If there is any one object that perfectly defines Kazakhstan and that you should definitely seek out while travelling this part of the world, it is the white yurt on a background of the rich green of a Jailau alpine meadow. Live like a Kazakh for a couple of nights and you will get a deeper comprehension of the original Kazakh culture.
The yurt is one of the oldest and most significant inventions of the Eurasian nomads. It has always been the ultimate utilitarian and convenient living quarter of the many tribes who roamed the steppes and mountains in search of grazing grounds for their herds. Let us have a closer look at a Kazakh yurt, the Kiyiz Uy and its many variations such as the Ak Uy, the white ceremonial yurt, the Ot Ay, a small yurt for newly married; the Zhol Uz yurt or a common shepherd's yurt that has turned gray because of wear and tear...
Created entirely of natural materials the yurt is the ultimate ecological dwelling, its round shape and domed roof follows the law of nature and blends in ideally with its natural habitat. Perfectly suited to the nomadic way of life whereby the family/community moves back and forth from the summer Jailau to the winter Kuzeults, compliant with the need or the desire to move at the spur of a moment, adapted to any type of landscape, steppe, meadow, mountain gorge or valley. The yurt bears in itself the detailed and adapted principle of a dialogue with nature and its construction is indeed ingenious; portable, lightwight, collapsible, easy to assemble and demount, transportable by means of a camel and two horses, providing a cool interior in the summer heat, an impenetrable protection against fierce cold winds and snow, waterproof during the pouring rains. Mounting and dis-assembling the yurt is communal work, everyone old and young, man and woman lends a hand and has specific tasks. To mount the yurt, pliable willow rods, cut at very specific times of the year at designated places, are hooked into an upper and lower horizontal willow ring to form the shape of the domed roof with its smoke hole, the shanyrak. The kereghe, the solid trellis-like construction of the walls is assembled in the same manner, hooking willow rods diagonally into the supporting ring. Not a single nail is used.
Next, thick felt blankets are thrown over the entire grid and tied safely with strong ropes. Felt is hand made from wool and in order to achieve the required properties, protection from the elements, the scorching sun in the steppes, the arctic winds and seasonal rains, only wool from the autumnal shearing of a distinct breed of sheep is used and the color of choice for the roof coverings is more often than not pure white.
In spite of all its practicality, the yurt is after all a home and the Kazakh have a wonderful way of adorning their movable living quarters and make them cosy and welcoming with the Kazakhs distinct polyphony of colours and lines. Handspun dyed wool is woven into long cosmogonically patterned yurt bands, the baskurs, which are hung along the inside perimeter. Paraphernalia and household goods are displayed and stored in between these grids. On the floor, the tekemets, hand made felt carpets with symbolic vegetative patterns are laid out, nowadays often covered with ready-made carpets. Stacked in one corner are the gaily colored padded sleeping mats that are rolled out as soon as guests are received, for the first gesture of the nomad is the offering of a pjala cup of freshly brewed tea or cooling yoghurt.
Intricately painted or wood carved chests will hold the daughter's
dowry and the clothing of the entire family. The interior mirrors the pagan cults of the sun and the sky, celestial bodies, the
concept of the cyclical change of the seasons that shaped a nomads life. It is not astounding that harmonious Kazakh design of applied arts is appealing to visitors from all over the world. The Kazakh handicraftsmen are very skilled, especially in making precious articles. The steppe jewelers widely use white noble silver in their work. In special local shops you can buy different kinds of exotic national earrings: konyrau-syrga (bell-shaped), shashakty-syrga (with a great many pendants), shimai-syrga (spiral), brooches and trinkets (onerzhiyek). The first ancient ornaments were made in animalistic style and now these truly modern looking rings are sure to catch your attention.
Leather workpieces are famous for their quality: horse saddles, vessels (torsuk is used to keep kumyz), and kamcha, rousing everyone's envy and delight. Since ancient times, blacksmiths have been forging Kazakh spears, arms, sabers, and swords. The Kazakh timber is widely known and is used in doors, chests, tables, and beds. Horns of cattle are used for carving amazing ladles for kumyz. The most pleasant thing is that the visitors may not only observe the craftsmen's work, but order up any souvenir they particularly liked. One of the basic designs both in philosophical and construction-related terms is the round shape, the circle. The yurt itself is round, so are the swirls of the syrmaks and tekements, the golden spirals of carpets; the twirl in the patterns of bowls, plates, painted wood. The shanrak has always been a meaningful symbol representing the life of man in the eternel cycle of nature, man's sur-round-ings and the universe, the succession of generations, the wholeness of time, expressing the ultimate devotion to Tengri, the ancient Kazakh deity. Profoundly anchored in ancient Kazakh culture is the notion of being one with the universe, much in contrast to wanting to domesticate and control nature. When you step out of a yurt at night, far away from civilization, and turn your gaze up to the enormous expanse of the sky, with its millions of stars you too are certain to experience the humbling sensation of being but a tiny entity in a mighty system. And later, when you snuggle into your padded bedding under the domed roof, you will feel serene and protected. All of these notions you can best listen to and learn about at a hearty Kazakh dinner. A yurt style dinner is served on the dastarkhan, a low table, while you yourself sit on padded floor mats. Among the many Kazakh specialties you will be served are certainly delicious beshbarmak (poached parts of mutton or horseflesh in dough), kuyrdak (fried mutton bowels), delicacies of horseflesh (chuzhuk, kazy, zhal-zhaya), the traditional rice dish pilaf, manty dumplings, shashlyk meat skewers. You may at first be unaccustomed to Kazakh products such as ayran, katyk, and irimshyk but will find them most refreshing. Kumyz, a horse milk drink, is considered to have healing properties. Baursaks (fried yeast dough paddies) just melt in the mouth. A dastarkhan feast is always concluded with fragrant tea with cream.
How to sum up the Kazakh yurt? It has been acknowledged by researchers to be the perfect portable house, it has amazed travelers, merchants, and historians, foreign ambassadors of medieval times and modern adventurers and travel writers like Rubrouck and Protector, Vambery and Bichurin, Ella Maillard, who have left superb descriptions of these felt tents and of the longing to live among the yurt dwelling nomads not attained by the drawbacks of civilization.