A dwelling without iron and concrete, or what a yurt is made of. See what "Yurt" is in other dictionaries What is a yurt

Mankind is accustomed to assessing the level of development of the civilization of the peoples inhabiting our planet by the grandeur of their palaces and buildings. However, peoples leading a nomadic lifestyle are no less skillful architects with a highly developed culture.

Their dwellings: yurts, yarangas, wigwams, tents, igloos, plagues - even a modern person spoiled by comforts fascinate with their beauty, simplicity, functionality and harmony. Maybe that is why the art of building nomads' housing - yurts - has recently begun to revive.

What is a yurt made of?

The building material for it was mainly leather, felt and wood.

The walls of the ancient dwellings of nomads were wooden poles assembled in the form of lattice sections. From the poles connected to the smoke hole, the roof was also made. Outside, the “walls” and “roof” of the yurt were covered with a layer of felt.

In the center of each yurt there was a stone hearth. Stones for it wandered along with people, and when assembling a yurt in a new place, first of all, a hearth was laid out. For the winter, the dwelling was insulated by wrapping it with an additional layer of felt and a moisture-resistant cloth.

Even knowing what the yurt is made of, one never ceases to be amazed at the ingenuity and skill of people who, without a single nail or screw, from improvised materials, managed to build a dwelling that can withstand strong winds and many days of snowfall.

Mongolian Yurts

Mongolian yurts are mobile, light, collapsible, they are an ideal dwelling for nomads. At the heart of the yurt is a wooden frame, on top of which a felt felt mat is applied in one or several layers. To protect against snow or rain, the felt mat is additionally wrapped in a cloth.

The doors of the Mongolian yurt always face south - this feature of the installation allowed the nomadic Mongols to navigate the time of day.

Inside the yurt is divided into several parts:

female - to the right of the door;
male - from the door to the left;
guest room - on the north side, opposite the entrance, an altar was necessarily located in the guest part.

All parts of the yurt were connected by a hearth, which served for heating and cooking.

The Mongols themselves call their housing not a yurt, but the word "ger".

Unwritten rules when visiting a Mongolian yurt

From the time of Genghis Khan to the present time, the Mongols adhere to a number of traditions and generally accepted rules when visiting yurts. It does not hurt to know them and the Europeans:

Entering the yurt, you can not step on, and even more so sit on the threshold. A person who deliberately stepped on the threshold, thus informed the owner of his evil intentions, and touching the lintel of the door with his right hand brought peace and grace into the house.
Weapons or luggage cannot be brought into the yurt. They are left at the entrance outside - this serves as a confirmation of the pure intentions of the guest.
Entering the northern, guest half of the yurt, it is customary to wait for an invitation from the owner to sit down. Sitting down on your own is considered impolite.
It is not customary to whistle in a yurt. It is believed that by doing so, evil spirits are called into the dwelling. Also, the fire from the hearth should not leave the limits of the yurt, because happiness leaves the owner with it.

Kazakh yurts

Kazakh yurts are structurally not much different from Mongolian ones. Compared to the Mongolian ones, they are lower, which is due to strong winds in this area. And their dome is crowned with a shanyrak (a wooden circle crowning the top of the yurt) made of black willow or birch. The Mongols preferred to make shanyrak from pine.

Shanyrak for the Kazakhs is not only a cross that holds the dome and is designed to allow sunlight to pass into the yurt and remove smoke from the hearth. passed down from generation to generation, a symbol of procreation and the father's home. Many rituals and beliefs in the life of the Kazakh people are associated with it. The importance of shanyrak is evidenced by the fact that its image is used in the heraldry of Kazakhstan.

The difference between the dwellings of both peoples lies in what the yurt is made of: the Kazakhs covered it with a felt cover, consisting of 4 rectangular parts, in accordance with the parts of the frame. The upper part of the yurt, except for the shanyrak, was covered with 2 pieces of trapezoidal felt. A folding rectangular piece of felt was attached to the shanyrak, which, with the help of a pole and a rope sewn to one of the edges, could be folded back or closed in case of rain. The doors of the Kazakh yurt were also sewn together from a felt mat fixed on a mat.

Wealthier Kazakhs also had yurts. The construction of the dwellings of the rich was decorated with patterned mats and fastened with ornamented ribbons woven from wool. The yurt of wealthy people was wrapped in white felt and was popularly called the “white house”.

Yurt interior

The yurt is a symbol of the sun and space, the unity of man and the environment. Almost all items of its interior are located along the walls, in a circle. It is clear that in such a limited volume, each item must have its own purpose and occupy a strictly defined place in order to clutter up an already cramped space as little as possible. Nevertheless, the decoration of the yurt is striking precisely because it evokes a feeling of harmony and spaciousness, comfort and coziness.

In the interior, in addition to wooden shelves, there are also pieces of wooden furniture inlaid with animal bones: chests, whatnots, chests for food.

But they give a special flavor to the dwellings of nomads. They bring zest to the interior and amaze with a variety of colors and ornamental patterns. From the carpets one could immediately judge the wealth of the owner.

Modern yurt

What is the yurt of the current century made of? Of course, from modern materials. The felt was replaced with holofiber, the wooden frame is made of glued laminated timber, the fabric of the outer canopy is impregnated with silicone, it serves as a hearth

The yurt has become much more comfortable, although it is somewhat a pity that you will no longer meet that real nomad dwelling, saturated with smoke and antiquity.

Wise and practical steppe dwellers invented a convenient and cozy mobile home - a yurt. This faithful companion of a nomad today is not only an interesting example of material culture, but also a comfortable home. We will tell you what the yurt consists of inside and what types of them there are.

Kazakh yurt inside

The steppe is wide and immense. Sometimes it seems that it has no end, no edge. A tired traveler will find the only safe haven in the steppe - a yurt, where he will not only be allowed to rest, but also provided with security, food and entertainment with songs.

What is inside the yurt? The decoration of the yurt reflected the specific idea of the people about the universe. All interior items of the yurt had a symbolic and magical meaning. The arrangement of such a dwelling testified to the prosperity of the family, its place in the tribe.

For the most part, modern Kazakhs - the owners of such nomadic structures - strive to preserve the authenticity of the interior decoration.

Consider what a yurt looks like inside to get an idea of the traditions and customs of the Kazakhs:

The walls of the yurt were covered with carpets.
Where the kerege (a special lattice construction of sections) and the shanyrak (top) converged, a strip of fabric was laid, on which Kazakh geometric ornaments were embossed. It's called Baskur. Those who find themselves in the middle of the yurt immediately pay attention to this colorful and bright strip of fabric.
Special wadded blankets and rugs (tekemet and korpeshe) were laid on the floor. For the convenience of the guests, pillows were offered: hard (zherzhastyk) for visitors of humble origin and pillows stuffed with feathers (kuszhastyk, kөpshik) - for honored guests.
Along the edges were chests, on which mountains of pillows and blankets were laid out.
To the right of the entrance, a chest or a collapsible cabinet was placed, which served as a sideboard. Tableware and tea utensils were stored on it: a samovar, tobacco - a dish for meat, basins, a vessel with a thin spout for water - kumgan, chara. Torsuki were hung over it, where there were life-giving drinks of the steppes - koumiss and ayran.
To the left of the entrance, clothes, hiking bags, horse harness, and hunting weapons were placed on the walls. There were also various personal items: jewelry, women's clothing, towels. In addition, to the left of the entrance, a place was reserved for birds of prey.
A hearth was set up in the center of the yurt. Here, a cauldron was hung on a tripod, under which they made a fire and thus cooked food. At the same time, the smoke came out directly into the opening of the shanyrak.
Along the walls in yurts, as researchers of the 19th century described, there were wooden plank beds - beds. Occasionally met even iron. To the right of the hearth, the hosts' bed was placed, and to the left - unmarried daughters and sisters.
Ribbons hung from the shanyrak, brushes - shashak bau. They personified the stars and constellations, drove away evil spirits and attracted good ones.

Kazakh yurt: types

A white yurt in the green grass of the steppe is a special symbol of Kazakhstan. Tourists in search of a special unity with nature, trying to learn more about the culture of the Kazakhs, are happy to stay overnight in such exotic nomad houses.

At the same time, a yurt in the steppe is also a modern dwelling for shepherds and geologists. The Kazakh yurt is a special type of mobile dwelling. Thanks to its design, it is easy to assemble and disassemble, it is easy to transport it across the steppe on camels or horses. At any time, the yurt can be assembled to hide from the scorching sun or keep warm on a cold autumn or winter day.

Such a design, its modifications and interior decoration are signs of a high level of Kazakh material culture, their ideas about the world and man.

Yurts are an old invention of nomads. Their prototypes are covered carts, tents on wheels that moved across the steppe, accompanying the transitions of nomads who were looking for new pastures, or trade caravans.

In the process of many years of operation of such mobile homes, certain types of yurts have been formed, which are classified according to the main principle - according to their intended purpose.

There are the following main types of yurts:

Dwelling. They are built according to the type of Kipchak yurts, which, unlike the Mongolian tents, had a higher dome. It was more resistant to snow drifts, strong wind gusts, hurricanes and storms.
Festive or front(an uy, an orda, boz uy, otau uy) - a large yurt, consisting of more than 10 lattice sections. It was distinguished by the fact that snow-white felt was used in its equipment, construction details were decorated with carvings and woven felt fly with patterns.
marching was the smallest - in 3-4 sections. It had a cone-shaped appearance, which was created by poles connected from above. Below, they were also bound with a rope and dug into the ground.

In addition, there are special mobile structures that perform auxiliary functions:

necessary things and supplies are stored in yurts-warehouses;
food is prepared in camp kitchens.

In Kazakh folklore there is such a riddle:

One fleecy carpet

To them, in addition, felt.

Op! I exclaimed

And ascended into the sky

Twisted, looked like

He approved the firmament of the earth!

It presents cosmogonic ideas about the world, which is identified with the yurt. Therefore, all its components had magical significance.

The yurt inside is the embodiment of creative potential, craving for beauty, mystical ideas of the Kazakhs about the world. Everything in it is functional and designed for transitions. This is a cozy and comfortable home, where guests are always welcome.

Even tourists spoiled by hotel service do not refuse the adventure offered by tour operators of Kazakhstan. Guests have the opportunity to enjoy all the charms of nomadic life - live in a Kazakh yurt, spend an evening by the fire listening to the songs of a local akyn (poet) and taste national dishes of Kazakh cuisine.

After sitting in a yurt for an hour or two over a bowl of hot tea with milk, watching the stars through the half-open shanyrak (dome), otherwise you feel the living space. In a tourist tent you do not feel the feeling of cozy security at home, and in a city apartment you do not feel the openness of Kazakhstani expanses.

General view of the Kazakh yurt

Amazing in its simplicity, the yurt is assembled and disassembled in just an hour. Moving across the steppe in search of the best pastures, a nomad could easily transport a yurt from place to place with the help of one camel and two horses. In the summer heat, the lower felt is raised to a height of up to 1 meter for better ventilation of the yurt, and in the cold season, the camp house protects its owner from rain and wind. An additional layer of insulation is provided by a lining of chiy (steppe reed), which protects the dwelling from dust penetration. Today, yurts have not lost their former popularity among shepherds who spend their summers on high mountain pastures.

History of the yurt

The prototype of the yurt was tents on wheels, woven from twigs and covered with felt. Similar houses, transported by a team of camels, appeared in the Late Bronze Age. In the Middle Ages, huge tents that traveled across the expanses of the Central Asian steppes amazed the imagination of contemporaries.

Yurt frame

At the beginning of the 16th century, the historian Fazlallah ibn Ruzbikhan described mobile dwellings as follows: “I was surprised at the extraordinary structure of the houses, erected as if in the air. I saw huge wagons with windows covered with felt curtains. The whole headquarters is filled with these magnificent houses, so that the mind is amazed at the beauty, craftsmanship and grace. Dwellings on wagons, inconvenient for mountainous areas, went out of use by the 18th - 19th centuries, and they were replaced by felt yurts.

The design and symbolism of the yurt

The Kazakh yurt consists of a wooden frame and a felt cover. The basis of its walls are sliding sections (kerege), consisting of separate links (ropes). After the birth of children in the family, the living area is expanded by adding sections. When erecting a yurt, a door frame is first placed and a door frame is hung, symbolizing the border between two worlds - human and "wild", undeveloped. At the entrance to the yurt, amulets in the form of thorny plants are hung to scare away evil forces, and the doors are painted with security signs. Ropes made of curved sticks connected with rawhide straps are tied to the door frame, which, when pulled, form a circular wall of the yurt.

View from inside the yurt

Then one of the men raises on a pole the light-and-smoke hole crowning the yurt - shanyrak, fixing it with poles. The lower ends of the poles are tied to the walls with ropes. At the junction of the kerege and the poles, the dwelling is covered with a baskur - a wide woven strip with a floral or geometric ornament. Outside, the lattice walls of the frame are covered with chee mats and pieces of felt. For a nomad, a yurt is like a miniature copy of the universe. The spherical dome of the dwelling symbolizes the vault of heaven, which has no beginning and end, and also denotes the connection of generations. Ribbons with fringes and tassels, representing the stars and the Milky Way, hang from the shanyrak. The interior walls and floor of the yurt are decorated with patterned felt carpets, symbolizing rich pastures.. In the center of the dwelling, a hearth is built of stones and clay, on which a metal stand is installed that can withstand a cast-iron cauldron intended for cooking lamb and tea with milk. To the right of the hearth is the male half, where livestock and hunting equipment, weapons are stored. Here is the owner's bed. On the left (eastern) side, called the female side, there is a bed of an unmarried woman, daughter or sister of the owner.

Settlement of Kazakh yurts

Immediately at the entrance to the yurt, you can see a cupboard with kitchen utensils and food, buckets for milking cattle. The free space near the hearth is occupied by a low table and several chairs for guests. The owners themselves arrange a meal on the floor.

website- Yurt is the cradle of nomads' life. This is the perfect solution for those who don't like corners. But seriously, this type of dwelling has deep roots.

From Anatolia to Mongolia

Yurts are found from Anatolia to Mongolia, and it is impossible to say which of the ancient nomadic tribes developed its traditional look. However, it is clear that this is a very ancient structure.

Classic nomad dwelling

Yurt is a classic dwelling of Asian nomads. The most common meaning of the common Turkic word "jurt" is "people", as well as pasture, ancestral land. In the Kyrgyz and Kazakh languages, the word "Ata-Zhurt" means "Fatherland" is a synonym for the word "Motherland", literally: "Father's house". In modern Mongolian, the word yurt (ger) is synonymous with "home". In the Tuvan language, the yurt is pronounced “өг”, which, when added “-bule”, will make the word “family”.

Male and female halves

A yurt is a mobile portable house that can be easily assembled and disassembled; it is cool in summer and warm in winter. On average, one family can spend an hour to assemble a yurt. From the inside, the yurt is divided into two halves - male (closer to the doors, to the ground) and female. This custom has been established since ancient times. In the middle of the yurt there is a hearth, a fire. Today you can install a potbelly stove inside. The felt curtain ornament at the entrance symbolized happiness and longevity. When changing location, the structure was loaded onto camels and horses. The yurt is the pinnacle of nomadic architecture and folk arts and crafts.

"Diary of a trip to Issyk-Kul"

The excellent qualities of the yurt were noted by pre-revolutionary scientists and travelers who visited Soviet Kyrgyzstan. Information about the culture and life of the people - in particular, about the dwelling-yurt, where its advantages are noted - is reflected in the travel essays of Ch.Ch. Valikhanov “Diary of a trip to Issyk-Kul”, “Notes about the Kyrgyz”, etc. P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky in his work "Journey to the Tien-Shan". N.M. Przhevalsky in 1846, while traveling to Karakol, lived in a Kyrgyz yurt and highly appreciated it. Another outstanding researcher of Central Asia - A.P. Fedchenko was interested in how the individual elements of the yurt are made.

“A yurt is already a big step in the development of human civilization, in a yurt it is warmer and more spacious, you can even make a fire in it, which is unthinkable in a tent ... a yurt is more convenient than a tent,” wrote L.F. Kostenko, who lived during the 1876 expedition to the Pamir-Alai in a yurt.

Historians on the originality of the yurt

One of the first descriptions of the Kyrgyz yurt in the Soviet era belongs to the famous ethnographer S.M. Abramson. Studying the material culture of the Kyrgyz, E.I. Makhova singled out two types of yurt and determined the areas of their existence. K.I. wrote about the features of the portable dwelling of the southern Kyrgyz. Antipina. The Kyrgyz yurt is original, although its design has much in common with the design of yurts of other nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, South Siberia and the Mongols. But the greatest proximity, almost identity exists with the yurt of the Kazakhs, which cannot but testify to the close ethnic ties of these peoples.

Yurts have been known since the time of the Huns

It is believed that the yurt appeared in the Late Bronze Age of the XII-IX centuries BC, according to some historians, the dwellings of the Andronovites are the closest. But the dwellings of the Hadronites were log cabins. Therefore, historians consider this version unreliable. Perhaps the yurt appeared in a later period, around the 8th-5th century BC. Presumably, yurts have been known since the time of the Huns.

Turks VS Mongols

The device of the yurt among the Turks and Mongols have differences. Kazakh and Turkmen yurts have double wooden doors. In Kazakh and Kyrgyz yurts, a felt canopy is often used instead of a wooden door.

rock art

Kazakh yurts are lower than Kyrgyz ones due to strong winds in the steppe. Some ideas about the mobile dwellings of the ancient nomads are given by rock carvings.

Easily adjust lighting and ventilation

The yurt is still used in many cases by livestock breeders in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia due to its practicality. A feature of the yurt is that it allows you to easily adjust the lighting and ventilation. The smoke comes out through the tundyuk - a hole in the center of the dome, without filling the room. It also serves as a daylight for lighting, and at night it is easily covered (just pull the lasso), which allows you to keep warm. In hot weather, you can raise the side mats, in which case the yurt is easily ventilated from any side through the lattice walls (kerege), allowing people to sit in a cool, blown shade.

Types of yurts

Kyrgyz yurts come in two varieties. The main difference comes down to the shape of the dome. In the north of the country, with the exception of the Talas valley, the shape of the dome of the yurt is close to conical. In the south of Kyrgyzstan, in the Talas and Chatkal valleys, the dome is more gentle and has a hemispherical shape due to the greater bending of the lower part of the dome poles. The yurts also differed in decoration - external and internal; the northern and southern regional complexes are clearly distinguished here. Their decoration reflects the artistic taste of the people, their ethnic ties, strict canons, approved by age-old customs and traditions, are preserved.

Yurt interior

The inner covering in the yurts of rich Kyrgyz was sewn from velvet, silk, corduroy, etc., sometimes from simple calico. The interior decor of the yurt includes ropes (dzhel boo) attached to the rim on both sides. They were knitted from wool with the addition of horsehair. The Kirghiz, like the Kazakhs, like the ancient nomads of Southern Siberia, widely used hair, mainly horse hair, for weaving ropes and lassoes.

Exterior decor

The outer decor of the Kyrgyz yurts includes a felt strip with an appliqué tetege 20-25 cm wide, which was sewn to the lower edge of the uzuk. Above the tetege, on the four sides of the domed felt, figuratively carved red (sometimes black) felt was sewn - called "crow's claws" (kush tyrmak), "bear's paw" (ayuu taman), etc. All this gave the yurt a peculiar beauty. In the distant past, they may have been thought to protect the yurt. Outside, the yurt was girded with a felt rope, in the Tien Shan - with ornamented felt 10-20 cm wide, and in the south of Kyrgyzstan - with patterned braid.

The yurt was installed by women

An experienced craftsman can install a yurt in a month, which will last for decades. The correct installation of the yurt was of great importance: the stability of the gratings, the correct fastening of the poles of the dome. By the way, the installation of the yurt was the responsibility of women, men only helped to lift the heavy rim. Before starting work, they prepared the place.

You can not step on the threshold of the yurt

Until now, various customs of visiting yurts have been preserved: for example, one cannot step on the threshold of the yurt or enter it with any burden. When installing the yurt, the entrance was oriented differently depending on the terrain and wind direction. Orientation to the east, to the center of the village, prevailed.

There were also yurts for the second and third wives

In winter and summer, rich Kyrgyz, along with an elegant yurt, always set up a small yurt (ashkana uy). It prepared food and stored food supplies. Wealthy Kyrgyz, in addition to the main one, also had yurts for the second and third wives, smaller in size, as well as yurts for married sons. From the yurts of ordinary Kyrgyz, they differed in good quality and beauty. There were also temporary yurts - living rooms (meiman uyu), which were set up on the occasion of major holidays, funerals or commemorations. They were quickly dismantled after the departure of the guests. The decoration for the living room of the yurt was brought from the main one. There was no difference in the design of these yurts.

You can't say bad things about a yurt

The Kyrgyz had a number of customs and rituals associated with the yurt. First of all, the yurt and its accessories were treated with care. It was not customary to speak badly about the yurt. Masters, manufacturers of yurts, as well as craftswomen used among the Kyrgyz were in special esteem. There was a custom "uy toyu" - housewarming. When a family put up a new yurt, a holiday was sure to be held.

Sacred fire

There were a number of customs in relation to fire. The fire in the representations of the Kyrgyz had a cleansing power. They didn’t spit at him, didn’t sprinkle water on him, it was impossible to walk around the fire, jump over it. In addition to a portable dwelling, the Kyrgyz also knew dwellings of a stationary, permanent type - “uy”, “there uy”. Such dwellings began to appear en masse starting from the 19th century, during the transition to settled life.

Patterns reflect colors and shapes

The day in the yurt starts before dawn. Women at this time are already preparing breakfast and putting food in bags for men who will drive the cattle to pastures. After the men are seen off, the women take over the household chores. Boys who had barely begun to walk were taught horseback riding. The girls learned how to cook, embroider and make traditional patterns that adorned shyrdaks, ala-kiyiz and tush-kiyiz. These carpets were placed on the walls or floor of the yurt and had not only a practical purpose - keeping the heat in the dwelling, but also performed an aesthetic function. Patterns reflect the colors and shapes found in nature, such as the richness and fragility of flower petals, eagles with proudly curved wings, the iridescence of the blue sky.

How the yurt is used in New Zealand

New Zealanders use yurts as chambers: some use portable travel homes as additional dwellings during the peak days of the tourist season; others use them as a guest house, as art studios, workshops, space for meditation, wellness or children's playgrounds. “There is some magic in these yurts,” says Kelly Black,
a yurt dweller in Arrowtown, the coldest place in New Zealand during the winter. - "There is something in the round buildings, the connection with the outside world, the birds, my horse."

Connection with the past

The yurt, although it has retained its utilitarian significance in everyday life, has generally turned into a museum exhibit. Although still used by people throughout the region and plays an important role in the lifestyle of the Kyrgyz chaban (shepherd). And despite the fact that architectural styles and city layouts come and go, the yurt remains a strong and lasting link to the past.

The yurt is probably the most famous dwelling of nomads to the Russian people. We all remember from school that it was in such dwellings that the Tatar-Mongols lived, who did not allow the Russian princes to sleep peacefully.

A yurt is a national dwelling of the Turkic and Mongolian peoples, which has a frame base and is covered with felt.

The word "jurt" has a common meaning among the Turks - "people" and pasture. In Kyrgyz and Kazakh languages "Ata-Jurt" is translated as "Fatherland". The actual synonym of the yurt among the Mongols can be considered the word "house". From the Tuvan language, where the word yurt sounds like "eg", when the ending "-bule" is added to it, yurt will mean "family".

Yurts are an ancient type of dwelling, which appeared in the period of the so-called Late Bronze Age (13-9 centuries BC). According to some historians, the Andronovo houses became the progenitors of modern yurts. But this fact can be called into question, since these dwellings resembled log huts. It is possible that yurts began to be built later - in the 8-5th century BC. e. You can see the first ancient yurts on the statuettes of Northern China dated to the middle of the 1st millennium BC. The history of the development of this type of dwelling can be traced back to the 13th century in the miniatures of the Chinese, Central Asians, Iranians and Turks.

Turkish and Mongolian yurts have some differences. Kazakh and Turkmen yurts have wooden double-leaf doors, Akirgiz often use a felt curtain as a door. Kazakh yurts are lower than those of the Kyrgyz, because the Kazakhs install them in the steppe, where there are strong winds. To learn the device of ancient yurts give rock paintings. It follows from them that the ancient dwelling of nomads is a tent, divided into left and right sides. Nowadays, yurts are widely used in tourism. Such dwellings have chic decoration.

For a nomad, a yurt is a comfortable and practical accommodation. In an hour, a family can safely assemble or disassemble housing. The yurt is easy to transport, regardless of the type of transport. The fleece cover protects from rain, wind and cold. Daylight enters the dwelling through a gap in the top of the dome, in addition, this hole makes it possible to use the hearth. In its arrangement, the dwelling is quite simple - it consists of lattice folding walls, poles that make up the dome, a circle with which the poles are attached to the top, and a felt mat that covers the entire structure. The yurt is still popular with Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Mongolian livestock breeders. This is perhaps the only dwelling in which you can adjust the lighting and ventilation. The smoke from the hearth does not remain in the room, it goes into the tundyuk - the opening of the dome. During the day, the hole is a window through which sunlight enters the dwelling, and at night it is easy to close it. In hot weather, the side of the felt can be raised. In this case, the yurt will be well ventilated, and people will be cool and in the shade.

For Mongols, the entrance to the yurt is always located in the south. The north side is considered special and important - there is an altar. Honored guests are also received on the north side. The center of the yurt is occupied by a hearth.

Inside the yurt is divided into two sides. Among the Mongols, the eastern side is female, and the western side is male. The hosts' bed is located in the men's side, closer to the exit. This part of the yurt is decorated with the man's weapons, talismans. In the eastern side of the dwelling is the bed of the master's daughter. Closer to the door, they usually put a cupboard with dishes and a mortar for whipping koumiss, which is considered a symbol of prosperity. This part of the yurt is considered a guest part. The ritual of the funeral of the owner of the dwelling is also held here.

Today, yurt tourism has become widespread. Fans of Central Asia can afford not only to see the yurts, but to live in tents for some time. This type of recreation is called Jailoo-tourism. In many restaurants and tourist sites, you can see both stylized and real nomad dwellings.

For example, in Tuva there are two yurts near the national museum. And the ethnotourist center "Aldyn-Bulak" offers its visitors to live in yurts and tents in comfortable conditions.

The names of some settlements in the North Caucasus use the word "yurt" - Kizilyurt, Khasavyurt, Babayurt. Most likely, such names have Turkic roots. It is likely that they were given by the Kumyks or Nogais.

A railway station and a village called Yurty can be found in the Irkutsk region. A similar name for villages and villages can be found where Kazakhs and Turkic peoples lived.

As for the use of yurts in architecture, structures of this form can be found in Alma-Ata.