Today I turn into a "normal" traveler and with friends take a Marshrutka to Cholpon-Ata and The World Nomad Games. A Marshrutka is a Kyrgyz mini bus (not a Russian Doll which is a Matryoshka!), usually an old Mercedes TN driven/towed/dragged all the way from Europe to end its days bouncing along Kyrgyzstan's pot holed roads. I saw many battered and bruised TN's being shipped across Russia and Kazakhstan and wondered where they were going, I now know! Crammed into the back we bounce along the 200km road to our destination.
The Games last for 6 days, and we will witness the last two. The event also has other cultural, musical, foody events scttered around the valleys near Cholpon-Ata and along the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul. Unfortunately as we arrive on day 5, many of the events have finished, but the blue ribboned event, Kok Baru, is still continuing in the main arena. Kok Baru is a equine event featuring two teams of 11 who wrestle over a 35kg stuffed goat skin, the object being to carry the skin to the opposition's end of the arena and throw the skin into a goal thus scoring a point. It can be very loosely compared to a cross between polo, football and rugby. The sport is fast paced and very violent. In front of me the Turkish and Russian teams are fighting over third place. The final will be tomorrow. Other sports include variants on wrestling, eagle hunting and other equine sports. But Kok Baru does seem to be the most popular.
http://worldnomadgames.com/en/
The Games last for 6 days, and we will witness the last two. The event also has other cultural, musical, foody events scttered around the valleys near Cholpon-Ata and along the shores of Lake Issyk-Kul. Unfortunately as we arrive on day 5, many of the events have finished, but the blue ribboned event, Kok Baru, is still continuing in the main arena. Kok Baru is a equine event featuring two teams of 11 who wrestle over a 35kg stuffed goat skin, the object being to carry the skin to the opposition's end of the arena and throw the skin into a goal thus scoring a point. It can be very loosely compared to a cross between polo, football and rugby. The sport is fast paced and very violent. In front of me the Turkish and Russian teams are fighting over third place. The final will be tomorrow. Other sports include variants on wrestling, eagle hunting and other equine sports. But Kok Baru does seem to be the most popular.
http://worldnomadgames.com/en/
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