Kyrgyz nomads

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Kyrgyz people are nomads. They became settled just 150 years ago but still they keep all nomadic traditions and customs. And many of them even nowadays live in our celestial mountains. Nomads have a saying: "to live in a house - is to bury you alive". That is why you can meet them while traveling in Kyrgyzstan and you even can spend a night together with nomads in their dwellings - yurts. These collapsible houses are made of felt and wood and it takes just one hour to collapse or erect it! That was the reason why nomadic tribes managed to survive for so many years. At former time they lived in ails or villages. Very often there were about 70-80 yurts in one such a village. Sometimes there were very big tribes and the quantity of yurts could achieve more than 25 000 yurts. Nomads could not stay in one place for a long time. They needed fresh grass for their cattle and they were moving from one place to another. In summer they were going to the high mountains and in winter they used to go to the valleys.

 

Welcome to Kyrgyzstan!