Given that my plane tickets for the end of my time in Kyrgyzstan are now purchased and the reality that I’m leaving in four months has set in, I think that it’s time to reflect back on the things here, both physical and cultural, that I’m going to miss most about living here in beautiful (and presently ice cold) Kyrgyzstan. Continue reading “10 Things I Will Miss Most About Kyrgyzstan”
It’s the end of the month, and as a part of a new blogging and photography goal I’ve set for myself with BloggingAbroad, I’ve been taking photos based on prompts (and just from life in general), and I wanted to share a few with you! Take a look, read about it, and click to enlarge if you want to see more closely. Continue reading “June 2016 Photo Roundup”
I’m sure more than a few of you grew up saying grace before meal. Whether religious or not, stopping to be grateful for a meal for a moment is a pretty universal cultural habit that I’ve seen all over the world. In Kyrgyzstan, we do it a little differently. Continue reading “Omeen: A Central Asian Grace”
Kyrgyz culture is often framed in contrast to many other cultures because of its nomadic history – the country’s traditional industry revolved around animal husbandry rather than stationary agriculture, and the people moved around as seasons and needs dictated.
Today, almost all Kyrgyz people have settled into a village life, but those who still herd cows, sheep, goats, and horses still maintain an important part of the Kyrgyz cultural tradition: moving seasonally with their flocks to the high altitude “jailoo,” or pastures, where they set up temporary lodging in yurts for the summer months.
What is life in a jailoo like, though, and how do yurts work? Let’s take a look. Continue reading “Jailoo and Yurts: The Summer Lives of Kyrgyz Nomads”
It’s the end of the month, and as a part of a new blogging and photography goal I’ve set for myself with BloggingAbroad, I’ve been taking photos based on prompts (and just from life in general), and I wanted to share a few with you! Take a look, read about it, and click to enlarge if you want to see more closely. Continue reading “May 2016 Photo Roundup”
Beyond things like unique politics and the -stan suffix, Central Asia is known for its headgear, and probably in no place is this more visible and famous than in Kyrgyzstan. I think it’s safe to say that just about every culture has a traditional headgear of some sort, whether it’s a hairstyle, hat, helmet, scarf, or some combination thereof, but here takes it to a whole new level.
In America, we’ve got the baseball hat (although a slouchy beanie might be taking over in a lot of urban settings). In France it’s the beret (even if I’ve seen more berets living in Kyrgyzstan than I ever saw living in France). But in Kyrgyzstan, there’s a whole selection of headgear for men and women that forms an external representation of several aspects of one’s identity. Here’s an (almost) exhaustive guide to headgear that you’ll probably encounter here in Kyrgyzstan. Continue reading “Hang On To Your Hats: An Exhaustive Guide to Central Asian Headgear”
Osh is unique in many ways, but perhaps one of its most unique aspects is the sheer number of languages that are spoken in its streets. Perhaps only in New York City, New Delhi, Kabul, or Paris are so many languages spoken by so many, but Osh is unique in that so many residents understand every single one of these languages.
Part of this seems to come from Osh’s 3000 year history at the crossroads of trade and empire. Osh’s current demographics reflect some of this history; 48% of its population is Uzbek, 43% Kyrgyz, 3% Russian, 1% Tatar, 1% Tajik, and 4% comes from other linguistic groups, such as Dungans, Karakalpaks, Kazakhs, Uighurs, etc.
There are historically two major linguistic groups interacting in Central Asia: the Persian langauges (Farsi, Dari, and Tajik), and the Turkic languages (Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Uzbek, Uiyghur, Turkmen, Azeri, Turkish, Tatar, Karakalpak, and a whole bunch of others). Continue reading “On The Mixing Of Languages In Osh”
There are a few things that most people, upon first glance at their Central Asia Lonely Planet, will remember most vividly about Kyrgyzstan: yurts and horse games. Most people who come to Kyrgyzstan get to see or stay in a yurt and drink kymyz to their heart’s content. But not very many get to see the traditional Kyrgyz horseback games. And yet this past weekend, I and several other volunteers found ourselves high in the passes of the Alay region south of Osh at the Nomad Horse Games Festival, one of the first of its kind in the world, organized by the Community Based Tourism organization here (If you’re planning a trip to Kyrgyzstan, CBT is one of the best ways to go).
