Traveling someplace entirely unexpected provides a different kind of joy. Rory Smith, aka my third son, aka Matt’s best friend since age 9, met Aigerim Saparova while living and working in Brooklyn and their marriage was a dual-continent traditional and mod affairs. I was privileged and honored to be invited to both celebrations: in her home country for the traditional ceremony of presenting the bridge to the groom’s family and then back to Brooklyn for the wedding ceremony.
The most important thing I learned about the Kazakh people is how important hospitality is to them. Other than my hotel rooms, I wasn’t allowed to pay for a dang thing; no meals, no taxi, no fees for parks, etc. Different parts of Aigerim’s family hosted us in Almaty, the former capital, and then in Astana, the present day capital. So here we go:
We landed early in the morning and after dropping our bags off, went to shop for traditional costumes for the ceremony at the end of the week. It was a fun affair, with so many beautiful options. The first:
and then the silliness, of course:
We drove out into the foothills and enjoyed a traditional lunch in a yurt:
including traditional horse and veggie skewers:
behind the veggies you can see traditional, fresh fried bread. Kind of like a savory sopapilla. YUM!
Then enjoyed a demonstration of falconry:
Before dinner and catching up on our sleep. But never too much! Must be downstairs in the morning for our day’s activity…