Xinjiang China... Kashgar...another silk route city ....oh we loved it there. The place was almost an utopia after Central Asia. We could get most of the needs and wants (except blogs and facebooks, etc). Food was a big improvement from Central Asia.
Kashgar was a very contrasting city - the old part and the new part. The old part was similar to what we saw in Central Asia. The people in the older part were predominently Urghurs and of the Islamic faith. The buildings/dwellings were errected from clayblocks. Sadly, a lot of the old dwellings were condemned and being demolished, while others were being demolished to make way for modern flats (square concrete blocks, really). One of the photos below shows older part of Kashgar - taken from the bazaar across the river. Other photos show everyday lives of the Urghur people - noodle making, butcher, fruiterer, bread (bagel) maker and mobile shoe store. Trades of the past were still much in practice in the streets of old Kashgar - eg, cobblers, tinsmiths and copper-smiths who shaping with hamers and anvils all sorts of pots and pans from scretch, without matel spinning!
Also attached a photo of the oldest mosque in the region.
In the newer part of the city - was just like any Chinese city, except there were many stone sellers (see picture of the stones they were selling). The stones came from Kotan in south west Xinjiang.
Another famous person of the past from this region was Xian Fei (Fragrant Concubine of QianLong Wang -Emperor of China). She was buried in amongst her family at Akbah Hoja - see photo attached of the entrance to the tombs.
After four nights in Kashgar, we moved on and aimed for Turpan with a couple of bush camps along the way. What's in between these two cities? - the Gobi Desert (see photos) and many oases. Also a photo shows the "bush" camp in the desert with Tim being the centre of attention - cooking the dinner in the "poykee".
Kashgar was a very contrasting city - the old part and the new part. The old part was similar to what we saw in Central Asia. The people in the older part were predominently Urghurs and of the Islamic faith. The buildings/dwellings were errected from clayblocks. Sadly, a lot of the old dwellings were condemned and being demolished, while others were being demolished to make way for modern flats (square concrete blocks, really). One of the photos below shows older part of Kashgar - taken from the bazaar across the river. Other photos show everyday lives of the Urghur people - noodle making, butcher, fruiterer, bread (bagel) maker and mobile shoe store. Trades of the past were still much in practice in the streets of old Kashgar - eg, cobblers, tinsmiths and copper-smiths who shaping with hamers and anvils all sorts of pots and pans from scretch, without matel spinning!
Also attached a photo of the oldest mosque in the region.
In the newer part of the city - was just like any Chinese city, except there were many stone sellers (see picture of the stones they were selling). The stones came from Kotan in south west Xinjiang.
Another famous person of the past from this region was Xian Fei (Fragrant Concubine of QianLong Wang -Emperor of China). She was buried in amongst her family at Akbah Hoja - see photo attached of the entrance to the tombs.
After four nights in Kashgar, we moved on and aimed for Turpan with a couple of bush camps along the way. What's in between these two cities? - the Gobi Desert (see photos) and many oases. Also a photo shows the "bush" camp in the desert with Tim being the centre of attention - cooking the dinner in the "poykee".
No comments:
Post a Comment