Wishing Trees

Wishing Trees
Originally uploaded by mmfranke.

Part of the legend of the lake also includes "wishing trees." In certain places, certain trees and bushes are covered with pieces of cloth, each signifying a wish. They say if you tie a piece of cloth in this way, your wish is guaranteed to come true. Ours already has (almost, anyway). Here's a picture of one of those trees, with a closer view of the "pearl" in the background.



One more thing... Most of Kazakhstan is flat steppes -- so how is it that a place like Lake Varavoi exists here at all? Well, legend has it that the lake was created when God mistakenly dropped a few gifts around the area when he was creating the world.