Asylai was born in 2001 in the At-Bashinsky district of Naryn region and currently lives in the village of Kyzyl-Tuu, where she manages the household.
“I got married at 18. We met my future husband at the wedding of our relatives, where he was a groomsman and I was a bridesmaid. Later, we started messaging each other on social media since we live in the same village. At first, he didn’t confess his love to me, but he managed to win my parents' trust,” she shared.
Teyyube Yunus speaks Kyrgyz fluently.
“He speaks Kyrgyz even better than I do. I sometimes ask him for words I don’t understand. Although my husband is originally from Baku, he grew up in a Kyrgyz village, so he is familiar with the local culture. I had no trouble adapting after marriage. We live with his parents, and I quickly found common ground with them. Rather, it was harder for them to get used to me,” Erkinbekova recounted.
She recalled a funny incident from her marriage:
“At the beginning, when I had just gotten married, my mother-in-law and my husband started speaking in Azerbaijani at the table. I didn’t understand them and cried, thinking they were discussing something that concerned me. Now it makes me smile because they were just communicating in their native language. Now I understand Azerbaijani well, and they joke that they can’t gossip anymore.”
Asylai also noted her love for cooking:
“I love to cook a variety of dishes and desserts. My mother-in-law sells flowers and teaches me this craft, hoping that I will continue this business in the future,” she added.
The couple has a son and a daughter, and they plan to send their parents on a pilgrimage to Mecca in the future, as well as visit Azerbaijan.
