This summer was monumental for the Kubatbekova family. Not just because we threw a massive party, but because my eldest and beloved sister, Aigul, finally married our wonderful zhezde (brother-in-law), John Paul.

For you, this might sound like a happy romantic update. For me and my other sister Aim, it was sweet liberation!

The story of this transformation began quietly, almost a year earlier. In December 2023, while researching Kyrgyz culture on YouTube, I stumbled upon an interview with a woman named Aigul. She spoke with such passion and intelligence about her country that I was captivated. At the end of the video, she mentioned her business: a hostel in Bishkek called Apple Hostel. It seemed to cater specifically for adventurers, so I booked my first three nights.

I have spent years traveling the dusty, glorious roads of Central Asia, notebook in hand, trying to capture the evolved complexity of this region. It is a place of ancient empires and modern aspirations, of silence in the high mountains and cacophony in the bazaars. But if you asked me to explain the entire region with just one word, I wouldn't choose a place or a date. I would choose a dish - plov.