Richard And Jo Demeester's photos

According to Nur, the rate of erosion here is so high, this entire site may disappear in the next seventy years. No real rock, just layers of coloured soil. Iron rich red layers, and a brown coal seam near the top, and sulphurous gravels in between. This colourful layered mound seems so fragile.

We were shown a cave, with a simple wooden door and a rug. A shelter if conditions should make it necessary to stay put. A score or more of these fat lizards were enjoying the cool conditions inside.

Balls, part balls, peeled off layers, and distorted shapes. It all seems to be happening.

Here, she is a prop, so you can gauge the size of the Torish rock balls. This one is split quite cleanly, and shows off some of the layering.

We were, of course, curious about the science of these balls, which litter the landscape for a strip of a few hundred metres. The shell fossils everywhere attest that almost the entire region was once the floor of the ocean. At that time, molten lava from an underwater volcanic eruption was broken in to blobs which were rolled around on the seabed as they cooled and hardened. Apparently, here at Torish, west Kazakhstan, is one of only two places where this is known to have happened. Eggs, toirtoises, muffins - these were the descriptors we used when pointing the different rocks out to each other. Only a small number were this spherical, but these "giant's marbles" were the most engaging. Most were cracked, and many were split into parts. Millennia of freezing and heating taking its toll. Some showed layers, like rings on a tree. Others peeled a "shell" off, like a boiled egg.

The glass at the entrance is a twentieth century addition to protect the cave, but other than that it is just a natural cave which has been enlarged and shaped. Inside, no man made items exist other than a few beautiful hand made carpets.

The age of these requests are unknown, scratched in to the walls of Shokpak Ata cave mosque.

Shokpak Ata is a cave mosque, where a Sufi monk lived and taught over 1000 years ago. Shokpak was the name given to him because of his legendary ability to create fire by snapping his fingers. Shokpak is the local word for the sound of two rocks striking a spark.

Shokpak Ata is a holy site in western Kazakhstan. For about a millennium, faithful have buried loved ones nearby. Some graves date from the 10th and 11th centuries, and newer ones are from the latter 1900s. Since the site is now a protected zone, new burials are no longer allowed. Only in (comparatively) recent years have dates or names been included on graves. So it is clues like style which help age the grave sites. These, we were told, are likely to be 16th or 17th century.

A dusty pot-holed track across the steppe appeared to be taking us nowhere. After a while, a rift in the landscape appeared, and afforded us a view of Kampasay. Only just visible in the picture, behind the layered rock formation, there is an oasis.

The people at the bottom of the rock appear to be dancing, or worshipping, and other figures are involved, including animals. Towards the top is a got with the sun for a head.

This very unusual petroglyph at Tamgaly shows a pregnant cow.

A magnificent petroglyph of a deer, with wonderfully carved antlers. Below, probably a mountain goat. Tamgaly, Kazakhstan.

Petroglyphs at Tamgaly. Some rock faces had so many etched in to the rocks, that there really was no space for any more. Many animal motifs, mostly goats and horses and similar. One or two predators were depicted, and even at one place there was a turtle! Not a lot of human figures, although a few were depicted riding horses.

My interpretation of this rock formation in Charyn Canyon.

Looking up at the beautiful formations of Charyn Canyon. We pointed at rocks giving our interpretations. A face, a cat, a teddy bear. Actually, quite a few cats!

Looking down to Charyn Canyon from the rim. After parking, we walked a few kilometres along the top to various viewpoints and lookouts, taking in the "valley of the castles"

We did read the spruces became submerged after an earthquake, but that is not confirmed, nor when. Below the waterline, the trees appear to be preserved in situ.