The way of the nomad
Last year, 2.1 million tourists visited Bashkortostan. Every year, 20% more people want to come here. But the head of the republic, Radiy Khabirov, is confident that the number of travelers can increase by 30-35% annually. And there is a reason for this.
The region is doing a lot to increase the number of travellers. Not far from Ufa, the Eurasian Museum of Nomadic Civilisations is to be established in the next five years. A monument of cult memorial architecture from the 14th century, the Mausoleum of Tura Khan, is already open to the public on this territory. More recently, the Tura Khan visitor centre was opened. From its exploded roof, an ecological trail leads past the burial sites discovered by archaeologists to the Mausoleum of Tura Khan. Together they form a single complex. But this is only the beginning. A museum with an area of 23 thousand square metres and a five-star health resort “Nomad” will soon appear on the territory. Also on the territory there will be a “Bashkir Horse Centre”, which will consist of an indoor and outdoor hippodrome, an ethno-village and a “Falcon Bird Centre”.
This is a very ambitious project that will enable Bashkortostan to qualify to host the World Nomad Games. They were first held in 2014 in Kyrgyzstan. In 2024, Kazakhstan will host them.
The Eurasian Museum of Nomadic Civilizations will introduce travelers to the mysterious past of Bashkortostan. Photo: Igor Kharitonov
“The territory where we are now was one of the centres of ancient nomadic civilization since the times of the Golden Horde. Trade routes from Volga Bulgaria and the upper reaches of the Kama River to Central Asia and Siberia stopped here,” said Radiy Khabirov at the opening of the visitor centre. He noted that the medieval mausoleums of Khusainbek, Turakhan and Small Kashane, as well as the ancient Shulgantash, have long become a place of attraction and pilgrimage.
Tourist saddles
In Bashkortostan you can not only learn about the history of nomads, but also feel like a nomad, ride horses through fields that smell of oregano and thyme, and meet wild horses. These horses, of course, have owners, but they rarely see them, so they are even afraid of people. Mares are brought home to be milked and to prepare kumis, the national drink of Bashkiria.
One of the largest suppliers of these products, Aytugan Fattakhov, was popularly nicknamed the “kumis baron.” Today, the Fattakhovs’ livestock consists of eight hundred heads of Bashkir horses. Aitugan opened his farm in the Abzelilovsky district of Bashkortostan for visitors. Here you can watch Aitugan’s mother and sisters cooking beshbarmak on the open fire, milking horses, drinking fresh mare’s milk, and learning how to cook kumis. Tourists can enjoy horseback riding with a stop for archery practice.
Kumis is considered the national drink of Bashkiria. And here you can see how it was prepared by hand in ancient times. Photo: Igor Kharitonov
When traveling in Bashkiria, you should prepare for the fact that it will be a time of digital detox. In many remote villages there is no internet connection.
These are the right bees
Bashkir honey has become the main symbol of the republic. It is about the ecology of the region and the herbs from which it is collected. But local apiaries also attract tourists for their entertainment. Their main difference from ordinary ones is that the bees here do not live in hives, but in tree trunks. This type of honey is considered wild and is called shipboard honey.
The famous aerial honey is collected in the apiaries of Bashkiria. Photo: Igor Kharitonov
The most original thing about this honey is the method of preparation. It is simply scooped out of the hive with a large ladle. Particles of pollen, propolis and wax remain in it, which makes it incredibly fragrant. This honey costs three times more than usual: about 5 thousand rubles per liter.
One of these apiaries is located at the foot of Mount Taratau. Apitherapy is practiced here – treatment with bees. In the small houses for tourists, the hive lives on the ground. There are no bees in the house; they fly out into the street through a hole in the foundation. Staying in such houses makes it very useful for sleeping and relaxing. The slight vibration of the bees’ hum and the aromas of honey are healing.
Depths of meaning
In the very center of Bashkiria there is a multi-storey karst cave, Shulgan-Tash. It is famous for its rock paintings created in the Paleolithic.
About 20 thousand years ago, ancient people painted a horse, a camel and a mammoth on the walls of this cave with ochre. The drawings are located on the so-called second floor, where scientists work. Due to the presence of people, the microclimate in the cave changes, so access to the part where the drawings are located is limited. But their copies have been moved to the first floor, where excursions are held.
The cave holds its mysteries. Scientists have collected versions of ochre paint, but none of them proved to be durable and certainly could not last 20 thousand years on the walls. The skulls of six people were found in the caves, and one can only guess whether they were random victims or sacrifices were made in the cave.
In the side apiary at the foot of Mount Toratau, guests are greeted with baursaks and kumiss. Photo: Igor Kharitonov
In 2022, the Shulgan-Tash museum complex was opened near the cave. “We did not want to create a strictly academic museum, but rather an educational magazine,” says Rustam Alibaev, director of the Arkhtamga expert design bureau. In the museum, an old man will tell his life in the first person, and the girl whose skull was discovered in the cave will tell her sad story – of course, in video format.
Although the cave was not closed to visitors, many left inscriptions on its walls. During the construction of the museum, they were all digitized and erased from the walls. And the museum now has a teletype with messages from different parts of the country and beyond.
Bashkortostan has not yet become a tourist Mecca. But it has every opportunity. In recent years, tourists have shown a willingness to discover Russia and its distant, unexplored corners. And the experience of Teriberka in the Murmansk region, a place that once woke up famous, proves that bad roads and lack of communication do not stop the traveler. There are experiences worth traveling for. And Bashkortostan can boast of having them in sufficient numbers.
By the way
In Bashkiria there is no word “no”, say the locals. The word itself is there, but Bashkirs are hospitable people, it is not customary to refuse a guest. Instead, in response to a request, they say “yes, yes”, look away and are in no hurry to fulfill it. Know that this is the Bashkir “no”. You just need to learn to distinguish this negative intonation.
Entry point
The route depends on what you want to see. If you want to see Ufa and its surroundings, the Tura Khan mausoleum, climb the Shikhan Turatau, walk around merchant Birsk, then you should fly to Ufa. And if you want to ride a horse through fields with wildflowers, try to make kumys yourself, milk mares or get to the Shulgan-Tash cave with rock paintings of ancient people, for this it is better to fly to Magnitogorsk airport.
Rock paintings in Shulgan-Tash cave. Photo: Igor Kharitonov
