Discover Moldova with #MOLDPRES: original yurtas from Kyrgyzstan, set in Leordoaia village, Calarasi district

What would be if we say you that you can discover the Kyrgyz culture without visiting Kyrgyzstan? In the summer of 2020, an unusual destination appeared on the tourist map of Moldova - Manas Yurt Village – a camp of yurtas (nomads’ tents) placed in the Leordoaia village, central Calarasi district.    

The tourist complex is managed by Larisa Ambrosii and her business partner Anar Joldon, born in Kyrgyzstan. They got acquainted in Ireland 20 years ago.  

„Exactly in August 2019, we started elaborating the sketches and we built the complex during one year,’’ Larisa Ambrosii said.  

The complex has 12 original yurtas, all of them brought from Kyrgyzstan. Eight of them are for accommodation, two are meant for private events and one is for meditation. Also, visitors are able to taste traditional Kyrgyz dishes at the restaurant of the complex, cooked by cooks born in Kyrgyzstan. The soup Shorpo, Manti, Lagman and the Chak chak desert are just some of the names from the oriental menu.      

The entrance to the area of the complex costs 50 lei. You will enjoy an excursion to the camp of yurtas and will taste the traditional Borsok bread. As for those willing to experiment a night in yurta, the price is of 600 lei, with breakfast included and besides the excursion, they will benefit also from a walk by boat on the lake nearby.    

„In the long run, we are set to orient ourselves inclusively to foreign tourists. Foreigners appreciate a lot such places of leisure: nature, home meal cooked at fire. We were proposed to create franchises, i.e. in other countries. There is no such a thing in Europe. Yet, the pandemic came and the plans changed,’’ Larisa Ambrosii said.    

Presently, nine people are employed at the complex, of whom five ones are local residents and four are born in Kyrgyzstan. The main problem faced by the business people is the fluctuation of staff and the priority number one represents the access roads at present.  

„We are looking for financing. There are only 5 km of road. The place has a great tourist potential; there are four monasteries nearby, plus our complex with yurtas,’’ Larisa Ambrosii noted.   

Yurta represents a traditional dwelling of peoples from the Central Asia and is constructed out of wood, thick felt and leather. It is can be assembled and disassembled in just two hours and due to its round shape, it is resistant to wind.   

„The yurta is regarded as the holy place of the family. One is not allowed to enter it with his/her shoes on and one should put the first step in it with the right leg,’’ the manager of the tourist complex told us.    

The word, yurta, comes from a Turkic word, which means a trace left on the soil by a tent which was moved. It is worth mentioning that the yurtas from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan were included in the World Heritage of UNESCO in 2014.