FIGURE 5.34 The yurt: A celebrated but fading way of life. A Kazakh herding family compound, centered on the yurt, the traditional dwelling of the steppes of Central Asia. Yurts once provided mobile, warm, and durable shelter to millions of nomadic people throughout Central Asia and parts of Russia, Mongolia, and western China. The decline of nomadism in the Soviet and post-Soviet era has meant that yurts are now used mainly as supplementary living space in rural areas, and are usually found in cities only during festivals. Courtesy Lynn Johnson/National Geographic/Getty Images