Ken Powell a seasoned globe-trotter and experienced photographer (powellphotography.ca), blogs (powellponderings.com) about his journey with Adventures Abroad’s 21 Day Five Stans Tour, which covers Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. His insights, images, and expertise offer a wonderful glimpse into this extraordinary tour.

Two separate stories from the sporting world while travelling on the Five Stans tour. From a sport that you will instantly recognize to one that you will not believe that it is a sport.

Let's start with one that is the most popular sport in the world. A soccer World Cup qualification match was being played between North Korea and the Kyrgyz Republic the night we arrived in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Upon returning from dinner, five of us decided on the spur of the moment that we would see if we could buy tickets to see the match.

It was half-time when we navigated our way up the concrete bleachers into our seats. We were surrounded by Kyrgyz fans, so we lustily cheered on the home team – which hung on to the one goal that they scored in the first half. North Korea put on quite a push in the last ten minutes and almost scored a couple of times.

The fans were wild. They realized we were strangers to their stadium and they were pleased when we got into the excitement. They even gave us some cheap rain gear when it sprinkled for a few minutes.

The scoreboard said the attendance that night was 9,840; almost all of whom, including us, left delighted with the Kyrgyz Republic victory, 1 - 0.

Match Over. Video by Brendan Powell.

Now from one end of the spectrum to the other end...

OK, you won’t believe this one. Near the end of our journey we were taken to a large field that looked like a soccer pitch, with lines marking the exterior and, as it turned out, two large circular mounds that served as goals. We were about to see a most unusual game. Called Kok Boru, a traditional Kyrgyzstan game was to be played in front of us. Two teams of four riders on horses faced each other. In the centre of the field, a fresh dead headless goat was lying on the ground. I repeat a dead headless goat!

The rules were simple. The objective was to grab the goat carcass and throw it in the other team's goal – the elevated circular mounds at both ends of the field. Each team had the same objective, thus a vigorous clash occurred once the signal was made for the game to start. You could tell it was difficult, requiring considerable strength and horsemanship. The goat is heavy (~75 pounds) and hard to grasp (no head). Each team is very aggressive in attacking anyone with the goat or protecting your own player with the goat.

Back and forth the teams went. The goat would often be yanked from an opposing player’s grip, fall to the muddy pitch (it had recently rained), and often at a full gallop be grabbed by an opposing player and manipulated under a leg whereupon a mad sprint would ensue towards a mound.

The game goes back thousands of years. When the people of Kyrgyzstan were nomadic, wolves would attack and eat their livestock. Since their livestock was also their livelihood, this was a problem. To ensure survival, they would kill the wolves they saw. Eventually, they developed a use for the wolf carcass: Kok Boru (Blue Wolf). What might have started as a game played by shepherds to pass the time, has become a cultural symbol of both Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. In the present-day world, the wolf carcass has been replaced with a goat carcass.

The final score was 2 to 1, and the winners got to keep the goat, which apparently would be used for the evening meal in their village.

So there you go, two sporting events, one that touches almost all corners of the globe and another one that gives you a taste of local sport, literally and figuratively!

The Game. Video by Brendan Powell.


He Throws! He Scores! Video by Brendan Powell.


The Tricks of The Trade. Video by Brendan Powell.