5. The Most Beautiful Yurt
The next day we went to see one of Mr Meken`s yurts, which was completed just a few months ago. It was set up in the backyard of a wealthy family in Barskoon, who used it for dinners and celebrations. The yurt (18 ft in diameter) had bentwood uuk poles. Bentwood roof poles allow extra height at the wall, adds structural strength and works perfectly in conjunction with the tension band. All of the Kyrgyz yurt coverings and decorative pieces have a decorative and structural purpose.
The yurt had a felted exterior cover with a felted band and macramé tassels. The door had a felted piece which was attached to the back of a chij (Kyrgyz reed) matt and had a wooden door underneath. The yurt frame was painted red, and decorated chij walls wrapped around the entire yurt. The floor was completely covered with a circular shyrdak band, and a circular ala kigiz (soft felt carpet without stitching) piece in the middle. There were hanging felted bags, the top one for hats, and the bottom one for keeping household treasures. On the top of the kerege(walls) was a woven tension band, 14" wide, wrapped around the yurt. Above the tension band, a felted band also spans the entire yurt roof. A decorated chij roll out room divider was also designed specifically for this yurt. His yurts are by far the most beautiful yurts we have ever seen. In truth, because his yurts are so elaborately decorated and have so much color and design, it can be difficult to appreciate it all at once!
Excited and a bit tired after a full day of learning we headed back to Shepherd's Way. The garden was full of dill, carrot, beet tops and young potatoes. We relaxed by the yurt with Sibel and Harry in the late afternoon sun. Yara and Sibel went to the back of the garden to visit the horse, which Rash told us was temperamental. Moments later we heard a cry and Alex ran down to see what had happened. It was a blur after that. The horse had gotten too close to Yara, and started to kick the ground. Sibel threw Yara out of harm’s way. Unfortunately Yara landed with her head on a rock, which gave her a nasty cut on her forehead.
Within minutes a doctor and nurse were there from the village. The doctor asked if Yara was a boy or a girl! I guess he couldn’t tell by all the blood on her face and clothes. “If it’s a boy”, he said, “no stitches”. “If it’s a girl, one stitch”. We decided against the stitches and gave Yara some Tylenol for the pain and played horses with a little Kyrgyz boy until bedtime. Yara was comforted by looking at pictures of home and her best friend Teo Kahlil. The accident reminded us of how truly precious each moment is and also how strong a little two year old can be.
