Winter Holiday in Pamirs

View of the village Bash-Gumboz, Ubaidylda Sgaymov's village along the way from Murghab district center to Khorog, the capital of the Badahkshan Autonmus Oblast, Tajikstan. It is situated some 30 km. north of Tajik-Afghan border on the hight of 4,500 m above see level. The round structure on the left was part of the PVO, Anti-Air Defence of the USSR. It was moved to Bash-Gumboz to the use of a local school for sports lessons. The enourmous beton hall is not used often as it is located far from the village.

In the photo: students of a boarding school, Bash-Gumboz village. The school suffers from lack of Kyrgyz language text books as connections with Kyrgyzstan has severed since the fall of USSR when there were no borders. Some of the students are children of shepherds who live on a higher altitudes. Ubaidylda taught at the school's elementary classes for eight years before moving to Kyrgyzstan. Recently Tajik authorities provided flour, sun batteries and promised to  reconstruct the building of the school this summer.

In photo: Palmira, a language teacher before her wedding. Palmira, who studied philology in Kyrgyzstan is Ubaidylda's niece. She has married a co-villager at Bash-Gumboz. Bride kidnapping is not rare in Murghab, but Palmira married according to her choice and with her consent. Now she is working as a teacher at a school in Murghab disctrict center.

In photo: ankle bones of sheep known as chuko or ashyk in Kyrgyz, used for traditional nomadic game called Ashyk Ordo in Murghab. Ankle bones shooting is the main winter time entertainment in Ubaidylda's village Bash-Gumboz. It is known as buzul-boji in other parts of Pamir mountains. With some 80% unemployment in Murghab, men spend most of their time in winter playing ankle bone shooting. It is also the main event during the weddings and other family celebrations.

In photo: Abdilaat Ibraev, a teacher and famed ancle bone shoote in Bash Gumboz.

Tajikistan -- Abdilaat Ibraev and others play Ashyk/Chuko/Ankle Bone Shooting.

In photo: Talant, first from right, with other kids. Talant is named after a famous comedian Talant Anarbaev from Kyrgyzstan, who came to Murghab when Talant was born four years ago. Ubaidylda's wife helped to raise Talant, as his mother had difficult health condition. Murghab had the highest mother and baby mortality rate in the former USSR. Since the collapse of the USSR the health care system has faltered but remains arguable better that in Afghan's Pamir, where the Kyrgyz nomads experienced no population growth since decades.

In photo: cousins of Ubaidylda. Ubaidylda's brother is a road repair worker along the famed Pamir Tract which connects Osh in Kyrgyzstan with Khorog, the capital of Badaghshan Autonous oblast in Tajikstan. The workers are lodged in dilapidated structures as seen behind the kids in the photo.

In photo: baby bear Misha on a walk near Bash-Gumboz village. Misha was found after hunters from mainland killed the mother bear. It is taken care by a local shepherd and became a celebrity in Bash-Gumboz this season. The shepherds plan to release him to the nature.

In photo: baby bear Misha with Mendibai, the shepherd taking care of him, and Ubaidylda. Brown bear is one of many rare animals in Pamir region. The most famed are arkhar-kulja, or the so called Marco Polo sheep, the sacred goats in Kyrgyz mythology. According Tajik authorities, the last hunting season brought the central government around 500,000 USD in selling hunting licences to foreigners.

In photo: Ubaidylda Shaymov near the buriаl place for the victim of Stalinism near his village.
Ubaidylda visited the buriаl place for Zardaly, his co-villager, the victim of Stalinism. During the Stalin's repressions in 1930s the locals from Murghab were arrested and sent to Osh in Kyrgyzstan and Khorog. Often many of those were shot near their villages long before they reached the ultimate destination.

In photo: Aktam zoo, the White House Rock in Murghab, Tajikistan. The Rock is the place where ‎Ubaidylda used to go hunting since his childhood.

In photo: Suyunbay Akmatov, winnter of Ashyk/Ankle Bone Shooting.Suyunbay has won the first price - a small carpet and a Kyrgyz felt hat at the ankle bone shooting game at the wedding of cousin of Ubaidylda Shaymov. Usually a big carpet, sheep or a baby yak is offered as the main price at Ashyk Ordo games. Ubaidylda says he spend most of his holiday in Pamirs shooting ankle despite extreme cold and now returned to Kyrgyzstan.