the region visiting the Caucasus countries in August, Central Asia and Mongolia in September.

The first stop in the trip to the Caucasus in August was in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Tbilisi, formerly Tiflis, capital and largest city of Georgia, in the central eastern part of the country. The city, situated on the Kura River in a valley sheltered by the Caucasus Mountains. It is noted for its ancient churches, including the 5th-century Cathedral of Zion and the 6th-century St David’s monastery.

Next stop was Erevan, the capital of Armenia which we reached by driving from Tbilisi through breathtaking landscapes. We took the opportunity to stop at two famous monasteries, Haghpat and Sanahin, which are located in the Alaverdi Region of Armenia at the foothills of mountains on the country’s northern border. Haghpat and Sanahin formed important centers of learning and written culture and represent a unique blending between domestic Caucasian architecture and the evolved Byzantine style.

The last stop in the Caucasus region was Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, situated on the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan is an oil producing country hence the prospects for economic growth are very positive. Petroleum was extracted as early as the 8th century. The old quarter (9th century) of Baku contains the large fortress of Icheri-Shekher (with narrow streets, mosques, a minaret dating from 1078, and 12th-century city walls) and the Shirvanshah (khan’s) palace (15th century, now a museum and a UNESCO World Heritage site).

The first stop in the Central Asia part of the trip was in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. From there we decided to drive back to Almaty, Kazakhstan, a 900km trip which took us about 17 hours including 3 hours to cross the borders. The trip was a good opportunity to witness first hand the vast openness of Kazakhstan or the cumbersomeness of crossing boarders in the region.

Almaty, on the foothills of Kazakhstan’s Zailiyskiy Alatau ridge in the Tian Mountains, has a dramatic setting as a city with the impressive snow capped mountain tops as a backdrop. Almaty is the largest city and the former capital of Kazakhstan.

The last stop in the Central Asia part of the trip was in Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia. This is a country where every inhabitant has on average almost one square kilometer to himself. This is very obvious the moment you drive out of the city. You immediately encounter the people living in their large yurts (traditional tents) and tending the large herds of horses, cows, sheep and camel.

I was fortunate enough to meet Mr Arno Pijpers the coach of the Kazakhstan national team and the Astana team mid-September on a flight from Almaty to Astana. He extended me an invitation to attend the two upcoming games that the national team would play against Poland on October 7 and against Finland on October 11. In both games the Kazakhs played very well, fighting back very hard. Unfortunately they lost both games but they had equally good chances to score. They do have some really good talent in the goal keeper, the right wing attacker and the midfielder. With more experiences they will become stronger.

Last Updated: 29-12-2006



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