Breaking Bokonbayevo

Bokonbayevo / Kyrgyzstan

In the quiet mountain town of Kyzart, Kyrgyzstan, I was introduced to a woman who claimed she could connect me with a practicing eagle hunter — some four hours away, near the village of Bokonbayevo. She scribbled a WhatsApp number on a scrap of paper and, trusting the adventure, I set off.

The ‘meeting point’ turned out to be little more than a dusty roadside, but standing there waiting was the eagle hunter himself — calm, rugged, and accompanied by his bird. Without much talk, he gestured for me to hop in. Together, we bumped down dirt roads until reaching an open field just beyond the village.

There, against the backdrop of sweeping desert and distant mountains, he began to demonstrate a tradition passed down through generations. The power and grace of the eagle, the silence between commands, the worn leather glove on his arm — it all felt a touch cinematic - like something pulled straight from an episode of Breaking Bad.

A man dressed in traditional clothing standing next to a beige car under a tree, with a rural landscape including green fields and mountains in the background.
A man dressed in traditional Mongolian clothing holding a large bird of prey, possibly a golden eagle, standing in front of a white station wagon with a mountainous desert landscape in the background.
A person driving a vehicle, looking into the rearview mirror, which reflects their face and eyes with a neutral expression. The dashboard and part of another person in the front seat are visible.
A man dressed in traditional Asian attire holding a bird of prey, possibly a hawk or eagle, in a desert landscape with mountains in the background.
An old, abandoned off-road vehicle in a desert, with a vulture perched on a tire in front of it, and the vehicle's door open.
A golden eagle wearing a leather cap perched on a tire in an outdoor setting.
A man dressed in traditional Mongolian clothing holding a golden eagle on his arm in a desert landscape with hills in the background.
A person dressed in traditional Asian attire handing an arrow to a golden eagle with a hood on its head, which is perched on a black tire beside an old vehicle in a desert setting.
Man wearing traditional Uyghur clothing and a white hat standing beside an open car door in a desert landscape, with a bird perched on an old tire in the background.
A person in a blue vest and pants, wearing black boots, is leaning into the back of an old, open car in a dry, desert landscape.
A golden eagle wearing a leather hood, sitting indoors near a window.