Silk Road: Bishkek, Burana Tower, Kyrgyzstan: Polo with a headless Goat

Laurie Hull
Apr 21
3 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

Crossing into Kyrgyzstan meant walking, suitcase in hand, across roughly 300 meters of no man's land between two countries. There is something strange and wonderful about covering that kind of distance on foot, watching one country fall away behind you and another coming into view ahead, with nothing but a stretch of empty road lined with concertina wired fence in between.

One thing that struck me crossing into Kyrgyzstan was a glimpse of geopolitics playing out on the ground. China has been building roads throughout the region under its Belt and Road initiative, offering infrastructure to cash-strapped countries like Kyrgyzstan in exchange for transit access for Chinese exports. The roads are there. Probably complicated terms to their agreement and now a newer version of the Silk Road.

Bishkek itself surprised me. We visited a university in the town of Tokmok offering a Western-style liberal arts education, classes taught in English, international faculty, a full curriculum including business, law, and international relations.

Lunch that day was with a local family in neighboring Don-Aryk village, where we watched as the elder mother showed us the art of traditional Kyrgyz felt-making. I couldn’t get this beautiful family out of my head. They were so gracious and I was happy for them that they could live a comfortable life showing visitors their food, craft and way of living. The food was amazing!

Lunch as guests of a family in Don Aryk village. This is the kind of hospitality you cannot book

Then came one of the most wild (ok another wild thing) and original experiences of the entire trip: the Kyrgyz horse games. Ulak Tartysh is a form of polo played with a headless goat carcass, and it is exactly as exhilarating as it sounds, as long as you try not to think too hard about the poor goat (which they eat later). Kurosh, wrestling on horseback, was equally thrilling. The horsemanship on display was breathtaking, a direct living thread connecting these riders to their nomadic ancestors. I was riveted.

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Ulak Tartysh, polo played with a goat carcass. Thrilling, chaotic, and very hard to root for that poor goat (which they eat later). Also below is Kurosh, wrestling on horseback.

On the way back to Bishkek we stopped at Burana Tower, one of the last surviving watchtowers of the Silk Road. Scattered around it is a remarkable collection of bal-bal stones, carved grave markers from the 6th through 10th centuries (I can’t even imagine how long ago that is), pre-Islamic, many gathered from surrounding valleys and now recognized as UNESCO heritage objects. Standing among them, you feel the sheer depth of history underfoot in this part of the world. I touched the stones to see if I feel ancient vibes or at least try to connect to their significance, if not to honor the dead.

Burana Tower, one of the last Silk Road watchtowers and ancient bal-bal monuments.

On our way back to Bishkek, Timur shared the history of bride kidnapping, a practice historically common among Kyrgyz nomadic tribes, particularly among those who could not afford a formal bride price. It reflected a belief in marrying outside one's tribe to strengthen future generations, spread over time into the middle class, and was eventually outlawed under Soviet rule. It is a complicated and sobering piece of history, one that Timur explained with care.

A peaceful stop at Victory Square, Bishkek's memorial to its World War II dead, before the chaos of the horse games that afternoon.