There is nothing special about Sary Mogol, a village lying in the shadow cast by a giant wall of ice and snow of Lenin Peak. Poor farm buildings, houses made of clay with a few looking slightly more recent, a school, a medical centre, a coal mine close by... and omnipresent animals loitering around. In the harsh climate totally unfavourable for agriculture, it is the animals that have played a fundamental role in the region for centuries.

Kyrgyzstan landscape is dominated by flocks of sheep and herds of cows and horses. In the post-Soviet reality, though, the sight of the animals roaming around ugly houses and eating leftovers from garbage cans is rather poignant and sad. And their coexistence with man seems to be as severe as the living conditions.
There is no room for too much tenderness. Children use sheep bones to play. Young boys often play Upai... a game similar to marbles which is popular with children in Europe.