Art from the Gobi

So Adam and I just received our long awaited Kazakh wall hanging. It's actually from Mongolia but the women who made it are of the Kazakh minority in western Mongolia. It measures about 1 by 3 meters and was all hand-embroidered. I still am amazed they did it so quickly. I was expecting it to take a LOT longer than it did. When we opened the box it came in, it was like stepping back into Mongolia again. The smell of the Gobi desert is one of livestock (sheep, goats and horses) and sour milk. We had to air it out a couple days but it still retains its signature scent. I don't really mind that it smells that way -- gives it more authenticity and fond memories. But, I'd rather not have the entire room smelling like the inside of a ger (yurt).

Anyway, the whole thing was about $180, but Adam's brother and sister-in-law decided to give it to us as a gift, which was wonderful of them. Still $180 is a steal for something this intricate and labor intensive, not to mention absolutely gorgeous. We have it hanging on the wall above our couch in the living room, which makes the room look a bit crowded. We would have put it in our bedroom but then no one would be able to see it! I can't wait until we can get our own place back home and decorate it with all our stuff we've collected. It will have a serious Asian theme but I also have stuff from Ecuador back home as well, so all in all it will be VERY international. That's for sure. Anyway, this is so far one of the best things we've gotten. Here are some pictures. I'll post better ones a bit later.