This is the Story of a Yurt

In response to an innocent question in a game of online scrabble, I am now prepared to post about the mysterious Yurt. A Yurt is portable, like a tent, but much more durable than typical tents. It is a favorite form of housing for nomads and the Turks of Central Asia. To illustrate what a Yurt is, here are two excerpts from the manga Otoyomegatari (read right to left):




The dwellings in the above pages are Yurts. However, I did not learn of Yurts from a manga. I learned about them when I was in middle school, playing a computer game called Age of Empires. In the game, you can create maps and scenarios using various items and units. Among the items were dwellings, some of which were named Yurts. From there, I learned that Yurts were for nomads, but it would not be until I started studying history for fun that I became familiar with them.

So, now you know.