On December 16, 1991, Kazakhstan emerged from a long and challenging period under Soviet rule. Over the past 20 years the country has blossomed in what can be described as the Kazakh Renaissance, a demonstration of the enduring spirit of the Kazakh culture. I celebrate this anniversary with a selection of images from the book, The Soul of Kazakhstan. The collection showcases Kazakhstan’s people, history, culture and land. They will be posted on my WordPress blog over the coming days leading up to the anniversary.
A permanent library of images is available for purchase as prints or licensing at http://eastep.photoshelter.com/gallery/Kazakhstan/G0000xg4sBqG4LWQ/
Photographs by Wayne Eastep in the exhibit "Of Gold and Grass" Mingei Museum, San Diego, CA
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Photographs by Wayne Eastep in the exhibit “Of Gold and Grass” Mingei Museum, San Diego, CA
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Map of Kazakhstan created by Bill McCaffery for the book, The Soul of Kazakhstan
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A stamped and engraved gold plaque on the Golden Warrior’s headdress features mountains and a snow leopard. He was a 5th century B.C. Saka chieftain
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“While researching for the book The Soul of Kazakhstan in the New York Public Library, I came across a letter Natllya Sedova, Leon Trotsky’s wife, wrote home while exiled in Almaty. She exclaimed about the beauty of a late spring snow blanketing the tulips. As good fortune would have it, my apartment was across from where the Trotskys lived. On a spring day in April, I was treated to the same beautiful sight” – W.E.
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It took Kaineke Zarykpai-Kyzy Kanapyanova two years to create this embroidered-felt Tuskiiz. She made it as a wedding gift for her son, Nurgazy, in 1973. When I told her she was a master like the artists in Japan called “National Treasurers,” she said, “Thank you.” After a pause she asked, “Will you put that in your book?”
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Kazakh Steppe Horses
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The opening at the top of a Kazakh yurt is called a Shangiraq. The circle represents the circle of life and the cross marks the cardinal points.
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