I’m discovering that one of the best things about Kyrgyzstan is the fact that you get to celebrate so many New Years! First we had the around-the-world New Year celebration, followed by the “old” New Year based on the Orthodox calendar, which was followed by the Chinese New Year, and now on March 21st we celebrated the New Year for Muslims all around the world! Here in Kyrgyzstan it was called Nooruz and is based on the vernal equinox (12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night). The vernal equinox is on a different date each year, but it is commonly celebrated on March 21.
It was a wonderful celebration here in Bishkek, and by far the most cultural I have seen as of yet. With dancing, singing, and music in the center square, families picnicking in the parks cooking their food over open fires, shashlik and plof (two very good cultural foods) being made and sold everywhere, karaoke galore, traditional games being played, and many other events, it was a great time! I personally had many new experiences. I tasted two cultural foods for the first time, Tan and Sumulak. Tan is a carbonated and extremely sour drink, which tastes disgusting. One sip was enough for me. And Sumulak is a cultural food that deceivingly looks much like caramel, but in reality is a mixture of grains, mostly wheat. Throughout the night before it is to be served it must cook and be stirred constantly. And sadly for the foreigner, it looks exactly like a cup full of warm, melted caramel, but tastes instead like a cup full of melted and caramelized tree bark. One spoonful was plenty for me, but the ladies serving it sure were cute! A third new experience was having the president of the country pass about 20 feet in front of me, as well as the prime minister. No one here likes the president, but it was still an exciting thing. He even waved at my teammate Carla!
The pictures do a fairly good job at explaining for themselves. All in all, it was a wonderful day of wandering and watching, and sadly, was probably the last New Years I will celebrate for the year! : (
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