7. Excellence in Yurt Building

In the afternoon, Rash drove us, Sibel and Harry about 20 minutes outside of town to see a local waterfall. It was our first time heading up to the mountains and unfortunately we didn’t prepare ourselves for the chilly nature of the incline! We brought our bathing suits yet no sweaters and rain gear. Of course, it started to rain, but we decided to do it. The views were spectacular as we climbed up the mountain, with small frozen waterfalls and sheep dotted in every direction, and the occasional yurt.

Our time spent with Mr Meken exceeded our expectations. Mr Meken, known as the best yurt maker in Kyrgyzstan is dedicated to creating a high quality yurt that demonstrates the pinnacle of yurt making excellence. He is a builder of machines, guides and templates to ensure consistency throughout his yurts. He showed us new yurt building techniques which will improve the quality of our own yurts. Moreover, he helped us discover how Poplar, an abundant tree in Nova Scotia, could be used in the future for our yurts. The examples of work we saw with Mr. Meken and the felt masters were the finest we have encountered. They have set the bar and given us a quality of design and fabrication to work towards equalling.