Issyk Kul means hot lake in Kyrgyz. Because the water is saline, the water does not freeze, despite the cold winters and its location in the mountains. The lake was an important stop on the Silk Road. Some historians believe it was here that the Black Death originated in the fourteenth century. It would go on to wipe out two thirds of Europe’s population. Issyk Kul was a popular tourist destination in Soviet Russia. The industry has suffered since the fall of the Soviet Union, but the city of Karakol on the lake’s eastern shore has many points of interest and great skiing.
