#188: Nooruz and Kök Börü

Nooruz (Nawruz in Persian), also known as the Kyrgyz New Year, is a big holiday in Kyrgyzstan. Many in Kyrgyzstan mistakenly think it is a Islamic holiday. However, Nooruz, celebrated every year on March 21 (equinox), was adopted by the Kyrgyz and many other people in Central Asia and the Caucasus under Persian cultural influence.

Anyways, on March 21 I grabbed my camera and went to the race track to watch the Kök Börü championship. Kök Börü is known in the West by the Afghan Buzkashi. Although, the game itself is called Ulak Tartysh (literally, pull the goat), it was modified as a game with standardized rules.

Although it was announced that there would be several teams from Kazakhstan, they apparently did not come because of the dispute over horseshoes. The Kyrgyz had decided to remove them, where as the Kazakh wanted them on.

Here are some pictures from the championship. The player from Naryn (orange) is races off after intercepting the goat carcass from the Talas team (blue).
A player from Talas falls off his horse as he fought for the carcass. He was not hurt as he curled up on the ground.
The Naryn team wins by scoring again.
The goat carcass was 32 kg.

#161: Snowboarding in Kyrgyzstan

The last weekend I went with friends to snowboard/ski in Karakol, the easternmost town in Kyrgyzstan. For most of us it was the opening of the season.

The ski base replaced their old (probably Soviet) T-bar lifts with "new" French chairlifts, thus making our lives much easier. Although chairs were for 3 people, they only allowed two because of difficulties with getting off. This is the view from the lift.
Apparently it used to be somewhere in the French Alps.
Me, Boris, and Beka on the top of the ski base with Karakol Gorge behind us. Stunning and breath-taking view.
Boris preparing to cut through powder snow.

A few people went back country skiing. They made it up to the summit and returned 4 hours later.

I started to experiment with jumping and making tricks. I can barely make a 180.
A small video of Boris and Beka.

#132: Horse Games

On the weekends, I went with friends to watch At-Chabysh horse games in Barskoon, Issykul. Here are some pictures from there. They had various traditional games: tyiyn engmey (picking up coins), oodarysh (wrestling on horses), kyz kuumay (chase the girl), eagle and taygan (Kyrgyz shepherds) shows.

Kyrgyz men are watching the games.
Tyiyn engmey: a Kyrgyz сhabandes (horserider) on a galloping horse picking up small stones wrapped in red cloth.
This guy was the best and had the best horse. He picked up 6 at a time.
Oodarysh: wrestlers trying to pull each other off the saddle.
Kyz kuumay: a guy is trying to reach a girl and kiss her. She can fight back with her whip.
Because the guys did not kiss the girls, it was girls' turn to chase and beat them.
Bürkütchü. Eagle-handler.
The French and Kyrgyz teams then competed in a game of horseball. The French team, in pink, won the game.
This is me in an Afghan hat the I bought last week in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, showing off again.

#130: Football

Thanks for everyone who bought tickets, donated money, and cheered for the teams. We raised a bit more than $1100 for the Uchkorgon Orphanage.
This is a picture taken just before the game started.
Boris, captain, is talking to players about making the game more interesting.
Another of our offenses.
The expat team made the biggest donation that day.
By the way, we won. 4-1.

#120: Football

For the past month we've been playing football in one of the rundown fields in Bishkek. It is a preparation stage for a charity game between the alumni of US government-sponsored programs (I joined because I studied briefly in the States, but not through US government programs. I don't owe anything to it, yet!) and the expat community (Americans, Englishmen, Germans, a Serb, a Macedonian) in Bishkek. It was initiated and is being organized by a friend of mine, who works for IREX in Bishkek. The actual charity game is on October 27. Thanks to AA, who took these great pictures on my camera, while I was playing.

#114: Snowboarding '07

The season is open! The last week was marked by sudden chill that fell on Bishkek. It apparently snowed in mountain passes, but also at some high-altitude skiing places. So fanatical snowboarders went to try the first snow undaunted by possible scratches on their equipment. I envy them and I have a feeling that unlike last year there will be more snow this year. Hurray!

#96: Kymyz And More

This post was inspired by a brilliant and witty piece about kymyz in the Modern Drunkard Magazine. Last week on the way to Osh, as always, we stopped in Suusamyr Valley to drink kymyz and buy couple of liters home. We stopped at a yurt with the best kymyz I've ever had.

This is what Jake Fleming wrote about kymyz: "Without question the world’s finest alcoholic dairy product, kymyz is a toothsome brew of fermented mare’s milk, and the intrepid inebriate who finds himself in these far reaches would be a fool not to embark on a kymyz-tasting tour."

As you drive due south through the tunnel in Töö-Ashuu Pass, the high altitude Suusamyr Valley opens up with flocks of sheep and goats, and horses grazing in hundreds here and here. (yaks are up higher in the mountains). As the fresh mountain air clears your head, you get the desire to absorb a part of it and take it with you. Kymyz is a sedative for me. I usually drink 2 bowls (1 liter) of kymyz to help me take the 10-hour drives easier and snooze off listening to music or chatter of co-travelers.

Like many Kyrgyz, I acquired the taste for kymyz while spending summers as a kid at my grandparents house in Iyrisuu, Özgön. My grandmother and aunts would milk couple of mares, smoke the goatskin duffel sack with mint, St. John's wort and other herbs, and ferment the milk in the sack to give a smoked and herbal taste to kymyz. After taking care of horses, cows, sheep, and turkeys, at noon we would run home to drink kymyz. Most of the time we would add talkan, cooked corn-flour, to it. It would become sort of a power drink, after which we would run back to to do more chores.

Unfortunately, my grandmother does not prepare kymyz any more as she is 78 now, and none of her daughters or daughter-in-law inherited the skill. Mostly because keeping horses became an expensive thing. The horse culture is slowly fazing out from Kyrgyz people's lives. Here is a picture of me showing off some horsemanship. Not that I am a great good rider, but at least trying to keep the nomad spirit alive in me. :)

Fleming finishes off his article with this: "So fill your flask, pack your bags, and book your ticket for Kyrgyzstan to sample this powerful testimony to humanity’s urge to intoxication." On that note, today we are getting together at Steinbrau to "mourn M's last days as bachelor."

#80: No Vacation This Summer

As summer is coming to an end, vacation seems such a distant dream. Unexpected sale of the bungalow changed my plans, including those of other people. My grandma will will be disappointed; she really liked it. However, my procrastination at work is the real cause of my missing out this year on summer vacation. I've been extremely lazy lately and putting off work, accumulating everything for August. I have to bring myself together at my new job as the 6-month probation is due in September. Taking Mondays and/or Fridays off might be only option for rest. At least, I will have fun in the mountains coming winter.

#70: Issykul

Dying to get to Issykul.

This image is taken by a NASA satellite. You can also see other images of Kyrgyzstan (and the rest of Central Asia).

#68: Груз 200

I think Груз 200 (Cargo#200), which refers to a code for Russian soldiers' corpse sent home from Afghanistan, is one of the best Russian films made lately. Despite its title, the movie is about a depressing life in a Soviet industrial town in 1984. Violent and some perverse sexual scenes with a sophisticated plot makes it a very hard movie to watch. Plan to do something fun after watching a movie. I watched in Moscow a few weeks ago, but now it made to Bishkek's theaters.

Report #39: Snowboarding in Kyrgyzstan (Part 2)

In search of snow colleagues and I drove to Orlovka (70km east of Bishkek), but after seeing torn-to-mud slopes, we turned around and returned to Bishkek. At 1pm we decided to give it a try at Oruusay, the highest skiing place around Bishkek. Luckily after 4 hours of driving in vain we found snow. A lot of snow.

The video below is me. Come to Kyrgyzstan!!!

Report #37: Apocalypto

... is a great movie. I will add it to my list of favorite movies (Shawshank Redemption, American History X, etc.). Yesterday Boris&Asyla, Meder&Eleonora, Nadya, Lena, and I went to Oktyabr to see the movie. It is another Gibsonesque movie similar to The Passion of the Christ. I could say many good things about the movie, but I am still under a strong impression from the movie and I need some time to digest it. Although anthropologists have found many inaccuracies and colonial depictions of the "uncivilized" people in the movie.


Also had a training for first responders in case of a chemical attack. Here is a picture of me in a mask.

Report #35: Snowboarding in Kyrgyzstan

On weekends I went snowboarding again, but this time with a camera. I took some pictures. Not much snow, but it was enough to enjoy a perfect day.

This everyone who went on the trip. It was an interesting group of skiers, snowboarder, and butt-riders.

The chairlift taking us to the top of the world.

Report #28: Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Yesterday Aisuluu and I went to Nazgul and David's house for a Thanksgiving Day dinner. Great turkey! Met up with many friends I had not seen in awhile.

It has been snowing for a few days in Bishkek. I also heard that several skiing places are opening coming week. Big goal for this winter is go to Karakol, at least 3 times.

Some of you know Aida Sulaimankulova. She has great pictures. Here is one of Elnura, the new movie star.

Remember Boris took some pictures in Alamedin Gorge? Pictures below.

Report #27: A trip to mountains I missed

I should have gone on this trip. Instead I slept. It was a perfect day for a hike. Meder shared pictures from the Alamedin Gorge to make me even more jealous. He succeeded.

As you can see, it was a perfect day.

This is Elya, Meder's girlfriend. Boris, in the back, is going crazy with his Nikon. I hope he shares his pictures with us.

(L-R) Asyla, Meder, Boris, Asel (Elya's sister), and Elya.

Report #25: Би-2 in Bishkek

After a long week in Bishkek, I decided to go to the live concert of Bi2, a rock band from Russia. I took around 250 pictures at the concert, and this is the selection of best of them. Enjoy!