To reach Paris’ Eiffel Tower, Nurzhigit Abrahman had to zigzag through treacherous mountain passes and avoid an avalanche before getting a foggy glimpse of the 15-metre (50ft) high monument in a mountain hamlet in Kyrgyzstan.
The settlement is one of the few spots of civilisation on the only road that links the north and south of the Central Asian nation, a bustling route amid surging trade with Russia and China.
Around 100 “Parisians” live in the makeshift village, which got its name from the truckers drawn to the glow of its roadside cafes, and somehow the idea of the City of Light stuck.
“I stopped in Paris because the roads are closed, there’s too much snow. While they grit the roads, I’m going to eat and rest,” Abrahman, 22, said from inside his truck.
“There’s a small repair shop here, we can change a tyre,” said Abrahman, who is ferrying cargo from the capital, Bishkek, to the southern city of Osh – a drive of around 700 kilometres (435 miles) and at least 15 hours away.
