The mega Yurt

In response to an increasing demand for ever larger Yurts Red Kite Yurts embarked on their most ambitious Yurt ever last spring - a Yurt to hold 150 guests at a wedding banquet or large event. A full year later the enormous structure saw its showcase event in January 2011. The frame for the Yurt was ordered from Kyrgystan. Paul went to Kyrgystan himself in January 2010 to meet with the Yurt master tasked with the Project to discuss design and the logistics construction. Below are some pictures from his trip.

The Proccess of creating a Monster Yurt:

• willow saplings (aak tal) were coppiced (the method of harvesting the timber) from woods up on the hills above Issyl Kul.
• The saplings measuring up to six meters in length were transported back to the Yurt Master's workshop where they were individually peeled using a spoke shave and make-shift clamping mechanism (see picture on right).
• The poles were then dried for two months before being steam bent. Both rafters (117 in this yurt) and wall poles (about 300) need to be bent to create the domed shape roof, typical of Kyrgyz Yurts.

• Each pole then needed to be drilled and the wall poles attached with Yak hide to form the 12 lattice wall sections of the Yurt (see picture on left)
• It is traditional for the frames of Kyrgyz yurts to be painted a bright red - this also disguises blemishes or even breaks in the timber, as we discovered after several poles snapped on their first outing.
• While work was progressing in Kyrgystan we too were busy in our workshop in Central Scotland crafting the massive double crown structure and the four doors, while also liasing with our canvas suppliers in Hungary (Spirits Intent) on progress.




The mega Yurt on its first outing at The Big Tent Festival in Falkland


• The frame was ready for shipping, but as we all remember there was a large cloud of Ash blowing across Europe and Central Asia early last summer which prevented our Yurt from taking to the air. With summer progressing and our Yurt weeks behind there was little we could do other than hope for a break. It came, but before transportation could be arranged Political unrest flared up over ancient tensions in Kyrgystan. Transport of the Yurt from Issyl Kol to Bishkek airport was delayed for a further two weeks.
• Finally the timber arrived and with the full frame erected for the first time we could finally send final measurements to our canvas makers, Spirits Intent. With a one day remaining before the Big Tent Festival in Falkland the canvas arrived and we were off.

The frame of the mega Yurt (117 roof poles, 300+ wall poles & 4 doors)

The Big Yurt has now been erected three times - first for a festival, then for a wedding in Aberdeen and once for our own purposes. It has already been booked five times for 2011, with a double booking in May for weddings. It is likely to make a presence at Gardening Scotland, The Wickerman, Doune the Rabbit hole, The Insider and The Edinburgh Festival. There has also been interest from several organisations who are interested in buying a Mega Yurt of their own.



Tables set up in Mega Yurt for a wedding banquet

If you would like more information about the Yurt or any of the others we have please feel free to contact us by email or phone on 01877 330 943. We will also be releasing a video on YouTube by the end of February demonstrating this fantastic and versatile space.


Bride and Groom in the centre of the Mega Yurt beneath the impressive double crown


Find us on Facebook, Twitter