Far away but close

It is not a ball that rolls, but an animal carcass, a goat aged by the players who compete for it with enthusiasm. At the end of the game it is eaten as a delicacy with a big party. It is one of the most acclaimed games in Kyrgyzstan. The players never get off their horses, they remain entangled so much that they become one with the animal, which is one of the symbols of their country. Over the centuries the nomadic peoples dating back as far as Genghis Khan have learned to live in tents in the mountains, with special company and are proud of their long tradition. By now many live in the cities where most of the population is concentrated, but we still happened to meet a father with a noble profession: the wolf hunter.

Anna and Luca have been volunteers for a long time and have decided to go on vacation to a special place, right in the footsteps of our friends who live with us the long and delicate period of their children's medical care. There they were welcomed in turn by all the families they met here and returned home. The sense of hospitality in those peoples has been deeply rooted since the times of the Silk Road: "hospitality is sacred because it is life, because whoever finds himself in these inaccessible places and does not find doors that open when he knocks is a dead man ".

You drink tea sitting on the floor, on cushions in houses full of carpets to fight the cold of winter that over there when it's cold, it's really cold. 94% of the territory is mountainous and 40% is located above 3000 meters above sea level. Three quarters of the country is covered with perennial snow and ice. We drink kymys, fermented mare's milk, a typical slightly alcoholic drink. You can fall in love with the sour and salty taste of fresh tan found on every street corner. Kyrgyzstan has an ancient, oriental and wild charm. It is a different country from ours, but above all it is the country of our friends.

Maria Claudia Brunello

Coautori: Anna Miranti e Luca Scarso

NP Dicembre 2021