wow, things have really developed in kyrgyzstan since my last post. reports seem to be all over the place, with some people saying the kyrgyz government was overthrown and president bakiyev fled the country while others urge caution and note that no one knows what is really going on there.
despite my proximity to talas, taraz seems completely normal today. no one i know seems concerned about what is happening just down the road, nor am i sure if they're even aware that it's going on. as usual when stuff happens in central asia, i recommend registan.net for info and commentary. until the refugees start showing up in the central square, all i know is what anyone can find online.
in other news, i guess it's a good thing that we don't have to use that plan in which mrs. noz runs to bishkek next week. with the border closed it probably wouldn't have worked anyway.
UPDATE: well no sooner had i hit the "publish" button that i heard a story indicating that some of the locals are concern about what is going on over the border. there was a rumor yesterday that the violence caused a dam in kyrgyzstan to burst and so yesterday some people fled taraz to avoid the expected flood. we're so out of the loop, we apparently missed our chance to panic.
it's strange because this rumor looks to me like a replay of the story about the charvak dam bursting that circulated during the march 2004 terrorist attacks in uzbekistan. i guess that's what down-river cities always worry about.
UPDATE 2: okay, so as the day progressed it has become increasingly clear that everyone heard the flood rumor but us. (and yes, they all know about the coup/revolution/riots/whatever over in kyrgyzstan) apparently, the entire town (minus a pair of oblivious americans who no one thought to call) tried to leave taraz at once last night for higher ground. i hear it was utter pandamonium and we pretty much slept through it.
