Nauryz celebrated in Houston, TX

HOUSTON. KAZINFORM - Nauryz was celebrated in one of the central parks of Houston, Texas, USA, Kazinform reports. 

"Each year the natives of such countries as Turkey, Bosnia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan celebrate this holiday in the United States," Gaukhar Sembayeva, a Kazakh living in Texas, says.

"We set tents in the park where Americans can taste national dishes. The Kyrgyz people set a large yurt, Uzbeks cooked pilav in an immense cooking pot, Bosnians baked the sheep right in the park, Kazakhs treated with manti, baursaks and Nauryz-kozhe which was cooked by Masha Husbek, ethnic Kazakh from Mongolia.

"In our auyl in Mongolia Nauryz is a big festivity. We make kozhe from seven ingridients: broth, kazy, wheat, salt, meat and rice. We are especially happy to celebrate Nauryz this year with our daughter Akerke. We have come here for a visit and it is great that the Kazakh traditions are remembered here," Masha apa shared.

(Kazy is a sausage from horse meat, traditional dish of Turkic people, and apa means "elder sister").

According to Gaukhar Sembayeva, in Houston there are a lot of our countrymen, especially from the western regions of the country. They frequently come on employment contracts with oil and gas companies.

For the family of Raushan Mukhametzhanova this is the third Nauryz in a row in the USA. "Each time there are bright staged performances, sophisticated costumes, national food of the Turkic countries. We meet old friends and make new friends. We make sure our kids preserve the interest in national traditions. Each year celebration of Nauryz becomes more international - more and more Americans get to know about our country and culture. Our daughter studies in Dallas and her friends have come from Dallas to visit the festival. They were impressed with our hospitability, kind attitude and openness. The performance of the children from the Kazakh school 'Shanyrak' was especially memorable," says  Raushan Mukhametzhanova.



The pupils of Shanyrak - a Sunday Kazakh school in Houston - presented a performance in the park. This year about 20 children study in this school. They learn Kazakh, take dombra classes, and learn the national dance.



Assel Uteuliyeva is a volunteer - she teaches dombra playing in Houston. Back in Kazakhstan, as a child, Assel took dombra class at a music school.

"These children learn quickly. It is easy to work with them. They are very keen to learn," she said.

There are about 2 thousand Kazakhstanis living in Houston.