This is one of the most rewarding experiences we had on our world tour. We found the volunteer program over the internet, wired over the money, and then simply waited to be picked up at the Almaty airport.

The program was organized by the Institute of Archaeology in Almaty, Kazakhstan, headed by Prof. Karl Baibakov. We were jonied by 2 other volunteers - one from England and the other from Berkeley, California. The Kazakhstan archeological team consisted of young researchers and helpers who taught us not only the basics of archeological digs, but also Russian language and culture.

We spent slightly more than a week in Koilyk, which was once a town along the Silk Road. We stayed with the family of one of the workers, whose wife cooked amazing Russian and Kazakh dishes for us. We also visited Talgar, an important city along the route. Our "job" was mostly brushing and shoveling at the excavation trench in the morning. Then afternoon was usually devoted to visiting various ruins and searching out old walls.

While we didn't quite find anything important, Andrea did find (among all the bones and pottery shards we dug out) a rather interesting piece of handle and a hairpin. See the photo albums below!

(click on any one of the photos below to view album)