Nauryz, the Kazakh New Year

On March 22nd, Sara, Beth, and I were in Shymkent, a hot and huge southern city of KZ. We were there to see traditional Kazakhstan at its best! It’s almost impossible to describe what it was like that day. There were tons of yurts, people in national costume, music, performances, and horses! The stone risers were full of hundreds of people with umbrellas and newspaper hats to ward off the sun. I however crammed onto the field ringside, playing a game of cat and mouse with the policemen, along with boys and jiggets (young men). This was the best way to get the up close and personal photographs I wanted! I’m going to try to set up my blog so that day by day you’ll be able to read and see pictures of a new KZ tradition I experienced! To whet your whistle, here are a few photographs of the main performances which included hundreds of people and lots of official speeches!

Thanks Sara for letting me use the boy & dombra pic!