Kazakhstan: Spectacular World Nomad Games close in Astana

The fifth World Nomad Games were held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, with a grand opening ceremony for around 3,000 athletes. Dubbed the "Great Gathering on the Steppe," the games take place every two years. Disciplines include wrestling, eagle hunting, archery and, of course, kok boru, played by two teams on horseback with a goat's carcass used as a ball.

Kazakh target jamba and Turkish target puta were just two of the traditional archery competitions held at the games. A total of around 80 nations take part in the competition and compete in a total of 20 disciplines. Competitors from non-nomadic cultures are also able to participate.

Kok boru is the national sport of Kyrgyzstan. Two teams of four on horseback try to maneuver a headless goat's carcass (replaced with a dummy in modern games) into a circular goal. The game is inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The master artisans who make the equipment used in traditional Turkish archery use raw materials like animal horn, reeds and feathers. The equipment is also decorated with calligraphy, marquetry and other ornamental arts. Traditional Turkish archery has also been inscribed on the UNESCO list.

Visitors to the World Nomad Games were also invited to explore a number of exhibition tents on the extensive grounds in Astana. The games were first held in Kyrgyzstan in 2014, and now attract tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world.

Different forms of wrestling competitions take place during the games. The goal of mas-wrestling is to snatch the stick from an opponent's hands, or pull them across to the other side of the board. In the horseback wrestling event, competitors wrestle to pull their opponents off their horses.