![[ the other image ]](/images/logo/toi-logo_2x.png){kind=logo}
Fairytale
“Look, a real princess!” my daughter whispers in my ear. There she stands on a red and yellow cliff overlooking Issyk Kul, the deep blue lake between the two ranges of the Tien Shan in Kyrgyzstan. National Television is shooting a music video with a well-known singer. They set up a camera crane and are doing rehearsals while waiting for the harsh light of the early afternoon to soften.
The sandstone formations that provide the setting for the scene are called skaska – fairytale. Just off the main road that leads along the southern shores of Issyk Kul, they are easy to reach and attract many visitors. We mingle with a group of Kazakh tourists and watch the scene unfold.
The slow pace on the film set, the extensive preparations, the boredom and waiting under the scorching sun interrupted only by the short moments of focus and ritual when the camera runs, and us bystanders, acknowledged but ignored, bestowing our interest and curiosity upon the spectacle – all this suits the surreal landscape exceptionally well. A princess in a fairytale, indeed – as real as it gets.
Good location scouting, one could say. Or is it more the other way round? That the place lures in the people to worship it and praise its name around the globe?
Which, in any case, is probably just what I am doing here.
Follow
Privacy Policy
Plain and simple: I take the principle of minimal data collection serious and try hard not to collect or process any personal data beyond the basics required to serve and maintain the website.
Specifically,
- We do not use cookies.
- We do not use third party analytics.
- There is no contact form that would allow you to enter personal data.
- We do not use advertising to run this website.
In order to serve this website, your IP address and information about your browser, operating system and screen resolution need to be collected and processed. theotherimage.com is a simple, handcrafted, static website hosted by Netlify. It uses fonts by Adobe Fonts (formerly Typekit). Both Netlify and Adobe automatically collect usage data, either generated by the use of this website or from the service infrastructure itself. This data is used for accounting and analytic purposes as well as for technical maintenance by these two companies. Neither Netlify nor Adobe use cookies to track you. Specifics can be found in their respective privacy policies.
The videos on this website are hosted by Vimeo. Depending on your browser configuration, Vimeo may use cookies and other tracking technologies as stated in their respective privacy policies.
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please write to: Martin Saxer, LMU Munich, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Oettingenstr. 67, 80538 Munich, Germany.
This privacy policy has been updated on 30 December 2018.