Asia has a centre, according to Kyzyl, and the city has put up an obelisk to prove it. It stands on the bank of the Yenisei at the point where the Bii-Khem and Kaa-Khem rivers meet to form the Ulug-Khem, the upper Yenisei, and a stone globe and inscription declare the spot to be the Centre of Asia. Whether the claim is serious or not, the place is a fine one, with wide blue water and mountains on the horizon, in the middle of the Republic of Tuva.
Tuva has a strange modern history. It was an independent state, Tannu Tuva, from 1921 until 1944, when it was absorbed by the Soviet Union, and its stamps, triangular and diamond-shaped, were famous with collectors, among them the physicist Richard Feynman, who tried for years to visit. The Tuvans are traditionally nomadic herders, followers of Tibetan Buddhism mixed with older shamanic beliefs, and they are famous for throat singing, khoomei, in which one singer produces two or more notes at once. The sound, low and whistling, seems to come from the steppe itself.
The Yenisei Highway from Abakan to Kyzyl is one of the great road journeys of Siberia. It climbs through the Sayan Mountains, passing high passes, forested slopes and the huge Sayano-Shushenskaya reservoir, and then descends into the dry, open basin of Tuva, with yurts and herds of horses and sheep. The road is mostly asphalt, though patched, and in places narrow and winding, with trucks and sudden changes of weather. Snow can fall even in summer on the high passes. The road toward Ak-Dovurak runs west through bare hills and steppe, with long empty stretches.
Kyzyl has more than a hundred thousand people, so fuel, food and hotels are easy to find, with Kaa-Khem and Sukpak nearby offering more. Local food includes mutton, dumplings and salty milk tea. Summers are short and hot, winters cold and dry. Foreign riders should check current conditions and rules before planning travel in this region.