The games, an international competition dedicated to ethnic sports, were scheduled to be held in the Turkish city of Bursa in autumn this year.
The President of the Turkey-based World Ethnosport Confederation, Bilal Erdogan, said on July 9 that the decision was made after consultations with Turkey's Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Youth and Sports, and Health Ministry to prevent a surge in coronavirus cases.
Kyrgyzstan’s Hills Come Alive With The Sound Of Nomads
1/15The yurt city nestled in the bowl-shaped valley of Kyrchyn Gorge, the second, and most spectacular, venue of the 2018 Nomad Games.
RFE/RL’s photographer was on hand to capture the hoof-thumping action as the mountain venue of Kyrgyzstan’s Nomad Games opened on September 3.
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4/15A traditional game that earned hollers from the crowd saw a male rider gallop after a young woman, stretching for a kiss. Only a handful of the men managed the risky peck before the young women turned the tables and thundered after the men with whips in hand.
RFE/RL’s photographer was on hand to capture the hoof-thumping action as the mountain venue of Kyrgyzstan’s Nomad Games opened on September 3.
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6/15Spectators gather to watch the action. According to AFP, around 1,000 foreign visitors attended these games. Along with the apparent increase in tourists from the 2016 event, there was a noticeable increase in peddling, with men attempting to sell horseback rides and selfies with eagles. RFE/RL was approached by one young local trying to sell a map that had come free as part of the press goodie bag.
RFE/RL’s photographer was on hand to capture the hoof-thumping action as the mountain venue of Kyrgyzstan’s Nomad Games opened on September 3.
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7/15Another traditional Turkic challenge played out as jousters engaged in high-speed passes. Amid the dust-clouded chaos of the ceremony, it was sometimes hard to tell if tumbles were choreographed or painfully accidental.
RFE/RL’s photographer was on hand to capture the hoof-thumping action as the mountain venue of Kyrgyzstan’s Nomad Games opened on September 3.
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8/15As the opening ceremony drew to a loudly applauded close, VIPs choppered out of the gorge and locals tried out other entertainment, including this man-made lakelet.
RFE/RL’s photographer was on hand to capture the hoof-thumping action as the mountain venue of Kyrgyzstan’s Nomad Games opened on September 3.
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9/15Nazira Ivanova rehearses with her bandmates before taking the stage at an event for traditional music. The song, which stopped several passersby in their tracks, was "about love," she told RFE/RL.
RFE/RL’s photographer was on hand to capture the hoof-thumping action as the mountain venue of Kyrgyzstan’s Nomad Games opened on September 3.
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11/15A boy runs a fast-paced high-wire act. The young man ascended the single rope on the left backward without a safety cord, though he harnessed himself in for his trick runs.
RFE/RL’s photographer was on hand to capture the hoof-thumping action as the mountain venue of Kyrgyzstan’s Nomad Games opened on September 3.
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15/15This year marks the last time Kyrgyzstan will host the biannual event, at least for a while. Turkey's decision to host the 2020 Nomad Games was confirmed on September 1, after talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Kyrgyz counterpart, Sooronbai Jeenbekov.
The nomad games include horse racing, archery, mounted archery, falconry, and different types of wrestling, including wrestling from horseback.
The games have gained in popularity, prompting teams representing Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, the Philippines, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Russia, and even the United States to regularly attend the event.
The last World Nomad Games in 2018 hosted athletes from 66 countries, including several European nations, such as Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, France, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Ukraine.
This year, for the first time, the games were scheduled to be held outside of Kyrgyzstan.
With reporting by Anadolu, TRT Haber, and Yeni Safak
RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service is an award-winning, multimedia source of independent news and informed debate, covering major stories and underreported topics, including women, minority rights, high-level corruption, and religious radicalism.
