Central Asia

Roofing Materials

• Mud RoofA roof finished with compacted earth or clay over timber beams and a layer of matting or brush, traditional in dry regions worldwide; also called an earth roof.

Roofing Around the World

• Pamiri House (Chid)The Pamiri house, or chid, of Tajikistan's Badakhshan region has a flat earth roof on five pillars, lit by a stepped square skylight called the chorkhona.
• Roofing in KazakhstanKazakh roofing runs from the felt-domed yurt and its shangyrak crown, a national emblem, to Timurid brick domes and Soviet-era flat-roofed apartment blocks.
• Roofing in KyrgyzstanKyrgyzstan's emblematic roof is the felt yurt with its tunduk crown, shown on the national flag; most houses are earth or brick with timber roofs.
• Roofing in TajikistanTajikistan's distinctive roof is the flat earth roof of the Pamiri house (chid), carried on five pillars and lit by a stepped skylight, the chorkhona.
• Roofing in TurkmenistanTurkmenistan's roofing heritage centres on the brick domes of Merv and Kunya-Urgench; the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake reshaped modern construction.
• Roofing in UzbekistanUzbekistan's Silk Road cities are known for brick domes and tiled cupolas; houses were mud-brick with painted timber ceilings; Tashkent was rebuilt after 1966.
• Tunduk and Shangyrak (Yurt Crown)The tunduk (Kyrgyz) or shangyrak (Kazakh) is the wooden crown ring at the top of a Central Asian yurt roof, and a national symbol of both countries.