My recent trip to Kazakhstan was in every way completely different from any travel memories so far, not least of all for the ethnic origins of the people of this country. Nestled in the mountains of Central Asia, and being traditionally part of the historic “Silk Route,” there is an intriguing mix of various other ethnicities and nationalities forging a distinctive demographic profile. Erstwhile part of the Soviet Union, Russian is one of the official languages here, the other being Kazakh, which has been heavily influenced by Turkish to make things even more interesting.
The population is predominantly Muslim, but the constitution is secular, and the citizens are liberal and progressive—not practicing either ‘hijab’ or ‘halal’. All kinds of meat are available for consumption, including horse meat, though the cavalry forms a very important part of the military services, and the steeds engaged for this purpose are never eaten—indeed, they are almost venerated. This would be explained by the fact that the equine species has been the backbone of the inhabitants of this land—the largest of the ‘Stans, and also the largest landlocked country, and the ninth biggest in the world.
In a small museum on the outskirts of Almaty there is an exquisitely well-kept collection of everything that has to do with the Kazakh people, including remnants of clothing, weaponry and pottery, and also replicas of ‘yurts’, sculptures and paintings.
Among the installations stand a world map exhorting visitors to mark out their country using a colored pin, a gigantic costume with a patchwork of the flags of different countries, a mural depicting the horsemen tribes that belong to this region, and some fine specimens of taxidermy symbolic of the national bird—the steppe eagle. Falconry—the use of birds of prey such as falcon and eagle to hunt—is also practised widely, and tours are available for a live experience of this sport.
The nation also hosts the World Nomad Games along with the neighboring countries of Kyrgyzstan and Turkey (though the latter is not exactly contiguous), and both equestrian events and falconry, along with other cultural vignettes, can be enjoyed on this occasion. The several other fascinating aspects of this museum deserve a place of their own and shall be featured in the next post.
