Luxurious Yurt camps of Central Asia Birding

Yurt - one of the oldest and greatest inventions of the Central Asian nomads. These nomads roamed across the vast steppes of the region using easily assembled and dismantled dwellings called yurts. The yurt is made of felt and a flexible skeleton. The latter is originally made of wood but lately more and more of metal.

For the indigenous people of Central Asia, the yurt is a symbol of the life of their ancestors. In current times, the nomadic life has ceased for most of them and the majority of the people now live in towns and cities. The yurt played a very important role in the social and spiritual organization of the family life. Every family member had his place and rank within the yurt. In many Central Asian cultures the yurt has a symbolic function. For example, on the flag of Kyrgyzstan it is represented by the central shangrak, the top round crown. In old Kazakh communities the crown of the yurt was maintained, while the remaining parts of the yurt were often repaired or rebuilt. The crown was, after the death of the father, given to his oldest son. It was seen as the heritage of the family, measured by the formation of stains on the crown, kept by previous generations of the family.