Food & Culture

The trout on the menu at Issyk-Kul is Armenian, and the lake's own fish are in the Red Book. What collapsed the…

Kyrgyz white honey is real, and a lot of what's sold as it isn't. Why sainfoin honey is white, what it costs…

A yurt in a village yard means a death in the family. Kyrgyz funeral customs, the koshok laments, the memorial days, and…

Two akyns, a komuz, and a topic shouted by the audience. Aitysh is a live competitive art UNESCO listed in 2015, and…

In Batken the apricots dry on the branch. What kandek is, why it's brown rather than orange, and the price collapse hitting…

In the 1960s a tiny Soviet republic produced cinema that got the world's attention. The four films to watch before you come,…

Kyrgyz fried bread served at births, weddings and funerals alike. What boorsok is, why it appears at every occasion, and what to…

Lamb, fat and onion baked on the wall of a clay oven, 40-70 som each. Where to buy samsy, when they're freshest,…

Ala-Archa means many-coloured juniper. What archa is, why its smoke is burned in Kyrgyz houses, and why the tree can't be used…

There were 1.15 million Russians here in 1989 and 272,800 now. How they arrived, why they left, and the wooden church at…

Chinese-speaking Muslims who crossed the Tien Shan on foot in the winter of 1877. Who the Dungan are, the nail-free Karakol mosque,…

Laghman arrived with Uyghurs from the oasis towns to the east. Three migrations across two centuries, and the food that travelled further…