Cholopan Ata, Kyrgyzstan
Do better Apple maps!
On our way to the big event
Stopped at a grocery store and had a look around.
The Nomad Games
In 2012 there was a summit representing 200 million Turkic people. Came up with the idea for the games. The central goal is to preserve culture. The first games had 20 countries, then 63, now 109. There are 42 sports including chuku game (knuckles), tug of war, arm wrestling, archery. There are demos for elecheck hats, cooking, carpet making. There are yurt competitions. 20 million people are seeing a broadcast of the games.
The last time the games were at this location the roads were unpaved. It is much more sophisticated this time around. Next time will be in Tatarstan, an autonomous republic in Russia.
Ethnographic Festival
I have actually culled more than 115 photos, so it isn’t totally a photo dump. But yeah. Kinda is.
Making our way to the hippodrome
Having to refill tires with air. Patrolmen. Guys in the half-built house watching everyone go by. The green and white flags saying “nomad.”
Buzkashi/Kok Boru
Buzkashi is the Afghan word. Kok boru is the Kyrgyz name of the game. It comes from ‘blue wolf’ which essentially means ‘alpha male.’ The khan told his men to bring back a wolf from the mountains. So it didn’t actually matter who killed the wolf, only who held it when it was handed to the khan. Now the game is played with a ram.
Originally played with 500-700 people in vast grasslands, for the Nomad Games they came up with rules based on ice hockey. There are three 20-minute periods, 12 players to a team, starts with a face-off. The players will roast and eat the animal together after the game.
We watched Kyrgyzstan versus the US. Unfortunately I tried to zoom in too much so many photos are poor quality. We were told there is a scene in Rambo III set in Afghanistan where they play.
Waiting our turn
Lakeside Pavilion
Performance
There was quite a bit of symbolism with dignitaries pouring water from one vessel to another. Then OF COURSE there was a fantastical Manas production. It was followed by some dancing, but we had to go. Always leave them wanting more, they say!
