Yurt 101: How to Buy and Build an Awesome Circular Cabin

What’s the history of the yurt?

Originally, nomadic people used yurts throughout the dry, grassy plains of the Eurasian Steppe, which spans from Hungary to China. People have used them for as long as three thousand years. Different cultures have different names for the yurt structure. For example, in Russia, they are called ‘yurta,’ while this structure is known as a ‘ger’ in Mongolia.

Although different cultures call them different names, the meaning of the words mostly stays the same, translating to ‘home’, ‘homeland’, or ‘kinsman’ in English. These structures are so closely linked to the nomadic people who traditionally inhabited them that these homes even inspired the word ‘nomad’.’ The original word, ‘nomad’, stemmed from the word ‘felt’– the material used to cover the structure. Thus nomads, or yurt dwellers, were known as ‘felt people’.

The first written description of a yurt is credited to Greek Historian Herodotus, who noted the circular dwellings of the Scythian people, a horse-riding nomadic nation who roamed Central Asia from 900 BC to around 200 BC. Then, and now, yurts are used as dwellings throughout most Central Asian countries, including Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, where even the national flag hosts a depiction of a yurt.

However, the circular tent is the most associated with the nomadic lifestyle of the Mongols. Genghis Khan, the Mongolian leader, even ruled his empire while living in a large yurt. Many Mongolian people still use yurts as their homes today. In fact, around 61% of inhabitants in Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar live in gers, as do nearly 90% of the rural population.

In the 1960s, William Coperthwaite introduced yurts to the United States after reading an article about Mongolia in a 1962 edition of National Geographic. Thereafter they were periodically featured in such counter culture publications as The Whole Earth Catalog as a cost efficient DIY living alternative. The first modern yurt manufacturer in North America (Pacific Yurts) was founded in 1978 by Alan Bair.

Source: https://www.fieldmag.com/articles/what-is-a-yurt-guide