KEMALPAŞA ALAŞ KAZAKH VALLEY KUMIS FARM
Kazakh Valley Kumis Farm is reached by taking the İzmir-Ankara highway from Kemalpaşa turnout to the right in the direction of Torbalı-Selçuk and entering the road on the right about 4 kilometres, and the farm is only half an hour from İzmir. The farm locates next to a lush forest consisting of olive, pine, and various fruit trees at the skirts of Mount Nif.
THE HISTORY OF KAZAKH VALLEY
The history of the Kazakh Valley written on the website is from the thoughts of Şirzat Doğru. He was one of the Kazakh Turks who were forced to leave East Turkistan after its invasion. “The Great Kazakh Migration” started in 1949 and lasted two years. All crossed the Taklamakan Desert and the Himalayas and reached India, then came to Turkey in 1954. They were warmly welcomed in Turkey, and he wanted to empower the two ancestral heritages that faded into oblivion to Turkish people as a sign of loyalty.
In 1987, Mr. Şirzat bought this valley, which resembles the Altai Mountains, to produce kumis, the national drink of Turks, and to establish a marquee, like their homeland, where all Turkish tribes were originally born and grown. The first thing he did in the valley was build a marquee, which its interior design made by the famous painter Aman Abzalbek, who was purposely invited from Turkistan. The ones, who were familiar with the arrangement system of the marquees used to know where to sit according to their age and status when they entered inside. The marquee on the Kazakh Valley is a mesmerizing place that anyone must visit. The Turkish press named here “Mini Kazakhstan” and “Kazakh Valley” because of the view of young people wearing national clothing on the horses and having a Kazakh-Turk owner.
MARQUEE: There is another kind of marquee made of reinforced concrete for stability and touristic purposes on the farm. The original marquees are made from bristle and hair felt. The marquee is completely arranged according to the traditions of Kazakh Turks, and the staff inside, wearing Kazakh clothing, promotes local handicraft products.
CENTRAL ASIAN CUISINE: It is possible to find elegant dining from Kazakh, Uzbek, Kyrgyz Turks cuisines in the restaurant where the traditional Central Asian cuisine are served. The most significant ones among them are Uzbek rice, bavursak, goose sausage, veggies with meat, kavurdak, şaşlık, steamed dumpling, barbecued chicken thigh, deep fried dough with minced meat, and kespe köje soup.
HORSES: Horses, the most dominant figure of Central Asian Turkic culture, are also essential for the Kazakh Valley. There are not only Central Asian horses bred but also Haiflinger kind origin from Austria, which are pure mares and highly productive on the farm. Haiflinger-kind foals are known for their calm nature and being saddle horses. When turning to Kumis Farm, horses with gorgeous manes can be seen on the left. The visitors of the Kumis Farm have an opportunity to take a ride with these horses. It is possible to ride the training horses and likewise take individual rides with guidance in the woods and the large farm fields.
The visitors who hesitate to ride a horse may have a walk through the woods decorated with thousands of field poppies, daisies, and various others, green grasses, and diverse trees.
KUMIS PRODUCTION UNIT: Kumis, the oldest national drink made from mare milk, is arguably the most original figure of this Kazakh Valley also gives its name to the farm. Kumis is a fermented, slightly alcoholic drink with the consistency of watery ayran, and its taste resembles kefir, another miraculous drink of the Caucasian Turks. The benefits of kumis on health have been recorded through scientific publications. The best kumis can be obtained from a mare’s milk, which is reproduced at least two times. Alaş Kumis Production Unit in Kazakh Valley is the first and only facility that produces kumis in Turkey.
Alaş Kumis Farm in Kemalpaşa is open only for weekends during winter, and from April to October, it is open every day.
FARM ADDRESS: Alaş Kumis Farm Kazakh Valley Çinliköy - Kemalpaşa /İzmir