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Yurts are big in Kazakhstan. They have been used
for centuries by the nomadic people. They use the yurt as a portable
home. In May 2003, Maura saw a yurt at a craft fair and learned that
they we could buy our own. The full-size yurts are about 4 meters
(13 feet) in diameter. Ours is 2 meters. Maura had it in her
classroom as a special place for her kids to read. At the end of
November, a Dutch family at school came over to help us set it up in
Maxim's room.
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The first step in setting up a yurt is to stand the
cross-hatch wooden fence that expands like an accordion. We must tie
the two halves together and tie the door in place. We use hand made
wool rope to do this.  |
 Each of the
poles must be tied individually. Someone must hold the top piece,
called the 'Shanarak,' while the first few are tied. |
 Maura is
wrapping ribbon around the poles to give the yurt stability so the they will
be bound together. |
 Nadine and
Stefan are looking out from inside when the yurt is wrapped with a layer of
reeds. |
 Maxim
opens the felt door playing peek-a-boo with Stefan. |
 Ribbons
criss-cross the felt coverings, and the border wraps around the bottom of
the roof piece. |
 This is the
view of the Shanarak from below. Because it is a very special piece of
artwork, the Shanarak must never touch the ground. It's design
decorates the Kyrgyzstan flag. |
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Martins in Almaty
