During my recent trip to Kazakhstan I had the great pleasure of interviewing Krym Altynbekov, a remarkable restorer of archaeological artefacts. Krym is responsible recreating the costumes and equipment found in ancient burials. In particular, he has specialised in the clothing of some of the Scythian/Saka burials found across the country. My article on Krym has now been published in the Astana Times and you can read it here.

I can exclusively reveal the first photos of tigers arriving in Kazakhstan. The two tigers – a male and a female, both from a Dutch zoo – arrived by helicopter at a secret location near Lake Balkhash.

After a period of aclimatisation, the two animals will be released into a specially prepared area where there are already plenty of prey animals for them. More will arrive next year. Watch this space for further updates.

Two Amur tigers are due to arrive in Kazakhstan by the end of this month in the first stage of a programme that will eventually see up to 40 of the highly endangered animals released into the wild.

Four more will arrive next year from Russia, with the rest coming by the end of 2026. This species, which is found along the Amur River in Eastern Siberia, is able to withstand the harsh Central Asian winters. It once flourished as far west as Iran and Turkey, but the last one in Kazakhstan was seen in 1948.

Tigers were a common motif on the clothes of Scythian warriors 2,500 years ago and are the subject of many Kazakh folk stories. The aim is to reintroduce them to the forests and reedbeds where the River Ili flows into Lake Balkash in the south-eastern Zhetysu region.

The World Nomad Games in Astana  have now come to an end. The riders and wrestlers, tuggers and throwers, hunters and gamers have left and will meet again in Kyrgyzstan in two years’ time. It was a fantastic showcase for both the competitors and the Kazakhs who hosted it. Here are a few more pics of the eagle and hawk hunters to show you what you missed.

With several thousand competitors and more than 100,000 spectators, the World Nomad Games in Astana, Kazakhstan has got off to a great start. Athletes from more than 80 nations are competing in archery, horse sports and wrestling, as well as intellectual games, such as toguz kumalak to win the top prizes. Here’s a few pics from the kokpar competition in which teams of riders attempt to pick up a (not real) goat carcass and drop it into a large container at one end of the competition area. Not many other rules, really, in this very physical game. This match was between Kyrgyzstan and Russia. The Kyrgyz won by a good margin. More soon.

The Astana Times, an English-language publication in Kazakhstan, has published my article on the long and noble history of nomadic games. You can find a copy here. I will be in Astana from 7-14 September attending the Games and also delivering a paper at the Scientific Conference that is running alongside the Games.

I am very grateful to reader Christian Winkler for pointing out to me that Willie Read, the mysterious hunter I successfully identified last year following my trip to Kashmir, also wrote up his travels for a prestitious magazine. His article, spread across three pages, was featured in the Country Life edition of 11 April 1914. Country Life is the magazine of the landed gentry and in the time before the First World War often featured pieces written by hunters who had travelled in remote places.

There is little in the article that we do not already know. Read writes that he set off from Srinagar on 15th May 1912, meeting his shikari Rahima in Bandipur, downstream on the River Jhelum. “Our route was via Gurais, the Burzil Pass, Godhai, Gilgit, the Kaujut Valley to Merenski”, he writes. He crossed the Killik Pass and after spending 10 days hunting for big sheep and ibex in the Pamir Mountains, made for Kashgar and then Aksu in Chinese Turkestan. From Aksu he entered the Muzart Valley and crossed the pass into the Tekkes Valley in the Tian Shan Mountains before heading on to Kuldja in October. The article is illustrated with some of the images from his magic lantern slides.

It always surprised me that I could not find any article or book that mentioned Read’s journey, which took the best part of seven months and involved a journey of almost 3,000 miles through some of the toughest terrain on earth. Now at least we know that he recorded the journey for posterity in the pages of Country Life.

On 8th September more than 3,000 competitors from over 100 countries will gather in Astana, Kazakhstan to take part in the 5th World Nomad Games. Competitors in 21 different sports will compete for almost 90 medals. The sports include the world-famous Kokpar, in which two teams of 12 compete to deliver a serke (dummy sheep) into a hole at either end of the pitch; Kazak kuresi wrestling, in which competitors seek to throw their opponents onto their back; Alysh (belt wrestling); tug-of-war; the Powerful Nomad Strongman competition; Tenge Ilu, in which riders on horseback attempt to pick up objects on the ground; traditional archery; horseback archery; Kuzbegilik – hunting with birds of prey; and Togyzkumalak – a strategy board game involving beads.

Alongside the Games there will be a scientific conference on nomadism and many cultural events that celebrate nomadic culture.

Horse racing competitions, traditional archery and hunting with birds, as well as horse riding competitions will be held at the Kazanat racetrack and on the Ethnoaul site. The Ushkempirov Wrestling Palace and Alau Ice Palace will host the wrestling competitions, martial arts and folk games, and traditional intellectual games will be held in the Duman complex. The Qazaqstan Athletics Sports Complex will house the WNG Accreditation and Equipment Centers.

The WNG cultural programme will be held in the Universe of Nomads, Ethno-village (Ethno-Aul), which is located on a 10-hectare site adjacent to the Kazanat race course in the south-western side of the city. Cultural activities will also be held at various venues in Astana, including city squares, parks, public gardens, other public spaces, theatres, concert halls, cinemas, museums and exhibition halls.

As well as covering the events, I will also be presenting a paper at the scientific conference on Historial Images of Nomadism. These games promise to be spectacular and I urge any of you that can to make your way to Astana and enjoy a real treat.