Day 22: View of the imperial palace of Otrar. 35/

Loving Kazakh wedding music, found by luck on the train. Many are farewell songs, as daughters would never see their families again.
A song talks about "Dariga", a ritual whereby a person circles around another person to get sickness out of him (typically father to son).32/

Day 20-1: Great sense of community on 50-hour train ride Atyrau-Shimkent. A singer sings the songs prepared for her daughter's wedding at the dombra, the Kazakh national instrument. Neighbours share their food with me and I befriends young soldiers finishing their service. 30/

I was wrong! This big building in Atyrau 🇰🇿 is the headquarter of Chevron, which has got license to extract oil in the region. The museum guide told me people here feel that oil is part of their identity. When we'll sever this toxic dependence?? 28/