Anticipation and Imagination

Timur has mentioned that it is tradition in his family, and in most Kazakh families, to throw a huge dinner in honor of the guest. I am excited to try all the new food, but probably more concerned that I don't insult anyone because I have a small stomach and it doesn't take much to get me too full. Thinking about this... and about my 1st day and arrival, I decided to research Kazakh traditional meals.

"Whether you are a chance traveler who has dropped in for a short rest or a specially invited guest, the host and his family will get busy preparing a konakasy, a special dinner in your honor. A young foal or lamb, or, if you have brought good news, even a white camel youngling will be killed to express the joy of the occasion.

Then they will spread a dastarkhan, a tablecloth as spacious as the steppe itself, on the floor in the centre of the yurt and lavishly cover it with choice dishes.
Mostly Kazakhstan food is made from meat and milk, above all, delicacies made from horse meat such as:
shuzhuk (sausage made of finely chopped meat);
kazy (sausage from ribs);
karta (sausage from the belly);
zhaya (boiled rump);
zhal (from urthers);

steaming kuirdak (from freshly killed sheep);
zhaubuirek (a whole carcass of a ram broiled on a spit);
syrbaz (a suckling lamb stewed in its own juice);
srneh (a whole deep-fried year-old lamb);
burmeh (a whole carcass of a ram stewed in its own skin in a hole dug in the earth with a fire made on top of it);
beshbarmak (a dressed carcass of a ram or a foal boiled in a cauldron).

In a word, you will be treated to every gourmet specialty that Kazakhstan cuisine has to offer. Of course, the dastarkhan is a serious test of the hostess' culinary talents. At the same time it is also an expression of the host's cordiality and generosity.

The Kazakhstan dastarkhan not only satisfies your thirst and hunger, it also lifts up your spirit. People learn much about one another at a dastarkhan. And the word "hospitality" means not only a heart meal accompanied by merrymaking and laughter: it means above all a cordial conversation with the guest."*

*Found here: http://aboutkazakhstan.com/Kazakhstan_National_Features.shtml

Straight out of a Sci-Fi movie

Khan Shatyry (Royal Marquee) is a giant transparent tent currently under construction in Astana, capital city of Kazakhstan. The architectural project was unveiled by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on 9 December 2006.

Underneath the tent, an area larger than 10 football stadiums, will be an urban-scale internal park, shopping and entertainment venue with squares and cobbled streets, a boating river, shopping centre, minigolf and indoor beach resort. It is being made from ETFE suspended on a network of cables strung from a central spire. The transparent material allows sunlight through which, in conjunction with air heating and cooling systems maintain an internal temperature between 15-30°C in the main space and 19-24°C in the retail units, while outside the temperature varies between -35 to +35°C across the year.
They are also building the ASTANA INDOOR CITY - BATYGAI.
Indoor City will be an indoor core of the development that will accommodate the retail, entertainment and the cultural facilities with references to town centers of different cities like Venice, Prague, Marrakech and Istanbul. The Urban Center will feature shopping centers, educational facilities, social facilities such as cinemas, theatres, library, museum and opera halls, health facilities, religious facilities, service facilities, including bank offices and post office, restaurants, cafes, bars, open spaces, gardens, rivers and car parking. There are going to be residential dwellings, hotel and office development and car parking associated with these uses in the surrounding areas. The residential development will include residence towers and villa type housing complete with parking, sports facilities and fitness and SPA. There is also going to be a five star hotel and
office towers in the surrounding areas will have direct access to the indoor urban center with weather controlled tunnels.

Structure Outline_Draft #1

Kazakhstan Fashion Week in Almaty

It took place the week of May 16, 2008...
so it's last year's fashion...
I'm curious to see what young people wear there...

What is 'Steppe'

In physical geography, a steppe, pronounced /stɛp/, is a grassland plain without treesprarie can be considered a steppe. It may be semi-desert, or covered with grass or shrubs or both, depending on the season and latitude. The term is also used to denote the climateforest, but not dry enough to be a desert. Steppe are characterized by a continental and semi-arid climate. Peaks can be recorded in the summer of up to 40 °C (104 °F) and in winter -40 °C (-40 °F).

The Kazakh Steppe or Kirghiz Steppe, is the largest dry steppe region on earth, covering approximately 804,500 square kilometers. The Kazakh Steppe lies at the southern end of the Ural Mountains, the traditional dividing line between Europe and Asia. Much of the steppe is considered to be either semi-desert or desert. Animals that can be found in the steppes of Kazakhstan include the Saiga Antelope, Siberuan Roe Deer, wolves, foxes and badgers.Another unique wonder of nature in Kazakhstan is the Singing Dunes, 182-km northeast of Almaty, on the right bank of the Ili River. In dry weather this sand dune emits a sound like an organ playing. The Singing Dunes make an unforgettable impression. The scarcely perceptible movement of sand sliding down the slope causes the humming and vibration. The friction caused by the movement of dry grains of sand, combined with the dry air, electrifies them, causing the vibration. Because of the surrounding favorable resonant conditions, powerful sound waves are produced which bouncing off the solid ground also cause the dune to vibrate. The sound can be heard from several kilometers away.
Lovely quote I found about the importance of the Kazakh Steppe: "The steppe is at times dusty and dry, at times snow- and ice-covered, then suddenly fragrant and full of the enchanting sounds and colors of spring. The steppe, which at a fleeting glance seems empty, constitutes a truly unique symbiosis of plant, animal and human life. The steppe demands contemplation, feeling and acclimation; then it opens up to you and gives you strength, and does not let you go."

Country Profile

Money: tenge (T); US$1 = 151T; €1 = 191T
Famous For: oil, steppe, launching rockets, empty space
Population: 15 million
Capital: Astana
Country Code: 7 (the same as Russia)
Languages: Kazakh, Russian
Size: The world’s ninth biggest country.
Location: Kazakhstan is situated in Central Asia, deep in the Eurasian continent.
It borders upon the following states: China, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Russia
National holidays: Day of the Republic (October 25--my birthday) and Independence Day (December 16).
Kazakhstan is rich with commercial minerals: chromium, vanadium, bismuth, fluorine, iron, chromite, lead, zink, tungsten, molybdenum, phosphorite, copper, potassium and cadmium
Oil and Gas: They have discovered nearly 160 deposits of oil and gas, their Tenghiz field only ranks as one of the largest deposits of the world.
Kazakhstan is the second richest country in the world (after Russia) with regard to phosphorite reserves.
Kazakhstan holds one of the first places in the world as to the production of aluminium.

Claim to Fame = BORAT

Whenever I mention that I am travelling to Kazakhstan I get a blank stare, that is until I say, "you know the movie Borat... that country"... although Borat was actually shot in Romania and doesn't have an inkling of relevance to Kazakhstan. It's entertaining to imagine how upset all those Kazakhs got over Sacha Baron Cohen's film. At least the country's 1st international spotlight was in a positive light, as absurd and 3rd world as it may have been portrayed.

Roman Vassilenko, the press secretary for the Embassy of Kazakhstan wanted to clear up a few misconceptions about his country: Women are not kept in cages. The national sport is not shooting a dog and then having a party. You cannot earn a living being a Gypsy catcher. Wine is not made from fermented horse urine. It is not customary for a man to grab another man’s khrum. “Khrum” is not the word for testicles.

One funny note from Vassilenko's interview is when he was asked about a Kazakh sport that travel guides mention called kokpar, a precursor of polo, he hesitated, then explained, “That’s the one where a goat, a dead goat”—a headless dead goat—“is, um, being held as a sort of a prize. And then one rider has it, and he has to run away with it from others who seek to catch it and snatch it from him.” And then they have a party.

Aliens... the galactic nomads

The Republic of Kazakhstan is in the process of building the world’s first alien embassy according to several local media reports and online articles, posted within the past week.

It's going to be in Almaty, where Timur's family lives. I'm surprised he never mentioned all the alien sightings that Kazakhstan has, but that's probably because he doesn't believe in them. Facilities to be built within the alien complex will include a guesthouse, theatre and translation service. A purpose built UFO landing pad and checkpoint will be attached to the embassy.

Fuad Gasimov, the head of neighbouring Azerbaijan’s national Aerospace Agency has confirmed this news to be accurate and has gone on record stating the old USSR constantly monitored alien spaceships regularly entering the water but kept this a military secret. Gasimov himself was involved in this secret monitoring of UFOs when a department heat at the USSR’s science academy.

In addition to this, numerous UFO sightings occur in Kazakhstan where it is believed aliens take an interest in their massive natural resources. As recently as last year a UFO was reported as having crashed into a river in Kazakhstan.

The head of Kazakhstan’s space agency, Talgat Musabayev, is said to be heavily involved in the embassy project. Musabayev is an ex-cosmonaut who has spent many hours in space and is an ex-colleague of Gasimov. It is believed that he possesses a large amount of information on the aliens currently visiting earth.

Kazakhstan’s acceptance of the reality of alien visitors to earth has won it the admiration of many ufologists, especially those in the west, who wonder when their countries will follow this example.

I hope I'll see aliens! Or at least an unidentified flying object!

The Project Begins...

Now that my Peruvian fairytale, LUCIR Y SOMBRA is finally finished I must close its chapter and move on to the next: THE SILENT STEPPE CANTATA, a documentary.
This will be my first full-length, 'serious' documentary. I feel really excited about it, probably because it's going to be many firsts, for both my camera and I. But only one of us will retain them and be able to accurately share them over and over again.
That's what I love about documentary; when you feel the pure sincerity of knowledge filling your brain and bursting with curiosity.

My mind keeps debating on what level of personal I should stay on. As a voyeur, I would prefer to watch someone in their most personal moments , but as a vulnerable artist, I just don't know if I can share all that.

I guess I'm speaking in riddles, because I just can't decide whether I should document absolutely everything, like meeting my boyfriend's parents for the first time and getting to know where he grew up or if I should just stick to the Cantata and the music collaboration. I'm leaning towards the first choice...