Life in the Regions: How a Simple Craft in Jeti-Oguz Attracts Tourists from 10 Countries

Turmush — Resident of Jenish village in Jeti-Oguz district of Issyk-Kul region, Gylbara Shadakova, is developing the village’s tourism potential and conducting master classes for guests on Kyrgyz national cuisine, crafts, and traditions. Turmush correspondent spoke with her.

Gylbara Shadakova was born in 1961 in Kyzyl-Suu village, Jeti-Oguz district. After finishing high school, she entered the medical college in Przhevalsk (now Karakol) and graduated with honors in 1982. She worked as a nurse for 17 years.

In 1996, she moved with her husband to his native village of Jenish and engaged in agriculture. In the 2000s, when guest houses began opening in the village, she started working there. Gradually, she began hosting tourists herself and conducting master classes for them.

As Gylbara Shadakova told, the beginning of her work with tourists was a house built in the village by an ethnic German now living in Switzerland. “He suggested we run a guest house and host tourists. Previously, he sent friends and relatives here, and sometimes came himself with foreign guests. Now many already know about us and come to rest. We also trained in the tourist reception program and work according to it,” she says.

Gylbara Shadakova shows guests Kyrgyz traditions, handmade items, and features of national cuisine. “In childhood, I was often with my grandmother. She passed on a lot to me: from an early age, I learned to work with felt, make patterns, sew shyrdaks, weave and process chiy (reed from which mats are made), helped create yurt decorations. Now this is a big help: I conduct master classes for tourists. Foreigners are interested in every Kyrgyz item, many want to try making it themselves,” she said.

She also notes that tourists are very interested in the process of preparing Kyrgyz dishes. “We show how national food is prepared. Among the guests, there are vegetarians — we cook what they order from local products. I love cooking myself,” she says.

Gylbara is a member of the district’s tourism community and, together with other craftswomen, participates in a workshop where souvenirs and items for tourists are made. In addition, guests are shown how to set up and dismantle a yurt, and told about its structure and the meaning of each detail.

She added that felt products — panels, shyrdaks, ala kiyiz, and various souvenirs — are sold from 200 som to 40–50 thousand som, depending on size and complexity. Tourists from different countries choose different things: some prefer natural items, others — bright ones decorated with patterns.

“Guests come from France, England, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, Norway, Belgium, India. Most tourists come from Germany,” she said.

Foreigners are also interested in Kyrgyz national clothing. At the guests’ request, Gylbara shows how to properly wrap an elechek and tells its history.

In addition, the craftswomen fulfill orders for decorating cafes and restaurants in Karakol city in ethnic style — they make panels and decorative elements with Kyrgyz ornaments.

Gylbara Shadakova and her husband raised three sons and one daughter. Now they are grandparents to 17 grandchildren. “Kyrgyz craft is a valuable heritage passed from mother to daughter. I want to pass on all knowledge to my youngest daughter-in-law so she continues my work. I’m teaching her now,” she reported.