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The first session I attended at the local university open house this weekend was "Life in a Central Asian Yurt." The person giving the presentation had actually lived in central Asia, but the person writing this blog is almost a complete ignoramus. So the following may not be very true, but it's still interesting. I'm not trying to make things up, but it happens sometimes, as anyone who's ever read a newspaper article on something they already know has discovered.
A yurt is a dwelling developed by nomads. It can be erected in one hour by the women folk. The walls are made of a circular trellis which can be collapsed like those mug-holding pegs on trellis things. I'm not explaining well, but I'm afraid that's as good as it's going to get. The roof looks like a low teepee. This framework is covered by several layers of felt. The floor is made of a layer of felt covered with several layers of rugs and cushions. There's a door on one side, and maybe a window on the other, with a flap you can roll down over it. The framework can be collapsed, the rugs and felt rolled up, and packed on to either two to three camels or three to four horses.
The weather in central Asia is hot in the summer (like Austin) and cold in winter (like in the northern US). That is so not fair. It's also pretty dry. The many layers of the yurt provide good insulation so that it is warm in winter and cool in the summer.
The whole presentation took place inside a make-shift yurt, of modern materials, including a plastic-like fabric for the covering. The day was cool and windy, but inside it was definitely warm and snuggly. The sample cushion was thicker than a very thick comforter or sleeping bag but thinner than a mattress.
Yurts are one big room but organized into separate areas. Across the door at the window is the trunk with all the valuables in it and which is also the seat of honor, generally for the man of the house or a guest. If you are offered this seat, then that is a good sign. If you are looking in from the door, the right side is the "woman's side," though both genders are allowed. This is where the food preparation is done, where couples sleep and where people generally hang out like a living room. The "men's side" is where guests, newlyweds who don't have their own place yet, and unmarried daughters sleep. Yurts were used mostly just for eating and sleeping.
You can buy modern yurts in the US from places like Pacific Yurts; these are used mostly for camping. That's pretty much all I learned.
As always, Wikipedia is a good place for more information. The yurt is very wind resistant even if not staked to the ground and just generally strong in the way that an arch is a strong structure. Interesting.
It's fun to imagine erecting a yurt in the backyard, the way regular westerners would build a gazebo. There's an interesting structure outside of Cafe Mundi--I'm now wondering how similar it is to a yurt.
It's also fun to imagine furnishing a small room with nothing but rugs and cushions and R's low table and to host slumber parties in it.
A yurt is a dwelling developed by nomads. It can be erected in one hour by the women folk. The walls are made of a circular trellis which can be collapsed like those mug-holding pegs on trellis things. I'm not explaining well, but I'm afraid that's as good as it's going to get. The roof looks like a low teepee. This framework is covered by several layers of felt. The floor is made of a layer of felt covered with several layers of rugs and cushions. There's a door on one side, and maybe a window on the other, with a flap you can roll down over it. The framework can be collapsed, the rugs and felt rolled up, and packed on to either two to three camels or three to four horses.
The weather in central Asia is hot in the summer (like Austin) and cold in winter (like in the northern US). That is so not fair. It's also pretty dry. The many layers of the yurt provide good insulation so that it is warm in winter and cool in the summer.
The whole presentation took place inside a make-shift yurt, of modern materials, including a plastic-like fabric for the covering. The day was cool and windy, but inside it was definitely warm and snuggly. The sample cushion was thicker than a very thick comforter or sleeping bag but thinner than a mattress.
Yurts are one big room but organized into separate areas. Across the door at the window is the trunk with all the valuables in it and which is also the seat of honor, generally for the man of the house or a guest. If you are offered this seat, then that is a good sign. If you are looking in from the door, the right side is the "woman's side," though both genders are allowed. This is where the food preparation is done, where couples sleep and where people generally hang out like a living room. The "men's side" is where guests, newlyweds who don't have their own place yet, and unmarried daughters sleep. Yurts were used mostly just for eating and sleeping.
You can buy modern yurts in the US from places like Pacific Yurts; these are used mostly for camping. That's pretty much all I learned.
As always, Wikipedia is a good place for more information. The yurt is very wind resistant even if not staked to the ground and just generally strong in the way that an arch is a strong structure. Interesting.
It's fun to imagine erecting a yurt in the backyard, the way regular westerners would build a gazebo. There's an interesting structure outside of Cafe Mundi--I'm now wondering how similar it is to a yurt.
It's also fun to imagine furnishing a small room with nothing but rugs and cushions and R's low table and to host slumber parties in it.