Vaella Laella

Here she is! BerttaJurtta, Bertta the Yurt:)  Traditional kyrgyz yurt which we set up in Kazybek and is now packed into OssiBus, ready for some travelling!

In BerttaJurtta’s first art workshop we made puppets in the remote mountain village Kazybek. Puppets wee made of the nature materials with group of family kids and neighbours, around ten kids between ages 5-15.

 

One afternoon it was time for the audience to arrive and it seemed to be great fun!

 

 

What can I tell you about past month… If I painted it into a picture, it would be amazing mountain scenery with snow tops; horses, sheeps, cows and donkeys in the valley. Here and there nomadic yurts… Looking closer you see children with red cheeks looking at you curiously eating kurut, salted joghurt balls made of horse milk. And there, you see someone rolling separator to make kaimak butter out of horse milk too. Not exactly the number one picture for vegans but over all goes the hospitality and friendliness of these mountain nomads. Wherever we went, we felt warmly welcomed. No, not only that. We felt included into the family. And thats something.

 

On the map our route included Songköl, the highest alpine lake and from there to very last villages near the border of China: Kyzyl-Too and Kazybek.

 

Family life up in the 3+ kilometers

Part I: SONG-KÖL

During our stay in Song-Köl we did few nice walks. Area is full of ancient stones, reminding amazingly lot Kappadokia in Turkey. Song-Köl is one of the most popular jailoo places (meaning summer campfor shepherds with their families and animals). One cloudy day one family came to our Bus and invited us to their yurt camp.

 

Well, it became four days stay with these beautiful people.. As there was many children around, we offred every day some art action for them, for example making instruments, painting and drawing and playing around.

 

This was the best possible way to explore life in jailoos. We got into the daily routines of the family taking care of their horses, cows, sheeps and donkeys. Children since they are walking are taking care of the animals as well.

 

Part II: KYZYL-TOO and KAZYBEK … the far end of Kyrgyzstan…

As we had dealed last year, our yurt would wait for us in Kyzyl-Too. Friend from Bishkek, Nurgul, introduced us last year to her family in these remote villages and nearby we found Bertta The Yurt too. So, Nurgul traveled once again with us there, and yes Bertha was waiting for us! The yurt with its traditional decorations was ready be packed into Bus!!

Bertta Yurt’s first set-up was in Kazybek, Nurguls home village in her sisters garden. In this simple garden of the tiny two-room clayhouse, surrounded by snowtop mountains, Bertta seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

Bertta the Yurt found a lovely spot for first set up in Kazybek. This is garden where we stayed as guests two weeks with the Bus and Yurt. Simple but beautiful!/ Tassa pihapiirissa asuimme jurttinemme kaksi viikkoa. Viisihenkinen perhe asuu tuota pienta savitaloa.

As did we. This place felt really like home, once again we were taken as family members, taken good care. Parents of the family are dump-and-deaf but for us it was more easy communication by hands than trying to put our kyrgyz words together!

 Bertta the Yurt had its first art workshops: puppet theater about which we tell you later. Also,  In the yurt we had the Kino Evening as well: the whole selection of our 8mm movie cartoons was showed and liked.

All in all: Berttta the Yurt works well in its purpose of being the heart of the different kinds of art actions for kids and young ones.

  Mountain weather is unpredictable: Bertta got snow decoration and freezing days tooThose days it was also the end of the muslim fasting month Ramadan. Even its not really followed in Kyrgyzstan, they love to celebrate its ending… Every family made borsoks which is type of salty bakery (pikkuleipa) offered with different jams and butters and chai of course. If you dont do this, it´s considered shameful. Who can afford it, sacrifices sheep on this day, and it is offered to guests in real nomad style, all parts of it. And on this day it is a tradition to visit neighbours, to walk from house to house and be offered this same menu in every place.

 

Celebration “table” = borsok borsok and borsok

 PHUU. Yes, me and Gabriel visited nine houses on that day, drank nine cups of black chai and ate borsok in too many houses. The sheep we didnt touch of course but Nurgul got to eat the sheep eyes, because its always fed to person with glasses, hoping it will help.

 We stayed great two weeks in Rasuls and Zhanyls (Nurguls sister) family. Deeply thankful of our time there.  

Our family:)

Feels like having been in the very heart of Kyrgyzstan, got introduced with all its traditions nd most of all: we got to share the everyday life,  as it is with all its joys and sorrows. This became also kind of the turning point of our journey: it was the very last stop before riving back to Bishkek and getting ready for our journey back to Europe… Well, its going to be looong way, but direction is there however!!