The series follows a journey around Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan’s largest lake, between the Kungei Alatau and Terskey Alatau ranges. I aimed to photograph the communities living along the shores of the lake, documenting the people of these towns. I captured villagers playing kok-boru, the country’s national sport, where riders on horseback compete to carry a goat carcass into an opposing goal.

The project explores Issyk-Kul as a place shaped by cultural traditions rather than the tourist routes that pass through the region, setting portraits of local residents against the lake and mountain landscapes that surround them.