The story
Korkyt Ata Music Festival in Kyzylorda
A triennial folk music festival in Kyzylorda, birthplace of the legendary musician-philosopher Korkyt Ata, gathering roughly 150 Turkic-speaking performers from Kazakhstan, Turkey, Iran, and neighboring countries. Held in an open-air amphitheater, it centers on traditional dombra, dutar, and kobyz music tied to Korkyt Ata's legend.
An open-air amphitheater in Kyzylorda fills with the layered sound of dombra, dutar, and saz as musicians from across the Turkic-speaking world gather for Korkyt and the Melodies of the Great Steppe, a folk music festival first staged in 2006 to mark the 15th anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence and now held roughly every three years.