"Ruh Ordo" translates as "Spiritual Centre" — and the name captures the place perfectly. The complex was founded in 2002 on the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul in Cholpon-Ata, on the site of an ancient mazar — a sacred site that had drawn visitors for centuries. The centre was later named after Chingiz Aitmatov, the writer the whole world knows as the voice of the Kyrgyz people.
Arranged in a circle around the grounds, set at equal distances from one another, stand five white chapels — Catholic, Orthodox, Islamic, Buddhist and Jewish. Identical on the outside, distinct within — much like people of different faiths living under the same sky. A simple idea, and a profound one.
The grounds also include Aitmatov's memorial house, sculptures of characters from his works, museums, an exhibition hall devoted to the ethnic symbols of nomadic peoples, and a concert stage that opens directly onto Issyk-Kul. Monuments to Confucius, Pushkin and Sayakbay Karalaev stand here too — together creating a sense of a place suspended outside time and borders.
