First youth festival Khan Qoryk dedicated to the 550th anniversary of Kazakh Khaganate (kingdom) opens in Kazakhstan, Tengrinews reports.
First youth festival Khan Qoryk dedicated to the 550th anniversary of Kazakh Khaganate (kingdom) opens in Kazakhstan, Tengrinews reports.
All photos © Oleg Paramonov
The festival is organized by the Kazakh National Geographic Society (KNGS) in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan. Khan Qoryk invites to celebrate the anniversary of the Kazakh Khaganate from August 18 to 22 in Ulytau. Around 100 people are going to gather for the first edition of the festival. Members of the KNGS, students, local historians, specialists in eco-tourism are participating in the upcoming festival.
"We plan to spend a couple of days bivouacing in tests in the area. It is sort of romantic. We are planning to organize a student conference that, too, will be in the field conditions. Besides, we plan small trips to the key places in Ulytau. And we will organize a demo of Kazakh traditions and customs. Students can take part in the demo," Deputy Director of the KNGS Saulet Sakenova said.
As a part of the festival, it is planned to visit graves of Dombaul, Zhoshy khan and Alash khan. "We will show khans' (kings) headquarters, hills raised by warriors of Tamerlan when he was fighting Tokhtamysh and hike the mountain Aulie," Sakenov said.
Guests of the festival will be able to take part in competitions, to demonstrate their knowledge of Kazakh customs and discuss ways of developing tourism in the region.
According to the organizers, Ulytau is one of the most ancient nature reserves at Kazakhstan's territory. The name Qoryk signifies the protected nature reserve territory. In the old time Khan Qoryk in Ulytau was a protected area designated for game hunt of local aristocracy.
The organizers want to make the youth festival nomadic and conduct it in various historical sites in Kazakhstan.
By Gyuzel Kamalova, editing by Tatyana Kuzmina