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Yurt
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Yurt in the Gobi desert, Mongolia. yurt Round white felt tents called gers, with decorative orange doors, stand on open grassland under a partly cloudy sky in Mongolia. White yurts and grazing livestock scattered across a grassy plain in the Orkhon Valley, Mongolia, with rocky hills and a river in the background. A Kazak yurt with a patterned rug hanging at its entrance stands on rocky ground in front of snow-capped peaks in the Pamir Mountains, Xinjiang, China.
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Also spelled:
yurta
Mongol:
ger
Related Topics:
Tent
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Yurt in the Gobi desert, Mongolia.
Yurt in the Gobi desert, Mongolia.

Yurt

shelter
Also known as: ger, gher, yurta
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ā€¢History

Yurt, tentlike Central Asian nomadā€™s dwelling, erected on wooden poles and covered with skin, felt, or handwoven textiles in bright colours. The interior is simply furnished with brightly coloured rugs (red often predominating) decorated with geometric or stylized animal patterns. The knotted pile rug, first known from a nomad burial at the foot of the Altai Mountains (5thā€“3rd century bc), probably developed as a fur substitute to provide warmth and sleeping comfort in the yurt.

Other items found inside a typical yurt include saddlebags, drinking gourds, and tools for spinning and weaving. The yurt is pitched wherever the nomad finds good pasture for the herds and is carried from place to place on horseback or on a small wagon.