19. Getting Back to their Roots
Rice pudding was served with fresh bread and coffee for breakfast. Our driver arrived just before nine and took us to the CBT office to talk to Myrza about our plans in Bishkek. Our last adventure would be an overnight excursion by car to the Sarala-Saz jailoo. One of the largest jailoo’s, it is located in the gorge of the Kyrgyz Ala-Too mountain range.
After about an hour of driving we came across a fast flowing river with a small car stuck in the middle. Another car was trying to push it out. Our driver offered to help so a small family, who we would eventually hang out with at the jailoo, jumped in the back to give it more weight. The water was about 3 feet deep and was moving very fast. The engine started to smell of burning rubber but the car eventually started to move and was pulled out! We carried on for another hour and reached 3,500 feet above sea level at the jailoo.
This jailoo was much different than the previous one. Instead of high mountains all around the Sarala-Saz jailoo was embraced by low hills so that you could see for miles and miles in every direction. There was one felted yurt and a converted railway carriage where the family slept. Some of the men would sleep under the railway carriage in camping tents. A small ring made of wire and wood contained the animals at night and collected the dung. They had 25 horses, 150 sheep, chickens and a large but very friendly dog.
Two other tourist families from Bishkek and Kazakhstan were also staying. Although we did not have a translator we managed to find out that they wanted to get back to their roots and experience living in yurts! We played card games while it poured down with rain. They tried to teach us a card game and we tried to teach them crazy eights! As soon as the rain stopped the sun came out and we all headed out to the herd of horses. “Kuymyz!” they shouted. They were going to milk the horses! We all got to try fresh horse’s milk. It was warm and sweet, a bit thinner than cow’s milk. Just as we were getting sleepy our hosts set up several beds for us and the families from Bishkek and Kazakhstan.
Killing of a sheep is a family affair. The men captured a mature sheep and inspected the teeth to make sure it was old enough to be killed. Both children and guests were welcomed to hold the sheep steady while it was skilfully butchered. The skin was removed from the body cavity with a rolling fist motion. All of the organs were removed and separated into bowls for further processing. It was nice to see that every part of the animal was used. We said goodbye to our hosts and travelled back down the steppes
