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In her family’s mountainside hut, a Kyrgyz girl
weaves a traditional pattern. When Kyrgyzstan was under
Soviet rule, most of the traditional crafts were forgotten.
Now the United Nations and NGOs are working to revive
traditional crafts in order to develop income-generating
projects -- 82 percent of women in rural Kyrgyzstan live
below the poverty line.
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A Kyrgyz mother stands at the door of her yurt, high on
a mountainside near the Chinese border.
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A Kyrgyz man shows off his skilled horsemanship. The horse-mounted
armies of Genghis Khan conquered Kyrgyzstan in the 13th
century, and the horse of the Central Asian steppes holds
a vital place in traditional society for these once-nomadic
people.
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During the summer months, wild horses share the grassy
highland plateaus with their domesticated counterparts,
which receive daily visits from their caretakers who live
in nearby camps.
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The Chinese named the tall, rugged mountain range dominating
the country Tien Shan (“heavenly mountains”).
Although Kyrgyzstan is poor in wealth-producing natural
resources, the country does have one great natural resource.
The country’s alpine beauty, which is both picturesque
and breathtaking, is perhaps its greatest asset. Tourism
to this celestial realm is only just beginning.
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