Wail Alhnawi is from Syria. He came to Bishkek, then Frunze, back in 1987 through a student exchange program. He entered the Faculty of Energy and Power Supply at the Polytechnic University (the Kyrgyz State Technical University now. — Note of 24.kg news agency). There he met his future wife Maya Metzker.
Wail Alhnawi admitted that he has never regretted that he got into Central Asia in the late 1980s.
— Why it was Kyrgyzstan anyway? You had been offered several countries to choose from.
— It is right. After school I went to Georgia. I spent a year in Tbilisi studying Russian. I could have stayed, but returned to Damascus. A student exchange program worked then between the Arab states and the USSR. The most popular areas were power industry, geology, archeology, medicine. I chose power supply.
I could go to Moscow or Kiev. I spoke good Russian, there would be no language barrier. But I chose Kyrgyzstan, it was the Kyrgyz SSR at that time.
Wail Alhnawi
I immediately noted to myself that this country suits me first of all in terms of climatic conditions. I don’t like frost. I have been to Moscow several times before, it is very cold and there is a lot of snow in winter there. Therefore, I went to Bishkek, then it was called Frunze.
— What immediately caught your eye when you arrived?
— I noticed that the city is surrounded by the mountains. Since the time I have been to Georgia, I have a weakness for mountain peaks. The capital here lies like in a cradle, and there is a fresh breeze. It is very hot in Syria, and when the wind blows, it brings sand, but here it brings mountain coolness. I fell in love with this air. When I first came to Issyk-Kul, I was simply speechless — such a breathtaking sight! Since then, I regularly go to the lake. I take all my friends who come to me first of all to the shore of this mountain pearl.
— Did you have any plans to move to another country?
— I had some before. But in recent years, we do not think about leaving. I met my future wife Maya Metzker at the university. She is an ethnic German, and in 1991 she received an offer to move to her historical homeland. As you probably remember, when the Soviet Union collapsed, production stopped, I could not find a job in my specialty. I am an electrical engineer. Even if I came to some factory, how would they pay a salary? The companies had no money. That’s why I decided to go into business.
The Berlin Wall fell, and the German government launched a resettlement program for compatriots. We were already married by that time and were expecting our first child. Maya refused. I also did not have a desire to move somewhere, and we remained in Kyrgyzstan.
Wail Alhnawi
— What did you decide to start with?
— Tourism. I founded my own company and began to transport Kyrgyzstanis to the Arab states, Syria. At the same time, I opened a restaurant with Arab cuisine.
In 1997, we nevertheless decided to move to Syria. I really missed my relatives and wanted to introduce my children to my homeland. But in 2012 we returned to Bishkek, a war broke out in Syria.
Wail Alhnawi
— It turns out that you have never worked as an engineer?
— Not, I have not. But I had to return to the university as a teacher. I gave lectures on the economics of the East at the Bishkek State University. I do charity work now. I work with the Arab Red Crescent. We help orphans and the poor. We finally settled in Kyrgyzstan and are not going anywhere else. I got used to this mountainous country with its landscapes and local charm. The Kyrgyz Republic has become a home away from home for me.
— What have you not been able to get used to?
— It is a difficult question. I have been living here for more than 30 years, I speak fluent Russian, Kyrgyz, I know local traditions and respect them. But probably the only thing that bothered me at the first stage, when I just started doing business, was the bureaucracy of officials. It seems that some civil servants do not like the state in which they live and work. They put so many spokes in the wheels out of the blue! It’s a little better now. There is a feeling that the authorities finally understood how important investments are.
A lot happened in my life: bandits tried to harass and threatened. Everyone who founded a business in the 1990s faced this lawlessness.
I am no exception, but there are no bad nations, there are bad people. The same is true for Kyrgyzstan: the people for the most part are very friendly and hospitable. But there are also unpleasant persons. They don’t hang around me for long.
Wail Alhnawi
— Let’s talk about culinary preferences. Can you name your favorite national dishes?
— I first tried horse meat here and fell in love with this meat very much. Since then, it has been a frequent guest on my menu. I eat plov with pleasure. We have a similar dish, only with raisins and dried apricots, in Syria. I also love kuurdak. I ate something similar at home. What I liked here were organic products grown without chemicals. Good apples, juicy pears, strawberries are real, fragrant.
— Is there anything you are afraid to try?
— There is not in the local cuisine. I love meat, and there is a lot of it here, I love fresh fruits and vegetables, they are also in abundance. I cook myself and I am happy to introduce Arab delicacies to my friends. It is good that everything here is natural and the taste of the dishes is not lost.
— Do you have favorite places in Kyrgyzstan where you want to return?
— I have already said that I love Issyk-Kul very much. This lake has a special energy. When my friends from Arab countries come to me, where it is very hot in summer and late spring, and it is not good for health to spend holidays there, I definitely take them to Issyk-Kul, as I call it, to recharge.
We often go to Son-Kul, we visited Chatyr-Kul. Kyrgyzstan has wonderful nature. You have to be able to enjoy it and listen to it. It clears your mind and turns you in the right direction. Not without reason, you know, meditation has taken root here.
