Hungarian horsemen to reach Astana in 4 months

Three Hungarians will start their equestrian expedition from Hungary to Kazakhstan on March 1, 2012, Tengrinews.kz reports. Benze Istvan, i>Eurasia Expedition leader along with two other Hungarian ethnographers will follow the route that the Magyars who migrated from Central Asia to Europe in X century, but in its reverse direction. The major part of the way (4.5 – 5 thousand kilometers) they will travel on horseback. In total all the participants of expedition will cover more than six thousand kilometers, including the sea route. Budapest will be their starting point. Then the expedition will pass through Romania, the Black Sea, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Astrakhan. They will visit the Kazakhstan cities of Atyrau, Sarayshik, Aktobe, Baiganin village and other cities and villages. The expedition will reach Astana city on May 6 and will take part in The City Day celebration. According to Istvan, they are not planing to stay for more than one day in each city or village. They will change horses at the borders of the countries. The participants of the project will travel in traditional costumes all the way from Budapest to Astana. It is expected that some local ethnographers will join them on their way. This is a non-commercial project and it is funded by the participants, sponsors and trustees. All those who’d like to support this project financially can do this as well. The goal of the equestrian expedition is to remind the people of Hun, Scythian, and Kipchak descent, which are part of the Magyars, of their common roots. Besides this, the project will awaken an interest in each other’s cultures, will expand and strengthen the ties.