The Kyrgyz of the Pamir Mountains live divided by borders -- some in China or Afghanistan, the majority in Tajikistan. During the Soviet era their nomadic lifestyle was brought to an end, as they were forcibly settled. Now, though, many return to the yurt during the summer, which they spend on the high mountain pastures tending yaks or looking after tourists. By Janyl Jusupjan.
Modernity Of Ancient Nomads In Pamir Of Tajikstan
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The Korumdu pasture, 4,250 m above sea level, in the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan. An extended family, 15 people including children, spend a couple of months here catering to yaks and foreign tourists during the summer.
2
A girl jumps over a creek with a yak looking on. Yaks are the main source of income and work as a monetary unit for financial transactions. A yak can buy you a yurt, which costs around $300.
3
Tagaybek Turdukulov with his grandchildren. Turdukulov was a Komsomol leader in Soviet times, and in the 1990s he was responsible for privatization: distributing yaks and sheep to former workers of state farms.
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A woman cooking. Women work from early morning till late at night. In addition to cooking and childcare, they milk the yaks twice a day and dig tersken, a shrub used for heating and cooking.