A traditional
yurt (from the Turkics) or
ger (Mongolian) is a portable, round
tent covered with skins or
felt and used as a
dwelling by
nomads in the
steppes of
Central Asia. The structure comprises an angled assembly or
latticework of pieces of wood or bamboo for walls, a door frame,
ribs (
poles, rafters), and a
wheel (
crown, compression ring) possibly
steam-bent. The roof structure is often self-supporting, but large yurts may have interior posts supporting the crown. The top of the wall of self-supporting yurts is prevented from spreading by means of a
tension band which opposes the force of the roof ribs. Modern yurts may be permanently built on a wooden platform; they may use modern materials such as steam-bent wooden framing or metal framing, canvas or tarpaulin, Plexiglas dome, wire rope, or radiant insulation.