tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45956054728459509952024-02-19T16:33:53.401+00:00Silk Road SuzieThis is an account of the travels of a first time "overlander" stepping out into an adventure.silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-43860692460572247792011-03-13T22:53:00.000+00:002011-03-13T22:53:51.133+00:00Eastern Tibet and the Labrang Monastery........<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u>7th June</u> <em>"Shortish Archie day leaving Lui Xia Jia after a Chinese breakfast find I quite like them- cabbage, cucumber, seaweed, pakchoi, mushroom soup - & green tea! Amazing drive through hills - At times the road straddled the ridge - The landscape was how I imagined China - hills with terraces right to the top - tops of hills flattened - terrace after terrace with irregular shapes - mist clinging to the valley sides - It was like this is the "real China" but only in my imagination. The Taklamakan is just as much part of China (or not) as the China of my imagination. Saw my 1st tea plantations -........" </em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMqor4OkvBVgWlIHJ1pw7FuBg1gNu5Q-Bhn3bCU8PZi_h4LmtK7wvm49SQPltSupBdtQ8IBIsRAfT6jFv-n0bukIjhfEYLClC2WHfD3kHP2LdWaHGCOYV4tFXxTlyZ9oZ5qVq0RxBi5BA/s1600/07.06-GansuLandscapes-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMqor4OkvBVgWlIHJ1pw7FuBg1gNu5Q-Bhn3bCU8PZi_h4LmtK7wvm49SQPltSupBdtQ8IBIsRAfT6jFv-n0bukIjhfEYLClC2WHfD3kHP2LdWaHGCOYV4tFXxTlyZ9oZ5qVq0RxBi5BA/s400/07.06-GansuLandscapes-3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgunzxRa6FvF2ubaKUI61TQkBA9kD-gAPwktCpu_ofWI2ccr7GSMqVlkt0o1dRykTT115S1uxyxtvjvO8SF4LnsF1p4qaa0faA5m0849HeXvDXVTovebRvk_SvqOdAAwJ-EXRA4r_IHyT4/s1600/07.06-GansuLandscapes-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgunzxRa6FvF2ubaKUI61TQkBA9kD-gAPwktCpu_ofWI2ccr7GSMqVlkt0o1dRykTT115S1uxyxtvjvO8SF4LnsF1p4qaa0faA5m0849HeXvDXVTovebRvk_SvqOdAAwJ-EXRA4r_IHyT4/s400/07.06-GansuLandscapes-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaxSDNnvg1O8GG8hhY87qYS6jVjrqCzj_JgJlv2pKutiFjPCqIfvsrh-YlitEkk_zUJS6E8svVWhDCtALg6J3_iPVYthf-VKZoleqmnG7p2sQ4PAjPdCyoI6juZJdGP0sKagzfN-eaBw/s1600/07.06-GansuLandscapes-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSaxSDNnvg1O8GG8hhY87qYS6jVjrqCzj_JgJlv2pKutiFjPCqIfvsrh-YlitEkk_zUJS6E8svVWhDCtALg6J3_iPVYthf-VKZoleqmnG7p2sQ4PAjPdCyoI6juZJdGP0sKagzfN-eaBw/s400/07.06-GansuLandscapes-4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>These photos (taken from Archie as we made our way through the mountains) </em></span><br />
<em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;">are the landscapes that I was thinking were "real China".</span></em></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The diary entry continues: <em>"The villages we passed through were on the whole Hui (Muslim) tolerated but not entirely accepted. Then to Linxia for lunch with R&J - mutton broth with noodles - </em>(I seem to remember it being rather cold and damp but the portions of the mutton broth were just what was needed for it being cold and damp - and the portions were huge and delicious. As I write a little tastebud memory comes over me at 9 months on and many 1000s of miles in distance!) <em>Arrived Labrang mid afternoon - The town is in turmoil - New builds everywhere in preparation for the Han Chinese who will be moved here to change the ethnic balance- Tibetans </em>[appear]<em> the majority at present but over the next year or so this will change. It took Archie </em>[very skillfully manoeuvred by Dion through a space barely wider than Archie!] <em>3 goes to get to the hotel because the streets were closed- The street the hotel is in + the side gate one are just masses of mud. There are engineering works going on as I write. There seems to be a "get it done all at once" regardless of an inconvenience to the local population. The town is very geared towards pilgrims and tourists. Monks everywhere though not the 1000s previously - monks in tourist shops - monks on mobiles - monks in taxis- Pleasant meal with J&Y."</em></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia;"><u>8th June</u> <em>"Visit to monastery - some beautiful statues- ..." </em>We were well guided and able to ask questions about many topics to do with the monastery and Buddhism - however we were not able to ask about the Dalai Lama - Although the monks would say that they do not resent that they are not allowed to speak of the Dalai Lama I still got the impression that there is a degree of resentment. And although they should not speak openly about him I am sure he always "has a place in their hearts" or that "he is always with them". The current Panchen Lama and the Living Buddha are both government appointees.</span></div><div align="justify" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">Labrang Monastery</span></em></strong><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Walking the prayer wheels</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDvoZhH4YyAWUlKS_Yf3m7w9Bw3haInLNbgPWvN118xu7y4HAG8XR1h1er438atft9pPBK6CRIlZhwMPaoAXvg_Nsp9S8ULmffkXN9ixSrkLNTv-TMwSHVC0AQcuY6WJkttc_M9UJLts8/s1600/08.06-LabrangMonaster-22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDvoZhH4YyAWUlKS_Yf3m7w9Bw3haInLNbgPWvN118xu7y4HAG8XR1h1er438atft9pPBK6CRIlZhwMPaoAXvg_Nsp9S8ULmffkXN9ixSrkLNTv-TMwSHVC0AQcuY6WJkttc_M9UJLts8/s400/08.06-LabrangMonaster-22.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Prayer wheels</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwNZ9msV2FyPO_CFgT0pgpi8ZJ1WCE8PgvXti3tj7Eyo51tr3PzU5INEIlWSWBXOZtuqUJNzvd_oQ1_diD1C8-OJo1FVhYdEZR6e8acDXcAm-57n0oHDQK2WTCndjwcThFfpu2PA_RqI/s1600/08.06-LabrangMonastery-19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHwNZ9msV2FyPO_CFgT0pgpi8ZJ1WCE8PgvXti3tj7Eyo51tr3PzU5INEIlWSWBXOZtuqUJNzvd_oQ1_diD1C8-OJo1FVhYdEZR6e8acDXcAm-57n0oHDQK2WTCndjwcThFfpu2PA_RqI/s400/08.06-LabrangMonastery-19.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>A valued member of the community! A "dzo"</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVHgMWMW4T4fZ0HEvRgeNyvmu-79Tin1344qTb9uB8zEG3dkOLUKD9TgQZYhCjuLuARyJMcOoLWWzlbZUKBdZL75sprBd8OflpwCXRMLipFGd5VWSRwsbux4Y9bYt6yQXeFU3OG3M32IQ/s1600/08.06-LabrangMonastery-12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVHgMWMW4T4fZ0HEvRgeNyvmu-79Tin1344qTb9uB8zEG3dkOLUKD9TgQZYhCjuLuARyJMcOoLWWzlbZUKBdZL75sprBd8OflpwCXRMLipFGd5VWSRwsbux4Y9bYt6yQXeFU3OG3M32IQ/s400/08.06-LabrangMonastery-12.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Other members of the community included these people I rather liked .................</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-cfZEwsxM-mKj-pupZDXe8OGmHRc4ZaqWPsLv9h0m5sjH5gzTsuNFloqAZiwfpyoi1I0JaB2NDD4AzZz6qEaF28gSg0v9W8TKUCpxjIiMLOlKTM4reCudl3jE-Iliv8zcOMioCgg__8/s1600/08.06-LabrangMonastery-17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-cfZEwsxM-mKj-pupZDXe8OGmHRc4ZaqWPsLv9h0m5sjH5gzTsuNFloqAZiwfpyoi1I0JaB2NDD4AzZz6qEaF28gSg0v9W8TKUCpxjIiMLOlKTM4reCudl3jE-Iliv8zcOMioCgg__8/s400/08.06-LabrangMonastery-17.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>...... waiting patiently for the next festival!</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Pln1o9ip53vWHQSnnuJF2AGKmXeQqKH3qnQCQdprf0pdbeKPr21dn71IcdyhHC471CxcYLxBqxjz2bZPY_KaEwY_wEHBsfT_xcY7mYSVs_074weyPfRk8qxET0A2nVKwvwx2MGqtLIE/s1600/08.06-LabrangMonastery-13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Pln1o9ip53vWHQSnnuJF2AGKmXeQqKH3qnQCQdprf0pdbeKPr21dn71IcdyhHC471CxcYLxBqxjz2bZPY_KaEwY_wEHBsfT_xcY7mYSVs_074weyPfRk8qxET0A2nVKwvwx2MGqtLIE/s400/08.06-LabrangMonastery-13.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Sculpted yak butter flower and below a "yellow hat" lama.</em></span><br />
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</tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKRC5f-3aaMLT-kG1qpa1qvE_6Vt4Ro0NOveTo_0h-JI85Guf0awF0rwqlhHpkH9wu8yWyLyVmmQ3QJxwZ8PmciB9fFD-FI_vk44s6xLztsiKNx42wcfJLMAIMXcc-15eNhjA-knTiNhg/s1600/08.06-LabrangMonastery-55.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKRC5f-3aaMLT-kG1qpa1qvE_6Vt4Ro0NOveTo_0h-JI85Guf0awF0rwqlhHpkH9wu8yWyLyVmmQ3QJxwZ8PmciB9fFD-FI_vk44s6xLztsiKNx42wcfJLMAIMXcc-15eNhjA-knTiNhg/s400/08.06-LabrangMonastery-55.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1aZRd9RnFHQjxtokK1t12qabzPjj_Q2CAEz7nIU3eWz1DtOVy7AWw2HdBNcNdJV5MN0AC8cBQ7oCllFI3fRyZW1AD-bM0t8gf5eYLBPnVjhU55e2CtB7QKBJGLYxLJnWFUgIv-5Wwkk/s1600/08.06-LabrangMonastery-63.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1aZRd9RnFHQjxtokK1t12qabzPjj_Q2CAEz7nIU3eWz1DtOVy7AWw2HdBNcNdJV5MN0AC8cBQ7oCllFI3fRyZW1AD-bM0t8gf5eYLBPnVjhU55e2CtB7QKBJGLYxLJnWFUgIv-5Wwkk/s400/08.06-LabrangMonastery-63.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">A roof decoration and ..........</span></em></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiClf-vhYDddGUz6H7t54Tj-JMMD_Dr6TVT27a-lgrYz-wh0j0PQmSERZjfsUuPYunOAN3vX4bz8arUA7muZ-PvgdHoBQqv07xaNa82dMSrUlqaEs_jmjcdvcjGxJHOPXlMmvDSLHWahyphenhyphenY/s1600/08.06-LabrangMonastery-52.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiClf-vhYDddGUz6H7t54Tj-JMMD_Dr6TVT27a-lgrYz-wh0j0PQmSERZjfsUuPYunOAN3vX4bz8arUA7muZ-PvgdHoBQqv07xaNa82dMSrUlqaEs_jmjcdvcjGxJHOPXlMmvDSLHWahyphenhyphenY/s400/08.06-LabrangMonastery-52.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>................. for a lintel.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrrMt7sTHhB5z0vW14Ewlw1SWxhpVZZrpg70s5cu8luLCC539cMB0OYpnxCRegtGTUYTzKxvxocuyvihGpwo2omdfkmtDtXrrwakkxkYW3NGPa-joGb9IXGTusmgkDRESYbOERYuFekA/s1600/09.06-LabrangMonastery-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYrrMt7sTHhB5z0vW14Ewlw1SWxhpVZZrpg70s5cu8luLCC539cMB0OYpnxCRegtGTUYTzKxvxocuyvihGpwo2omdfkmtDtXrrwakkxkYW3NGPa-joGb9IXGTusmgkDRESYbOERYuFekA/s400/09.06-LabrangMonastery-3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>The monastery complex</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia;"><em>"... The visit round the monastery was followed by lunch with Y&J - then a walk round the holy circuit with all the prayer wheels & a visit to the convent. Unfortunately the convent was closed but as I was going down I realised that K, S, Y & JC were not following me. I thought they might have found a nun with the key so I went back to find them </em>(a "call of nature" in a nearby gully which I used too!) <em>... I was finding it a bit difficult to get up the steep hill and was going rather slowly- the next thing 2 hands were firmly placed on my buttocks & I am propelled up the hill by a nun! Much hilarity, laughter, etc. Then back down the circuit. Some pilgrims were prostrating their way round the circuit wearing wood mitts and aprons </em>(thick protective fabric<em>)- Down to the town for a very pleasant pancake and real </em>coffee <em>(Chinese arabica) </em>(after leaving Iran coffee had been in short supply as no way was I going to bolster up Nestle prducts and that is all there seemed to be<em>) Supper with K, S & Y. Met some of the other Drago crowd. </em>We met up with other trucks here in Xihe and also in Xian, though I must admit I cannot remember where this truck had come from - possibly coming up from India and on its way west. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia;"><u>9th June</u> <em>"S organised a charabanc tour to the Ganjia grasslands. Left town & headed out to the hills. Up a very steep switchback road onto the plateau. The minibus driver was very understanding & stopped so we could have a walk. Then on to the 2000 year old walled town of Gan Ju Bajiao. Quick look round + a guide demonstrated the double moated walls </em>(all in sign language/gesture and a stick to draw with)<em>. </em>And here they are!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4rgGL2xLgZO2EwTnPMiDrENZY0IUs2eqi7adiPfylsMCmP0MBFnBUPP3Yhe4TKNX6y_au4hVAMR-xaXlr626VxLo_HVGg1OcFOdjslgrNqaxmKyMlzfz4zdr49xA-fcy4NpbZzxWKFw/s1600/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo4rgGL2xLgZO2EwTnPMiDrENZY0IUs2eqi7adiPfylsMCmP0MBFnBUPP3Yhe4TKNX6y_au4hVAMR-xaXlr626VxLo_HVGg1OcFOdjslgrNqaxmKyMlzfz4zdr49xA-fcy4NpbZzxWKFw/s400/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>The 2000 year old walled town and ................</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hZM9II-j9-7GWT6lBZySrBhagTKFLWhjEiG-6OnnqP8-74SUuEQSm9iXna8vzYws3cTMjqY9MUxENnJcNo68-1T8XCstqluvEQ1cHAmAbRbCzCT4gZpBI4U2yaRca-C7GnL_wpYDAD4/s1600/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6hZM9II-j9-7GWT6lBZySrBhagTKFLWhjEiG-6OnnqP8-74SUuEQSm9iXna8vzYws3cTMjqY9MUxENnJcNo68-1T8XCstqluvEQ1cHAmAbRbCzCT4gZpBI4U2yaRca-C7GnL_wpYDAD4/s400/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-10.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>......... our guide!</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia;"><em>"........ The plateau is very open & undulating- Wide open grey skies - Some snow capped peaks behind the first layer of surrounding mountains - Saw lots of sheep- more horses here + a few nomad tents.</em></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQ6oNnyuDI4JE6P0E1dWSXZ8FZJj0ARyBkmpFQgAzehVN-_uiSQWrw25902svOaIiJvHMN1iSuqIEi0cGX82RIE0rWzSxQso5TQO7M4hp1_u92dG3gq8yyTYXLlKb0SfBmJW7LZyYq_Q/s1600/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-36.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQ6oNnyuDI4JE6P0E1dWSXZ8FZJj0ARyBkmpFQgAzehVN-_uiSQWrw25902svOaIiJvHMN1iSuqIEi0cGX82RIE0rWzSxQso5TQO7M4hp1_u92dG3gq8yyTYXLlKb0SfBmJW7LZyYq_Q/s400/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-36.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Grassland lanscape.</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia;"><em>"........ Then on to a monastery- Saw the Buddhas & Bodistavas, etc. then asked to move round clockwise - the monks were chanting - some walked past. S said she felt v. uncomfortable </em>[it was one of those situations where I had a "what is the etitqutte for walking past chanting monks" moment, for to have turned round and gone out of the temple anticlockwise would probably have caused more offense than walking past the monks while they chanted.] <em>I decided to compromise & to walk past the chanting monks but to bow - did so with some respons until I got round the corner where a group of monks were texting on mobiles! S & K & I had a laugh as S had decided the same compromise! Lunch outside the monstery saw a monk on a moped and 2 small novices playing with a toy car! ......... " </em>And here is one of them.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4oaeyUjZ6tJF3L4EhkdtuNcQmRFZqcuVmnhh6R3t1A9lJEXawPAxLU6kn5nZcVrom6Zvm8lzJQx84MdDYK0ExVSOci2jDO98ctLabBCZ9We4EEE_gRs4ikoLsY7wqgTHhhXwcFmjnilA/s1600/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-20.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4oaeyUjZ6tJF3L4EhkdtuNcQmRFZqcuVmnhh6R3t1A9lJEXawPAxLU6kn5nZcVrom6Zvm8lzJQx84MdDYK0ExVSOci2jDO98ctLabBCZ9We4EEE_gRs4ikoLsY7wqgTHhhXwcFmjnilA/s400/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-20.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WBw1uie-wnHdvHXAdKAwRJGZ96A78rgDUTcxgeZcqNmKgw-9gWjOcUvWcuSZWTjmX_2GlC1-62ICw492YRZlBRKm9Ab6WUZoB4z1G4F1msSz0m-yR_WbD4itbbRXttiWQt3kzTVYT4M/s1600/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-25.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-WBw1uie-wnHdvHXAdKAwRJGZ96A78rgDUTcxgeZcqNmKgw-9gWjOcUvWcuSZWTjmX_2GlC1-62ICw492YRZlBRKm9Ab6WUZoB4z1G4F1msSz0m-yR_WbD4itbbRXttiWQt3kzTVYT4M/s400/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-25.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>The prayer wheels here all bright and shiny.</em></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">(I took several sets of prayer wheels on "continuous" and when </span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">set up </span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;"> as a slideshow</span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;"> you can see the prayer wheels turning!)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkPbGdjQwt-lL3WqGPbnSrQFab8kiVj9TSCA6C-HhaIuK42SsNSKwBgDNmqRhZnaVkfyfb_HWVDzuFeOtJKtqh6OHLZyK393gc4C4Dfs5LkiiNfHSpP_33NXN3GxuOiy6UDHAi7nf9hw/s1600/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMkPbGdjQwt-lL3WqGPbnSrQFab8kiVj9TSCA6C-HhaIuK42SsNSKwBgDNmqRhZnaVkfyfb_HWVDzuFeOtJKtqh6OHLZyK393gc4C4Dfs5LkiiNfHSpP_33NXN3GxuOiy6UDHAi7nf9hw/s400/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-22.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>A "dzo" -a cross between a yak and a cow.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPdF9DL9zXtIVo2eFai9w-VJgQigkJ5u0DgAtA2H8FNGtSMJZkAiU2mkOGrf1hxXk3nKSP6qtpFSEl5U86J6CHPEFf18fhP9_YFDF7YUjlo6Qw39XGW-TmaAw5vaCsUT8MhtPR9FICKaM/s1600/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPdF9DL9zXtIVo2eFai9w-VJgQigkJ5u0DgAtA2H8FNGtSMJZkAiU2mkOGrf1hxXk3nKSP6qtpFSEl5U86J6CHPEFf18fhP9_YFDF7YUjlo6Qw39XGW-TmaAw5vaCsUT8MhtPR9FICKaM/s400/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-23.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>This small chap had a very proud father - note the "split" </em></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>trousers </em></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>that kids </em></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>have in China. </em></span><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">Nappies are expensive </span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">and a </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">luxury in many </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">places in the </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">world. </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">They </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">seem </span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">to </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">be </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">very efficient and work </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">well </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">because </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">everyone </span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">is </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">used </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">to </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">using them. </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">Mothers/</span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">grandmothers, etc. </span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">appear to be tuned in to </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">what </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">is </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">happening with the </span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">baby </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">and </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">know </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">when it wants to pee, etc.</span></em> <em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">I only </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">saw </span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">2 </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">"accidents" </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">the </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">whole time I was</span></em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;"><em>in China. And </em></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;"><em>obviously there is a </em></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;"><em>lot less </em></span><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">pollution with </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">these </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">trousers </span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">as there are no </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">nappies to throw away </span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">or to clog up landfills.</span></em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_19KYZSY90uM9WnltMzrSojs58jxkKyP5TkvPbdl0Pba04nUAZ5ICcGojSU1Mp2466F8W9gFDyTKC0TZQ6IHcaE3SvUB9xPoV7jabdxI-kvl3W4V4DQEMejwrcsvBPot9QlOLM-fS8o/s1600/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-24.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge_19KYZSY90uM9WnltMzrSojs58jxkKyP5TkvPbdl0Pba04nUAZ5ICcGojSU1Mp2466F8W9gFDyTKC0TZQ6IHcaE3SvUB9xPoV7jabdxI-kvl3W4V4DQEMejwrcsvBPot9QlOLM-fS8o/s400/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-24.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Tibetan national dress with the long sleeve</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6refL5QUC0dR_AwddHrsZE_No_C2jI1jncGsFTDtmlSyovaQt6SpedBNMBzyWI5FkO-rB4v8QtzTGqKCuqYkxip7OVtiuguKnwAK0tXqGvNLkziUU0M3BzjLzfigFRFsDtWKAHFmQHUY/s1600/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-35.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6refL5QUC0dR_AwddHrsZE_No_C2jI1jncGsFTDtmlSyovaQt6SpedBNMBzyWI5FkO-rB4v8QtzTGqKCuqYkxip7OVtiuguKnwAK0tXqGvNLkziUU0M3BzjLzfigFRFsDtWKAHFmQHUY/s400/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-35.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>On the way back from the stroll - you can see the stupa near </em></span><br />
<em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">the monastery on the extreme left-hand side of the photo.</span></em><br />
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<div align="justify"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Continuing I write <em>"...... Then a walk further up the valley to see the view- quite beautiful high mountains some covering in trees - a sharp cleft valley with caves - swooping buzzards- a cuckoo- marmots & lots of sheep." </em>On returning to Xihe I note that I had a good meal with some of the others.</span></div><br />
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</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZ1OkuVORRRBsjZ-uug6I3COztkGSTcop_1K8Lv_52gYOphWTyTn-JCdko-r_msQaynycXkMLROAtYPBMsu1BbNIRko2aA1wPcdrCpTHprs5efOZbRy8rtN9sel9ADfUo2k8xNAzqPsI/s1600/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-26.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkZ1OkuVORRRBsjZ-uug6I3COztkGSTcop_1K8Lv_52gYOphWTyTn-JCdko-r_msQaynycXkMLROAtYPBMsu1BbNIRko2aA1wPcdrCpTHprs5efOZbRy8rtN9sel9ADfUo2k8xNAzqPsI/s400/09.06-GanjiaGrasslands-26.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I note that we are now at altitude again - perhaps not very high in the scheme of things but still enough to get breathless easily and to need to take things slowly. Having completely recovered from that UTRI I was managing OK and when walking out on the grasslands I had to remember to pace myself so as not to go too quickly. It was so very interesting being in this part of China because having just left Central Asia (and I include Xinjiang Province as being Central Asia) before having time to get a feel for China we were back in a part of the country which, although not strictly the Autonomous Region of Tibet certainly was part of Tibet in landscape and culture. One of things that I noticed was the extraodinary likeness in dress as well as features to some South American Indiginous People. The streets in Xihe (the town where the Labrang Monastery is situated) were very bright with lots of colourful clothes and people in traditional dress. </span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwStE2VWQYFOZ-_HLz9dPRsosJhRjWtWYMxB-jPQYAlB3RxFWm3W150IUvQPUKKuZiEFVF0AwzEvXiqf6MG' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: right;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Here I am trying out the prayer wheels! </em></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">(Thanks to G </span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia;">who kindly took this video for me.)</span></em></div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-15851570448779836012011-03-11T00:17:00.020+00:002011-03-11T00:41:38.987+00:00A reclining Buddha & the legendary Kublai Khan ............<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u>4th June</u> <em>"Long Archie day - stopped off at Zhangye - to see Buddhist Temple with the biggest reclining Buddha in China. Buddha on point of Nirvana. Very peaceful - huge feet & head even bigger than Mogao Caves. The atmosphere of the whole temple complex was very peaceful even though right in the middle of a thriving town-then on the road again- ..."</em> This temple is reputed to be the birthplace of Kublai Khan - so maybe Xanadu! No, I'm joking! Checking out Kublai Khan on Wiki I was delighted to find that his mother, married to Tolui youngest son of Chingiz Khan, is noted as counting amongst the most influential women in world history as she is described as "one of the most powerful and competent women in the Mongol Empire." </span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Some photos of the temple follow</span>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27LeBnZyUUFixZinvX5-Qph73U9A3639ylKCbY4ITvKd6fdx7FXajvm6MSk6Fi2-XfOpb6wE0DhNlv8Ceul0_UTiE-nksHGmdZhTkvyP_HZzWabJG_VUElf2gZ6FoDNsscbHjIvHyjZM/s1600/04.06-DafosiTempleZhangye-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27LeBnZyUUFixZinvX5-Qph73U9A3639ylKCbY4ITvKd6fdx7FXajvm6MSk6Fi2-XfOpb6wE0DhNlv8Ceul0_UTiE-nksHGmdZhTkvyP_HZzWabJG_VUElf2gZ6FoDNsscbHjIvHyjZM/s400/04.06-DafosiTempleZhangye-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The reclining Buddha</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheEAYwoByCpFD5X9NcPYLxGbp14JPOZ34_Rlk9I8ci9a-S39NN81aiPq3EuXBjXeOQTqkHmhfDFRFULmV45xwsajeFExnVjh0noRSM-7DlQihZcYt1OBx3NgblmeqYqY3qtcKRhtth0CY/s1600/04.06-DafosiTempleZhangye-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheEAYwoByCpFD5X9NcPYLxGbp14JPOZ34_Rlk9I8ci9a-S39NN81aiPq3EuXBjXeOQTqkHmhfDFRFULmV45xwsajeFExnVjh0noRSM-7DlQihZcYt1OBx3NgblmeqYqY3qtcKRhtth0CY/s400/04.06-DafosiTempleZhangye-3.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Taken from about half-way along the reclining figure.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDOY_XymIYYcihdhkmzeIewK3O2DXBoNGnpndCsOyfm8r8RctE6B8DH6XxqmMtlqlC1RkVxZcbU2i5HX4UCmElPkl2RRLo6IB5tQtEzIe4XMVqoUslUc84abR4wO79CodQEr-ST2lOp0/s1600/04.06-DafosiTempleZhangye-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDDOY_XymIYYcihdhkmzeIewK3O2DXBoNGnpndCsOyfm8r8RctE6B8DH6XxqmMtlqlC1RkVxZcbU2i5HX4UCmElPkl2RRLo6IB5tQtEzIe4XMVqoUslUc84abR4wO79CodQEr-ST2lOp0/s400/04.06-DafosiTempleZhangye-4.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>One of the decorative supports.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihIPcwx_ILsG9c1xI8Bd1ZbEbGEU7PzeftIb33c4tV0LcXTrEby7uBSd08MkpliGv9eGuCZXGFK1aCVeKx6vpZU3gnxGOA8HFxQhN5MaVyzGhEDDQPWrB2ffYcwOfFIIA7uTTxjl1SYWs/s1600/04.06-DafosiTempleZhangye-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihIPcwx_ILsG9c1xI8Bd1ZbEbGEU7PzeftIb33c4tV0LcXTrEby7uBSd08MkpliGv9eGuCZXGFK1aCVeKx6vpZU3gnxGOA8HFxQhN5MaVyzGhEDDQPWrB2ffYcwOfFIIA7uTTxjl1SYWs/s400/04.06-DafosiTempleZhangye-6.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>A detail from above.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7lA2Bps2ZZ68UlriMwAhwVntlqH5HgeiBEon4ilJB4wNZB_1a_qxxz56_FuEuJPOqh6-NkQBORRGotQEPIXLaazl4zEJxn7TrSCpC6EfAZiGab2WA5UL2Bu3WNYyXHtMeygrzfjjpnpg/s400/04.06-DafosiTempleZhangye-8.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;">A "cloutie" tree hung with sacred texts.</span></em></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7lA2Bps2ZZ68UlriMwAhwVntlqH5HgeiBEon4ilJB4wNZB_1a_qxxz56_FuEuJPOqh6-NkQBORRGotQEPIXLaazl4zEJxn7TrSCpC6EfAZiGab2WA5UL2Bu3WNYyXHtMeygrzfjjpnpg/s1600/04.06-DafosiTempleZhangye-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></em></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtuNWnawpputOg7LaMV9ZGnmrOa1QjfKsO2x-TysqH7fTlWjFvU49fh68V0xPxJzh-OQHrAiHWT0cNr3E0xdQjOZf0xWUNtIXw_QVKHY26YZ5gqHO9y1H_EHFM4BhTuFb9nZgPr5uqFEU/s1600/04.06-DafosiTempleZhangye-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtuNWnawpputOg7LaMV9ZGnmrOa1QjfKsO2x-TysqH7fTlWjFvU49fh68V0xPxJzh-OQHrAiHWT0cNr3E0xdQjOZf0xWUNtIXw_QVKHY26YZ5gqHO9y1H_EHFM4BhTuFb9nZgPr5uqFEU/s400/04.06-DafosiTempleZhangye-10.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The peaceful temple complex.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Z1wkguNtZ8OVh6xeZnebw1Eh8qNAAa3e4nTA5JqPthbGDMdmyQei0iFNWau6moHAOmWa9Y_9hlWZmDpvUUe-rL3CHC735xPEcASNm95TZW1dcz4gfSWf7o8MVfD9GOeEEzVpXJmPoXQ/s1600/04.06-DafosiTempleZhangye-9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Z1wkguNtZ8OVh6xeZnebw1Eh8qNAAa3e4nTA5JqPthbGDMdmyQei0iFNWau6moHAOmWa9Y_9hlWZmDpvUUe-rL3CHC735xPEcASNm95TZW1dcz4gfSWf7o8MVfD9GOeEEzVpXJmPoXQ/s400/04.06-DafosiTempleZhangye-9.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>A rather overheated Suzie enjoys the cooling shade!</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I was not the only person in the group to be very disappointed that we did not get to see the statue of Marco Polo and the street of Italianate architecture built to recognise that Marco Polo spent a year or so living in Zhangye. We suspected that our guide did not know where it was and did not want to "lose face". I checked its position out on Google maps, to find that, in relation to the Dafosi Temple and in the scheme of things, given that we were in the same city, it was not was not too far from the Temple. It was very disappointing not to see one of the iconic sights of Zhangye because checking out photos on Google the statue and the "Italian" street architecture look great fun. So I am including a couple of links so that you can see it for yourselves, even though we did not!</span></div><a href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3458/3965785315_edeedb494a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/happy_heo/3965785315/&usg=__F24jox7mQ3LUuDqMvYvS74pZRvw=&h=370&w=500&sz=115&hl=en&start=0&sig2=sq0F2YArwZjXUnYr5UaieQ&zoom=1&tbnid=Wi4ueBBNPu5b9M:&tbnh=163&tbnw=215&ei=WiJ5TbIajZiFB_30yfUG&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmarco%2Bpolo%2Bstatue,%2Bzhangye%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rlz%3D1T4GGLL_en-GBGB358GB358%26biw%3D917%26bih%3D623%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=277&vpy=90&dur=1813&hovh=193&hovw=261&tx=131&ty=218&oei=WiJ5TbIajZiFB_30yfUG&page=1&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Marco Polo statue</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.panoramio.com/photo/10379746"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sino-Italian architecture!</span></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The campsite where we stayed that night was not a particularly good spot and I note that overall I was disappointed with the campsites, but I suppose there is also the point that when camping on a trip like this that it is best to compromise interesting, unusual, different and out of the way campsites for safety reasons to be near people and not put the group in an isolated situation. But it was difficult to be driving past wonderful, possible wild campsites and not to think of using them. Having in the past done quite a bit of wild camping in the UK in the days when this was possible without being harassed, I felt quite a pang when we were going across some open grassland striped with tracks and bits of the Great Wall just crying out "come and camp by me!"</span></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u>5th June</u> <em> "Left early (earlier than scheduled even) & drove for most of the day but made good time so arrived @ Liu Xia Jia early- ...." </em>and I ended up having yet another one of those memorable meals! In fact I had 2 memorable meals in Liu Xia Jia. The first one was with a group of us, and I remember walking up through a thriving street market, climbing over a railway line - it did not look as if was used very often - to get to the restaurant. We did our usual looking at various restaurants until we saw one that looked promising. Then inside and looked at what the other diners were eating and had a little "Harry met Sally" moment <em>"went inside, saw what somebody was having, the owner cottoned on immediately and arranged 4 pork noodles with egg & veg - delicious - we sat outside on the pavement & had some lovely interactions with people passing by - Young people & children approached us & welcomed us to their city in perfect English. Everybody we met so friendly - ..." </em>I also had a little "transport of delight" moment in Liu Xia Jia as there was a market with bunches of lichees for £1.40 a kilo! I could not believe what I was seeing - eyes out on stalks but not bigger that stomach! Of all the different fruits that I have ever eaten lichees are my very favourite. I love them. And there they were. Huge bunches of them and a price that I had never dreamed that I ever would see them at. (Note: lichees are rather expensive in the UK!). So that was it - from Liu Xia Jia it was lichees all the way!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia;"><u>6th June</u> We went off to the Bingling Si Buddhist Grottos which were truly impressive, as was the way of getting there. <em>"An hour long speedboat ride up river/reservoir to caves. River ride quite dramatic - dam started off blue/green then slowly became yellow as other tributaries joined the river </em>(the Yellow River) <em>- "yellow" loess silt being heavier? </em>(I surmise) <em>forms an undercurrent that goes under the water? Just a theory- nothing to back it up except the water is most definitely blue several miles upstream and in the reservoir." </em>Next is a photo taken from the Liu Xia Jia side of the barrage which holds back the reservoir. It is an impressive bit of engineering as it is a hydro electric plant. To the right you can see the barrage, to the left the bridge by which the hydro electric plant is reached and the overflow running underneath it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lf4YXt7jERswsX5jnm1hms0Z0ffn39Ub7zOkcOYSeGxgTS_PlzsjVQ_wQiUZqtDJViVBjeI1nH-f7IIozOw3bePZErIjM-bIOkHLGWa8yaGfk7KC6o5ynGAL4VbO5OyRBY82D_nEYMk/s1600/06.06LiuJiaXia-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lf4YXt7jERswsX5jnm1hms0Z0ffn39Ub7zOkcOYSeGxgTS_PlzsjVQ_wQiUZqtDJViVBjeI1nH-f7IIozOw3bePZErIjM-bIOkHLGWa8yaGfk7KC6o5ynGAL4VbO5OyRBY82D_nEYMk/s400/06.06LiuJiaXia-3.JPG" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The water on the city side of the barrage is most definitely "yellow" .....</em></span> <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>.... whereas the water on the other side of the barrage is most definitely greeny/blue</em></span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>The grottos were beautiful - full of statues & some paintings which are still in excellent state of preservation despite being open grottos rather than protected by doors - the whole area has been very well laid out with a walk way" </em>(One way.) But I kept away from this little fellow - not sure what family he belongs to. I am not sure if this one was poisonous or not but I did not go near enough to find out! But it seemed equally in a hurry to get away from us. (If anyone reading this is a herpetologist and can identify the species please feel free to post a comment at the bottom of the page,<em> thank you.</em>)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNW9GxrRS8C-_xkNsNq0NXtxWI2W1QmD3DCPJReCzhZgIDKUi75mi9yXnHj8T3-76O13uptU3PbYE6d00zZ8_FdwELw3V54D1YtgPPu4fGi2kWmiSXKNsjTSuz-ojQnXZd94pfnXHfXVQ/s1600/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNW9GxrRS8C-_xkNsNq0NXtxWI2W1QmD3DCPJReCzhZgIDKUi75mi9yXnHj8T3-76O13uptU3PbYE6d00zZ8_FdwELw3V54D1YtgPPu4fGi2kWmiSXKNsjTSuz-ojQnXZd94pfnXHfXVQ/s400/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-10.JPG" width="400" /></a> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">There are no photos of the grottos as it was requested not to take photographs. The colours on the paintings are so vibrant after all the centuries but constant flash photography could well damage them. But there were plenty of other things to photograph especially when I took a jeep ride up to the Tibetan monastery in the hills behind the grottos. <em>"Took a jeep ride to the Tibetan monastery up a mountainside where 1 monk ran the monastery. He seemed quite used to tourists & obligingly demonstrated various musical instruments. Beautiful reclining Buddha in small side temple. ........ Back to boat." </em>I missed out on having a cup of tea with the monk as I had to get back to the overcrowded jeep, (how the driver managed to fit us all in I do not know, but he did!) or else I would have had to walk and I certainly would not have done it in time to get back to the boat. But I left some of our party being invited to tea with the monk. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><u><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Bingling Si Tibetan Monastery</span></u></em></strong></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWiUmvYeC0DSmAsk0jka-JVAxx8ELaoDq_zMoIpth9PffEQbV6ZMYYNPTf2ErDp4ZVIXmUwxtXsAoC6o4fH8-fA42wnn1jJVU1aoD5Tu_MLmSxCdSl6_uCRuuF6ttJouRGOn67noVq2I/s1600/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-18.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWiUmvYeC0DSmAsk0jka-JVAxx8ELaoDq_zMoIpth9PffEQbV6ZMYYNPTf2ErDp4ZVIXmUwxtXsAoC6o4fH8-fA42wnn1jJVU1aoD5Tu_MLmSxCdSl6_uCRuuF6ttJouRGOn67noVq2I/s400/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-18.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The incense stick I lit for a friend.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Fdm37csmcyFign-5BAwzOljYi_Jq99P31YgjFhzcYzBicZnuHkPLG6dgqVqc-OPESnE0uKmLA69xDQc87iY-DQn5G4gAk5nfn6OQe3-fQo2oJh391yTKeDQ5Fpa6S5BZjJu1zAIxnoE/s1600/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-43.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Fdm37csmcyFign-5BAwzOljYi_Jq99P31YgjFhzcYzBicZnuHkPLG6dgqVqc-OPESnE0uKmLA69xDQc87iY-DQn5G4gAk5nfn6OQe3-fQo2oJh391yTKeDQ5Fpa6S5BZjJu1zAIxnoE/s400/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-43.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Looking down on the Monastery from one of the side temples.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBLVaJkEukQ-gBfx7ykVzo8fUPNXyMz8y3kHWwCVFK3A8ZebrrV2x7-kfOrhzQJ87yGJqifCgQwRvMhDjSzjsuWcFyf3sbQObGeUz2wQvAt4WOA5pb4AYtGxvxhKUeDEq_zCYilxskZw/s1600/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-38.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibBLVaJkEukQ-gBfx7ykVzo8fUPNXyMz8y3kHWwCVFK3A8ZebrrV2x7-kfOrhzQJ87yGJqifCgQwRvMhDjSzjsuWcFyf3sbQObGeUz2wQvAt4WOA5pb4AYtGxvxhKUeDEq_zCYilxskZw/s400/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-38.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>A glimpse of the stupa in the valley.</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then it was back to Liu Xia Jia by boat. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7pYHfL3cd1EurBBYPFpA9zbwQfTrYE_-qIA9HciF77H8UlIJbLRP6cDein5monPR6x6zNQ8zByqJTJ-fy5OZe8Ko33JKYF53fOw5vstsSFOUbuJgm0CKqesWbFe_uGvjTq7dqoEti3wc/s1600/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-54.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7pYHfL3cd1EurBBYPFpA9zbwQfTrYE_-qIA9HciF77H8UlIJbLRP6cDein5monPR6x6zNQ8zByqJTJ-fy5OZe8Ko33JKYF53fOw5vstsSFOUbuJgm0CKqesWbFe_uGvjTq7dqoEti3wc/s400/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-54.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBD8beumDz__Vu0m1eDUZhXSCzaJ9jOvgzdks21NQ_rFwU_LbjUMBxUYCj1wm25NIcczfalGQEIHD6-SdLQS_otLdMyf2ze4xdTeA8UHXMmiThFuKHLTcbk-rCozt-gghLP1N_60iLSI/s1600/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-59.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPBD8beumDz__Vu0m1eDUZhXSCzaJ9jOvgzdks21NQ_rFwU_LbjUMBxUYCj1wm25NIcczfalGQEIHD6-SdLQS_otLdMyf2ze4xdTeA8UHXMmiThFuKHLTcbk-rCozt-gghLP1N_60iLSI/s400/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-59.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXCWTH-vRJ_4D2MaAm7Dh5U1RgyZVePWw7cMyCPcdBMNFyuXBcq3QPRvxMnVtQ44hhLGcOoGY9_rET9okUxwq-CmjDWUDWVxV1dhqoyDhbItG2Zk6juzvPwTlnPEKkmsf6s1dcUkTvRE/s1600/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXCWTH-vRJ_4D2MaAm7Dh5U1RgyZVePWw7cMyCPcdBMNFyuXBcq3QPRvxMnVtQ44hhLGcOoGY9_rET9okUxwq-CmjDWUDWVxV1dhqoyDhbItG2Zk6juzvPwTlnPEKkmsf6s1dcUkTvRE/s400/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-6.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">On arriving back to the city I chose to walk back to the hotel with S & K rather than a ride in Archie. We stopped at a little pagoda by the side of the road which had the most stupendous views of the city and the barrage of the dam. On 3 sides a steep, steep and deadly drop down to the river and I was pleased to note not a single "health & safety" sign saying "DANGGGGGEEEEEEEEEROUS! LOOOOOOOOK OUUUUUUUT! YOU MIGHT FALL AND DIE!!!! And protective railings were kept to a minimum! So it was question of being sensible - not going too near the edge! </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5cwdtp8Hxrmp6ZZOqSFzkQ7nLXVtGP13sZZlaZ_5Z8CCAeMv_fWzxZCHKn191qhm0bNfu_BEtyiBAljAKVyHeiRxBwsV9ok29uOD4PGxDl3mP2BttfNuzHrnhQmJja_RFmxM7PpQ9T4/s1600/06.06LiuJiaXia-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh5cwdtp8Hxrmp6ZZOqSFzkQ7nLXVtGP13sZZlaZ_5Z8CCAeMv_fWzxZCHKn191qhm0bNfu_BEtyiBAljAKVyHeiRxBwsV9ok29uOD4PGxDl3mP2BttfNuzHrnhQmJja_RFmxM7PpQ9T4/s400/06.06LiuJiaXia-8.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9G74YT_E9MEICEibkl3mfHwW-uHRHHCCMzeThSnotjI1-o1j0QFgY1gqAXF3ToNjdQJa1Ud5TFekz6hzhiHmK5WfRctvCZihCqN0DYRaY5Kl0KflVBURI476J-OdXgexmhzHlc-Uf_Q/s1600/06.06LiuJiaXia-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9G74YT_E9MEICEibkl3mfHwW-uHRHHCCMzeThSnotjI1-o1j0QFgY1gqAXF3ToNjdQJa1Ud5TFekz6hzhiHmK5WfRctvCZihCqN0DYRaY5Kl0KflVBURI476J-OdXgexmhzHlc-Uf_Q/s400/06.06LiuJiaXia-6.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>The pagoda roof</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><img height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1WEaV7qjkEheSN7CIKp-USv6nuQC_g_IE63MyzMxeDMX6DogHqYQFS9rXcIR7iM-cj5Q5URprFLxu6aB-XvqSh67Emc9XtSRm5XkBBThBAl9mvCkWcb2SajiVoQnjbaqqr02ClEsPYwc/s400/06.06BinglingSiBuddhistGrottosTrip-5.JPG" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 399px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 5064px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" /> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-X2cz5ZeRy5tTRXmMb-vn58UKGuBdwvXo5cB6azBWZ0DEmNmxM1YrsHzO0jY8H4A6rEDRR6J1iu9fm_0RR3nULRb5YK1Ggo8sr1ajkPK-nSJ-jIIOdCXA87pY8-NmiyXEaWKKA79nNi4/s1600/06.06LiuJiaXia-9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-X2cz5ZeRy5tTRXmMb-vn58UKGuBdwvXo5cB6azBWZ0DEmNmxM1YrsHzO0jY8H4A6rEDRR6J1iu9fm_0RR3nULRb5YK1Ggo8sr1ajkPK-nSJ-jIIOdCXA87pY8-NmiyXEaWKKA79nNi4/s400/06.06LiuJiaXia-9.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Pushing over the pagoda!</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3P0qLUY3C3EyaRkEJxNIQElGhxUTHtGAHyrMfUa8hg7n9ZG6k8W8W3568qCOTp3Y_Hh0Te4oP1e01IxRYg3Xy2mfhg6KVncS_wQlufGC2E-XNHA8PMVGwWOw2z3dQpkerQCiebsymBfY/s1600/06.06LiuJiaXia-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3P0qLUY3C3EyaRkEJxNIQElGhxUTHtGAHyrMfUa8hg7n9ZG6k8W8W3568qCOTp3Y_Hh0Te4oP1e01IxRYg3Xy2mfhg6KVncS_wQlufGC2E-XNHA8PMVGwWOw2z3dQpkerQCiebsymBfY/s400/06.06LiuJiaXia-2.JPG" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Question: if we had litter bins like this in the UK, would there be less litter?</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia;">It was such a lovely place to be. Placed as it was with the fantastic views, I imagine on a very hot summer day that it might be a cool place to be, with the open sides and high up on the cliff above the river that it would pick any breeze. Then K&S and I went into town for a late lunch and I had the second of those of those memorable Liu Xia Jia meals. We found a restaurant which was upstairs with booths. We played the crib sheet trick and had a delicious lunch and then more! <em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">"Walked into town with K&S. Found an eatery- ate very late lunch - chatted & chatted - shoes - ships - sealing wax -....."</span></em> All the time drinking tea. <em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">"... then had supper until the waitresses clattered the dishes! Back to hotel - stb." </span></em>It was one of those magic moments of friendship. Just sitting and chatting for hours. The sort of experience that is part of travelling. I suppose we got there mid afternoon and did not leave for another 6 hours or so. While we were there there was a family eating next door and the grandmother came with her grandson and sat with us for a little while proudly showing off her grandson. All done non-verbally but again one of those travel experiences which is deeply fulfilling. Being able to connect with somebody without a common language or cultural reference but there is still the connection of being human. There were moments like this the whole way along the road but maybe it was more apparent in <country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">China</place></country-region> than any of the other countries because of the difference in language and culture. The next place we went was to <place w:st="on">Eastern Tibet</place> so more of that next time..............................</span></div> <br />
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</div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-43585148054180316702011-03-08T01:33:00.005+00:002011-03-10T16:27:59.725+00:00The Great Wall - on the other side there are barbarians!<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">S</span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">o we became civilised at last because we entered China to the south of the Great Wall - not north where the barbarians lived! The diary for 2nd June reads <em>"Made our way to Jiayuguan to the Great Wall - kept seeing odd bits of the Great Wall but in sad state of repair........" It was indeed strange to see great lumps sticking out of the sandy, desolate landscape." </em>Continuing<em> ".... Arrived at a campsite Chinese style with a lake & camp places under trees. ..... Left & walked up wall ..... - still quite hot but got as far as the first milecastle. Then down to cook."</em> From my reference to a "milecastle" I was obviously thinking of that other "Great Wall" namely Hadrian's Wall running from the Tyne to the Solway Firth in England. A mere 73 miles (120 km) to the 5,500 miles (8,852 km) of the Great Wall but in its own way an impressive structure and well worth a visit. And here are some photos of the extreme western end of the Great Wall.</span> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh53_FbbTCq1-x0DMPvLn9kv_4TykfOaXhD8EZwfLj9OB_qdTLp44LOAfrXqIo-pA_6WMcfRd9azBXGaOXzrBkJPRlXaBtxh2GNLZZfHarCa3ncNz9Qojge2nOYcSxEjb7xuqTwlMWXa5k/s1600/02.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh53_FbbTCq1-x0DMPvLn9kv_4TykfOaXhD8EZwfLj9OB_qdTLp44LOAfrXqIo-pA_6WMcfRd9azBXGaOXzrBkJPRlXaBtxh2GNLZZfHarCa3ncNz9Qojge2nOYcSxEjb7xuqTwlMWXa5k/s400/02.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-13.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>A rather "pink" Suzie - Great Wall first timer.....................</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAx0A3326SPA6M4OrwzZWyrlrtECBWU2517gQ6ocQnrQUPGbrCHyCqCQ7quGMHvfYrLfkinuksPKZZhOGov12iAyhHjNOJZOqaPM875wj_rS2YOGKtXdDBnihvS7K-84Zsyv8xcbg_Wxg/s1600/02.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAx0A3326SPA6M4OrwzZWyrlrtECBWU2517gQ6ocQnrQUPGbrCHyCqCQ7quGMHvfYrLfkinuksPKZZhOGov12iAyhHjNOJZOqaPM875wj_rS2YOGKtXdDBnihvS7K-84Zsyv8xcbg_Wxg/s400/02.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-6.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The rugged countryside around Jiayuguan and the first pagoda .............</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdCM-s7AVpEErk_PnjrfwpUzj00RNuqdpAsiiTISG1lnD5R3-X2DNCAfOU0alCNOk7dzNdZ9UdTen0PtVrt-9w977KhRJtKQIBcFPV8kvuysxDAthVl1BmqqsQiH6qIwwsQ3ClqCLwB8/s1600/02.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJdCM-s7AVpEErk_PnjrfwpUzj00RNuqdpAsiiTISG1lnD5R3-X2DNCAfOU0alCNOk7dzNdZ9UdTen0PtVrt-9w977KhRJtKQIBcFPV8kvuysxDAthVl1BmqqsQiH6qIwwsQ3ClqCLwB8/s400/02.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>scaling cliffs, rounding escarpments and above all sharp, steep climbing ............</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMoESGq3sve8k1RfoX5q3iZbsOpIKGGFeg0mDcQSAW1JNA7YwBmGX5CRlYRkZXM9gbzscToNjvy7KiBuUNiJ8-Qevd5y7wwr22UM2iRfLQfn8B15PwgfmLuKCOqZuGv7qLh9AAnxLlaUY/s1600/02.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMoESGq3sve8k1RfoX5q3iZbsOpIKGGFeg0mDcQSAW1JNA7YwBmGX5CRlYRkZXM9gbzscToNjvy7KiBuUNiJ8-Qevd5y7wwr22UM2iRfLQfn8B15PwgfmLuKCOqZuGv7qLh9AAnxLlaUY/s400/02.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-3.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>... the Great Wall snakes its way across the landscape .............</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3f2-pIAGe7s5Mis4Wo78Mx1EFr2eW4JYYru_aNhayf0rFF4s9X86uAMHvoQeq-i6IU4VrEYFn8oWvaH0sCldwSR4cLS9IWLLxI10h2twy479AyEIg9KdDVvl0kcvZJQdW9j6HoZSBP2U/s1600/02.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3f2-pIAGe7s5Mis4Wo78Mx1EFr2eW4JYYru_aNhayf0rFF4s9X86uAMHvoQeq-i6IU4VrEYFn8oWvaH0sCldwSR4cLS9IWLLxI10h2twy479AyEIg9KdDVvl0kcvZJQdW9j6HoZSBP2U/s400/02.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-10.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>........of China.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmvrE71Mg3EcJS_NhcOsaT8z14pRgYgSz3ZSuN5dYqwQy2p2YC-lcR28QNfNdDxxLat91v_5LOJpOii8jZGM62HOJ3SXy5DEYa2Cw_cdg7iJkZYpcxDh5bL8Yx2DKQCa74clGpM2Nm4t4/s1600/02.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmvrE71Mg3EcJS_NhcOsaT8z14pRgYgSz3ZSuN5dYqwQy2p2YC-lcR28QNfNdDxxLat91v_5LOJpOii8jZGM62HOJ3SXy5DEYa2Cw_cdg7iJkZYpcxDh5bL8Yx2DKQCa74clGpM2Nm4t4/s400/02.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-11.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Barbarians live to the left but to the right is safe ............</em></span><br />
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<div align="justify"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><em>"<u style="text-underline: black;">3rd June</u> Visit to the fort at Jiayuguan - Last/first fort on the Great Wall. Most westerly point. Very well preserved and restored. Wax figures in the Governor's Quarters very well done...... The decorations on the wooden structures are so beautiful and detailed. Even bits that would not normally be exposed were decorated. Spent a long time wandering before moving to the excellent museum. Very clear and well laid out. Lovely interaction with a couple of elderly men. 1 outside the museum when I sat down in the shade & </em><em>said "ni how" said it back to me and such a lovely smile. Next was when I was looking at an audio visual presentation - all through sign & gesture another elderly man asked if I could understand the English legends accompanying the display." </em>I experienced some degree of "culture shock" at Jiayuguan as it was the first place that we had come across a serious amount of tourists. The guides with their megaphones and flags on sticks making sure that the stragglers were included. Having been a "tourist" for so many weeks it was interesting to observe other tourists and the tourist behaviours! Jiayuguan was very photogenic and here are some of the results.</span></span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="center"><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;"><strong><u>Jiayuguan - the first or last fort on the Great Wall</u></strong></span></em></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdH5ks3j1SGNP1hg403W2A13DVfiHA42Vrrwgfz9aRTwZL8bcOetyc7hvGAnKLhnKyFV2tLz91tKli8gIWeTqM288y4huPYcmTazLcuVx0Lv7v1PPaEWS2cfHxHcGOgMuli3QfnlzDDzk/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdH5ks3j1SGNP1hg403W2A13DVfiHA42Vrrwgfz9aRTwZL8bcOetyc7hvGAnKLhnKyFV2tLz91tKli8gIWeTqM288y4huPYcmTazLcuVx0Lv7v1PPaEWS2cfHxHcGOgMuli3QfnlzDDzk/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>First exposure to tourists for some time. </em></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQVkeRVbypiYBnBleaAbWFDSFN977Yga0NuLZftdpbVERJwObrMeSrB44GeoJqoHt82ERRKXjXPrD-zD-R3POTjrP-RHpRzHe3fW2pnH7pC2zfcgH8Ycec793iUgJd5nbVzdk_h-LqOk/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQVkeRVbypiYBnBleaAbWFDSFN977Yga0NuLZftdpbVERJwObrMeSrB44GeoJqoHt82ERRKXjXPrD-zD-R3POTjrP-RHpRzHe3fW2pnH7pC2zfcgH8Ycec793iUgJd5nbVzdk_h-LqOk/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-6.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Detailed decorations everywhere</em></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYRNRlumx6urJKyQnjCN_LdNAOV06-4dUTEjqba9faKigvJYcITAIp1InRNq58eYan58_5a2FHPqGRpcN9p6-nicsYrNuQj2RL_-6SrAY7SbcvTkRBdCQm90XVnkSjl2TdiNIRIzTy5s/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYRNRlumx6urJKyQnjCN_LdNAOV06-4dUTEjqba9faKigvJYcITAIp1InRNq58eYan58_5a2FHPqGRpcN9p6-nicsYrNuQj2RL_-6SrAY7SbcvTkRBdCQm90XVnkSjl2TdiNIRIzTy5s/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-8.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>and every available surface patterned</em></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYfPnuHU8xmrNSrlPaoW8HZjxnPfIW0MPSdxKdY6dHEkpkxcVSO7S3_hZ66LIfNDKRm6ZipO-eiOZCADqLIaC6cn2i8gLApL8T7-39vQazdoERK8npL3hJzIlDOiPW3shbeSxSDtG3Ic/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYfPnuHU8xmrNSrlPaoW8HZjxnPfIW0MPSdxKdY6dHEkpkxcVSO7S3_hZ66LIfNDKRm6ZipO-eiOZCADqLIaC6cn2i8gLApL8T7-39vQazdoERK8npL3hJzIlDOiPW3shbeSxSDtG3Ic/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-9.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>with protection from the "evil eye" a motif that was to be seen from Turkey to China</em></span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBA1RRZMEy621u51VmJnFFD-N65fuBC3MoKOpTf4CTk0hDMImKpFLFtqwb7UApyRIyJYZHSAGY30ErdAAi5B1muSOqKfKcgpKZWUeI7JMMFGQhsXbwxrJqkJ_fdHes38Xw5-N3qsNYRAk/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBA1RRZMEy621u51VmJnFFD-N65fuBC3MoKOpTf4CTk0hDMImKpFLFtqwb7UApyRIyJYZHSAGY30ErdAAi5B1muSOqKfKcgpKZWUeI7JMMFGQhsXbwxrJqkJ_fdHes38Xw5-N3qsNYRAk/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-11.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>and beautifully carved fretwork too.</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QYjXIYB4wLOof2BMYlUXc8ooy8qfv2ihlPCV07g3SNVwI39FAtHcMu7mIvddj3kQmSvRnEcZDD6L5zJ9zUjLb2nTgxK_TsASdgYej0p3u-50U8L3E0DdjqYz3sRmO4THAHrdjEUKdhg/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-21.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QYjXIYB4wLOof2BMYlUXc8ooy8qfv2ihlPCV07g3SNVwI39FAtHcMu7mIvddj3kQmSvRnEcZDD6L5zJ9zUjLb2nTgxK_TsASdgYej0p3u-50U8L3E0DdjqYz3sRmO4THAHrdjEUKdhg/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-21.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>An elegant watch tower</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5DluC9CMixr_OJ3oEPMVnZ1bCe0Q5je2VBN5SHlTkAt0rhHNwPSatIF00TWZnU8UM4Gnc0IU5fzi2bQGN3imePF-kwCyMGi2vN3pARYd4fIlS5rD6bvwPjgoSBngXFxCBtkHsQOIKH_w/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-27.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5DluC9CMixr_OJ3oEPMVnZ1bCe0Q5je2VBN5SHlTkAt0rhHNwPSatIF00TWZnU8UM4Gnc0IU5fzi2bQGN3imePF-kwCyMGi2vN3pARYd4fIlS5rD6bvwPjgoSBngXFxCBtkHsQOIKH_w/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-27.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>and local legends to read.</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitm3WSqvRHyeM_ltY0hvUVuqqtGCYGv9HPIqmuDbjDLOj0ZoE_JTkOz8bT0yviA9FyYJOYHqG3iEAiopG8gwWzo7Gf7dsiNDqVtW1fOcOUAv74tGEQnu5bUu1zJCzl3XTENSjXleT4-aA/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-28.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitm3WSqvRHyeM_ltY0hvUVuqqtGCYGv9HPIqmuDbjDLOj0ZoE_JTkOz8bT0yviA9FyYJOYHqG3iEAiopG8gwWzo7Gf7dsiNDqVtW1fOcOUAv74tGEQnu5bUu1zJCzl3XTENSjXleT4-aA/s320/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-28.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">Anywhere else these representations could have been "naff" </span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">but not only were they lifelike but each one told a story.</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The Governor and his plan their defence of the fort </em></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>and how to keep the barbarians at bay.</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fD1vWOvv3qLK8w8q8Y_-H4UJjrMzO-1IOB_RivY1TmIvgUyR4p00bbWjEPVBDmR2_pM3HeKvxZWS5RbHa8LaHaqYc8xIUzIbGodZZBdL6b-ktE2npKOsT1yR37jZkpHgHuiHJOnkeoA/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-30.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4fD1vWOvv3qLK8w8q8Y_-H4UJjrMzO-1IOB_RivY1TmIvgUyR4p00bbWjEPVBDmR2_pM3HeKvxZWS5RbHa8LaHaqYc8xIUzIbGodZZBdL6b-ktE2npKOsT1yR37jZkpHgHuiHJOnkeoA/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-30.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The servant wiles away his time waiting and dreaming </em></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>of going </em></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>back home, </em></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>many thousands of miles away.</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8K6IZExIzDufNxS8uT5ztc1Gv7KBX6kI9O5AjwfBr8wcDyO8IhUhUGosj83ew2aS16EntdkwJf8-gqCIdSsO_pC8I0mTvPqF31JkvPWDpMVRAF9zQfwGKMjRpV2p_Kw2Lv9fxSH2xrM/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-33.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8K6IZExIzDufNxS8uT5ztc1Gv7KBX6kI9O5AjwfBr8wcDyO8IhUhUGosj83ew2aS16EntdkwJf8-gqCIdSsO_pC8I0mTvPqF31JkvPWDpMVRAF9zQfwGKMjRpV2p_Kw2Lv9fxSH2xrM/s320/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-33.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The tired soldier sleeps on his kang.</em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2wYFq-6PeM5yp11Jr_0DnhTHPXeS3cwmjE9mw2vzgIbD2i_MpH9BIfB_8HlPTDysrtbQMx4PI5CB3200DUMsKHWIDMzd9e0SHVfEmNG9I-I7G316YTQRllXBSaXdTAN1c83_MzvjmGs/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-35.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2wYFq-6PeM5yp11Jr_0DnhTHPXeS3cwmjE9mw2vzgIbD2i_MpH9BIfB_8HlPTDysrtbQMx4PI5CB3200DUMsKHWIDMzd9e0SHVfEmNG9I-I7G316YTQRllXBSaXdTAN1c83_MzvjmGs/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-35.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The maid helps the Governor's Lady decide which earring.</em></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKW1AVURoSfbONhs0ykbS8Wc3SFyWAD_EY6tozNXvU7qTuZyBvFL4c-ARmjQne9ik4FTcBPJWMF8dkNlizDH3XQBHLlcCbJLzMYyJkpXgqTJW1As8V23XH_pnYctirCHIIgLZEQS19wHI/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-39.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKW1AVURoSfbONhs0ykbS8Wc3SFyWAD_EY6tozNXvU7qTuZyBvFL4c-ARmjQne9ik4FTcBPJWMF8dkNlizDH3XQBHLlcCbJLzMYyJkpXgqTJW1As8V23XH_pnYctirCHIIgLZEQS19wHI/s320/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-39.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>While a kitchen maid prepares some pancakes.</em></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgygEQGoTidAQ2wKhBALMhO9-yLc90HJuqTvD1FM_NS5pXHYNL-zhT-5qyIAvKf7POvBzq-MGUn0-frG2E56CZZtrz4SPVcFasreuS_bby30MM4XL9E7mvd-dsv1rd61DXQida-6u87k/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-37.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgygEQGoTidAQ2wKhBALMhO9-yLc90HJuqTvD1FM_NS5pXHYNL-zhT-5qyIAvKf7POvBzq-MGUn0-frG2E56CZZtrz4SPVcFasreuS_bby30MM4XL9E7mvd-dsv1rd61DXQida-6u87k/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-37.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>And the cook lights the oven.</em></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6425xrZetoq7ap7hKCXntAI8sZJeTFyJ8ASkOaTiud11VnqHt-RWr09HumVVL-tFALx2EhRn9g49FUqrwuZiYgm6lNTnUUPGh-TALukTiLwh7MBrz2oXUavuQaGLLrVrf52eOJ68YJo/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-32.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6425xrZetoq7ap7hKCXntAI8sZJeTFyJ8ASkOaTiud11VnqHt-RWr09HumVVL-tFALx2EhRn9g49FUqrwuZiYgm6lNTnUUPGh-TALukTiLwh7MBrz2oXUavuQaGLLrVrf52eOJ68YJo/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-32.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
<em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">So that these traders from Kashgar, or maybe far beyond,</span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">can be offered hospitality</span></em><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"> as honoured guests.</span></em></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">Going round the museum of all the amazing, incredible, intricate and beautiful things that I saw in China I saw the one thing that I would have put in my bag and taken with me. This pottery horse moved me beyond belief. The simplicity of it and the way that it moves and even though its tail is no longer there you can see it swish as the horse moves with such confidence in its own beauty. My diary notes read: <em>"........ Then there was the the Tang horse - I could not read the label but it looked like a Tang horse. It is in a case on its own- No taller than 18-20 inches but a prancing horse- the glaze has come away on most of it & it has lost its horse hair tail but it was so beautiful - There were so many interesting things in that room but I kept coming back to the horse. Of all the things in the museum & there were many - that was the one that did it for me."</em></span></span><em><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia;"></span></em></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVqGXZeifVAJM1lEmAcEnbxG7B7PkHnokbc_X966dUNMn9tox56ViwmQbiPAdLLG8-jYT9uSxkRbwSBFUlu8J4xFKDO75pXEcXZ0AFQ0j3cgbumoTvQ5dm6YvTxTEV_LC-HA_BcDaFsM/s1600/DSCN0587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVqGXZeifVAJM1lEmAcEnbxG7B7PkHnokbc_X966dUNMn9tox56ViwmQbiPAdLLG8-jYT9uSxkRbwSBFUlu8J4xFKDO75pXEcXZ0AFQ0j3cgbumoTvQ5dm6YvTxTEV_LC-HA_BcDaFsM/s400/DSCN0587.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Strong, proud and..............</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOG4mZ7G6nV-oFidlGP63jZacz6L7DgXINnTwF-ptwea_e5MAkHQJisEmGSYbO_tLQCOU39mddlEQ2uzvyBa1O-qN68Dx2v5ehsJyfCCPbCtSo_OtNA5-IY9EnpVUBUZyzSzGZ8Ymw1nY/s1600/DSCN0590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOG4mZ7G6nV-oFidlGP63jZacz6L7DgXINnTwF-ptwea_e5MAkHQJisEmGSYbO_tLQCOU39mddlEQ2uzvyBa1O-qN68Dx2v5ehsJyfCCPbCtSo_OtNA5-IY9EnpVUBUZyzSzGZ8Ymw1nY/s400/DSCN0590.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>......... even after these hundreds of years, still curious! </em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSyBOgKvupfg8dcwd2jaCtWR_yEbcY_KIp7MT2J4TqMiZ874SxFJpnwS2JtiBg6KN-3tW78GQFYrkbZam0ZmCmKaU8E9JA3e9IwOL7N-P3ObeOLX2fGfRJ0P0f0AYtubCbZcPjmpxxIQ/s1600/DSCN0588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSyBOgKvupfg8dcwd2jaCtWR_yEbcY_KIp7MT2J4TqMiZ874SxFJpnwS2JtiBg6KN-3tW78GQFYrkbZam0ZmCmKaU8E9JA3e9IwOL7N-P3ObeOLX2fGfRJ0P0f0AYtubCbZcPjmpxxIQ/s400/DSCN0588.JPG" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>But no-one will ever ride this horse ............</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqUH-kxSJ2vb9o9ROdQGv5tSYMiu0rzfJOeKTXgVYLkRYz88BrLQHJW0aQXcegGZ-qRh8F4SPT5697fw6cW7SVkcM7zgSXIRdg869aaqvw1_tnITTYd3fvmNTeWwx64Ogpk8wYHZW-cQ/s1600/DSCN0589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqUH-kxSJ2vb9o9ROdQGv5tSYMiu0rzfJOeKTXgVYLkRYz88BrLQHJW0aQXcegGZ-qRh8F4SPT5697fw6cW7SVkcM7zgSXIRdg869aaqvw1_tnITTYd3fvmNTeWwx64Ogpk8wYHZW-cQ/s400/DSCN0589.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>unless it gives permission.</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">After the museum and my delight with the horse K &S and I went to find something to eat. The diary entry for this memorable meal reads <em>"Delightful lunch with K&S. We found a small restaurant & took pot luck & pot luck was delicious. Cold noodles (ordered)</em> [though it has to be admitted by mistake] <em>eggplant/aubergine & potato became aubergine and chillies! Egg & tomato (ordered) bean curd (ordered) chicken & cashew morphed into kidney beans & corn (delicious</em>). </span><span style="color: magenta;"> This entry is a good example of how the food sheet works. You might not quite get what you ordered but the substitutes are quite delicious. They looked after us so well at the restaurant and for me the meal was all the more memorable for drinking some of the best green tea I had in the whole of China. I don't know what it was with that tea but I still remember how much I liked it.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia;">When we got back to the campsite later on I took myself up the wall in the gloaming, imagining how it was when it was regularly patrolled by soldiers. Sentries standing in the milecastles looking out over the expanses of sandy waste or starting at a movement in the nearby hills. I write <em>"I went up the wall (apparently the campsite owners had restored the Wall & the fort/garrison next to the campsite at their own expense) & got to the second milecastle in the dusk. Lovely to spend some short though quality time on my own - No one else up there - Looked across the hills to the city & down into China - away from the Mongols, Huns & other marauders - safe behind the wall. There is a complete contrast with the folds of hills with pagodas & a temple (just inside the wall) & Jiayuguan town - heavily industrial and heavily polluted. Back to camp & stb" </em></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrUxzTioINxJIjWMMhlVPuog9xljW871nkne6LAeTw5OD3V4xhbQXxc5YQDFtfEwAF1tTHp4Nx0LptwZLaTsmetFF2XhPvJmHucQi5lhVHninTFc3lDWqVydf1SACGhaM14XbrsE2AdNQ/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-41.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrUxzTioINxJIjWMMhlVPuog9xljW871nkne6LAeTw5OD3V4xhbQXxc5YQDFtfEwAF1tTHp4Nx0LptwZLaTsmetFF2XhPvJmHucQi5lhVHninTFc3lDWqVydf1SACGhaM14XbrsE2AdNQ/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-41.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Seen from the Wall at night</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenO3DZWtEg58Xx05zw9Hib-nD9yQLKelnOAnTGNCWK9_AAo6u2dLqpEhhF9-PWQRy4Q1vldU_rmI1GltvQ-kk-okwfl8xI4ZSetsbLqOYVZJ_BvGoi4FRUHPRPVHPdpCrriZKTnftDQo/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-43.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenO3DZWtEg58Xx05zw9Hib-nD9yQLKelnOAnTGNCWK9_AAo6u2dLqpEhhF9-PWQRy4Q1vldU_rmI1GltvQ-kk-okwfl8xI4ZSetsbLqOYVZJ_BvGoi4FRUHPRPVHPdpCrriZKTnftDQo/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-43.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The milecastle seems further away in the dark</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7VVmATRRnoiXSTuL180YEq6pO42a1sh0I_ZTAgfhe4DwTmvCpd7E-UR5T4BBKV02Q32V89e5c1ouoVon-ZznaabvrL1f3NXUBI37WK7lu4Tt8LWGy85fuGh-MXTsroY_tfejvcA8YXg/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-44.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK7VVmATRRnoiXSTuL180YEq6pO42a1sh0I_ZTAgfhe4DwTmvCpd7E-UR5T4BBKV02Q32V89e5c1ouoVon-ZznaabvrL1f3NXUBI37WK7lu4Tt8LWGy85fuGh-MXTsroY_tfejvcA8YXg/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-44.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>I could imagine that there might be a sentry waiting.....................</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4WWz4nqtNb0ovu59HEpA1TVDRDpHHLSMEEg3GLxxP7MGc_L3vXxM4IlVy-2-SLnYE5Ts10y_x3zlvGEtvvpKDka3Ph_IGGsQFzscK3mG90tFVfCdVWoxwGtOvHZmcxNjCWGpiyV-DBiY/s1600/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-47.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" q6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4WWz4nqtNb0ovu59HEpA1TVDRDpHHLSMEEg3GLxxP7MGc_L3vXxM4IlVy-2-SLnYE5Ts10y_x3zlvGEtvvpKDka3Ph_IGGsQFzscK3mG90tFVfCdVWoxwGtOvHZmcxNjCWGpiyV-DBiY/s400/03.06-JiayuguanGreatWall-47.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>.... or a band of barbarians ride in from the north.</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-13251067112469670792011-03-07T21:56:00.013+00:002011-03-07T22:00:52.609+00:00Camping with wolves + Dunhuang and the donkey dumplings................<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The last entry finished "Our campsite that night was a wild camp - but more of that next time..............." As now is the "next time" then I can tell you about the wild camping. I suppose it is a bit of a cheat to say that it was wild because we camped on a farm. The diary reads "<em>Then more travelling to a campsite - A goat farm in the shadow of the Tien Shan - Had a real live karez in the process of being built. Apparently he had wolves living nearby to to a few weeks ago - then they decamped into mountains." </em>I must say that I was rather disappointed because I would have loved to have camped with wolves. All though I did not write about it in the diary I was very surprised that with all those goats that the farmer even accepted the idea of wolves in the vicinity let alone not going after them with a shot gun. It was interesting to see the karez being built - though I must admit it just looked like an rather large ditch being dug. </span><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>"<u>31st</u> Long day in truck - spent most of it asleep . said goodbye to Tien Shan as we move south out of Uyghuristan or the Autonomous Uyghur Region - Have put Central Asioan/Turkish phrase books to one side. Very pleasant meal with G on arrival in Dunhuang." </em>The gastronomic delicacy of Dunhuang is "donkey dumplings" which I hasten to add I did not eat. Having had the ear scratching experience with the very willing donkey who trotted all over the <span style="color: #674ea7;">Goachang site I could not, under any circumstances or for anything have faced a "donkey dumpling" it would have been like eating a friend! </span></span><br />
<br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia;">From Dunhuang we went to the Mogao Caves - <em>"100s of Buddhist Caves cut into a rockface from abt. 100BCE onwards. Filled with pictures of Buddha - statues of Dudddhas inc. Meitraya - Indian influence - Tibetan influence - Chenies influence - statues of Bodisatvas - 3 caves had huge statues - A teaching Buddha - a Buddha @ moment of Nirvana & a seated Buddha - The teaching Buddha was the 3rd biggest after Bamiyan - Also saw the Library Cave from which Aurel Stein purloined all the Mss - The paintings were incredible - so detailed & such beautiful imagery. Was on my feet for 3+ hours before I realised it. Our guide was very good." </em>The statues all had a layer of sand/dust in the folds which in some lights looked like a photographic negative. I asked our guide about conservation as the dust would damage the statues. She explained that it is not possible to clean them as the paint is so old and fragile that cleaning would damage them too much. So the balance between leaving the statues as they are and risk the sand/dust eroding the paintwork or conserving and damaging the statues when removing the sand. </span><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia;">Some of the statues has the most beautiful paintings on them and the incredible woden fronting of the tallest Buddha statue is so intricate. In some of the caves the wall paintings were so bright that it is difficult to think that they were done 100s of years ago. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia;">After the Mogao Caves we returned to Dunhuang and I note in my diary for 1st June <em>"Had a lovely lucnch with M, T, Y & J. Went to one of the little eateries over the road </em>[from the hotel] <em>and used the food list to great success- pork/chicken noddles & other things too." </em>The "food list" refers to a handout we were all given with a whole range of food and drink written in English/Pinyin & Chinese. These lists were invaluable and allowed me to have many wonderful meals - quite easy to use - the procedure as follows:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ol><li><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia;">decide what to eat.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia;">Show choice to the waiteress/waiter.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia;">They say "yes" they have it or "no" not on the menu.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia;">The waiter/waitress then shows me an alternative.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia;">I say "yes!".</span></li>
</ol></div><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia;">And the whole way through China using this system only once did the alternative turn out to be not very nice, other than that the alternatives proved possibly better than the original choice. I think I have kept my food list somewhere just in case I ever to China again.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia;">After Dunhuang - going ever eastwards we had our first glimpse of that icon of China - The Great Wall.</span>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-4212050210425543502011-03-05T22:10:00.003+00:002011-03-07T21:22:23.798+00:00Turpan notes ................<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My diary entry relates that I met a couple in John's Cafe, Turpan, French artists, who I had previously encountered in John's Cafe in Kashagar. This time we had more of an exhange than the nodding and smiling. We sat and talked politics sharing our views and what we had noticed about the Uyghur culture and how it is being supressed and changed. Entry <em>reads "Had quite a good discussion about this part of China. They had made similar observations to self. Although it is an autonomous region it would appear that the Chinese are unable to deal with a population that is different from there own - as in Tibet. Which is really strange as China is so huge and has such diverse populations. Already there is an insistance that the Uyghur learn Chinese - coming from the UK I can well understand this as to how we dealt with our linguistic minorities - very similar.............. It may be time to put aside my Turkish/Central Asian phrase books and rely entirely on the Mandarin one! May be not. Street eating - J/R/G </em>[& self] <em>- Chinese first for deep fried veg/chicken - Then noodle dumplings fro a Uyghur stall. Always v. gratifying when stallholders can appreciate my poor Uyghur - but now can say "goodbye" (her kosh)! Went into a Chinese pharmacy & saw a bat on a stick! </em>(Thought of Terry Pratchett at this point with the "rat on a stick"! Unfortunately I did not get a photo of this one but I made a note to get a copy that somebody else took to show to the accupuncturist I go to who also is a Chinese herbs practitioner. The diary continues <em>"Delightful meals - the city all very vibrant - and a couple of guys taking photos of US (@ the next table) in a very friendly & pleasant way. A good day all round apart from the hat. </em>(See previous entry). Looking back on the diary entry I am reminded of this day. Turpan had a very relaxed atmosphere and there was something very continental about it. Perhaps it was because it was light when we went out to eat. I remember it being pleasantly warm and lots of people just walking about without a tremendous hustle and bustle. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>"30th May Left Turpan and drove to more ruins at Goachang, this time not so well preserved as previous day but had a huge Buddhist Temple twice the size of the one at Jiahoe. Took a donkey ride there. Lovely little dondiey - trotted along with R/J/JC/R & myself. Enjoyed the donkey ride as much as the ruins! Gave donkey a thank-you scratch on the ears - & he moved his ears over so I culd get behind."</em> And here he is quite the star of the show.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTsQ6EgBuLdoFNBTQTGnBUPjzdIHyX8xlyuUHkLR4aubvDaiCHWStd1CYt0mrkY9RTIlR10I7nqQ2Y33lCmHcnng0pyA6I5kB95D11NsuOodhDKtcoH9yB76uGmxoNltaRWC_tv8zV_E/s1600/30.05-GaochangCityRuins-7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTsQ6EgBuLdoFNBTQTGnBUPjzdIHyX8xlyuUHkLR4aubvDaiCHWStd1CYt0mrkY9RTIlR10I7nqQ2Y33lCmHcnng0pyA6I5kB95D11NsuOodhDKtcoH9yB76uGmxoNltaRWC_tv8zV_E/s400/30.05-GaochangCityRuins-7.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Rest at last.............</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHdqEZnqnDA0Mt3iU9ZCKcZzIowNVutJaLsjaqgJXoJO8X0ZWj9QInCnf5r5hBWzkoa8MKPUsapFQH3hmPaTVLR4ZALlYpBYCm_T6jxIS_5NGLLqRToYvUP_JvAcIBf9IXbCAcxeH6LA/s1600/30.05-GaochangCityRuins-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHdqEZnqnDA0Mt3iU9ZCKcZzIowNVutJaLsjaqgJXoJO8X0ZWj9QInCnf5r5hBWzkoa8MKPUsapFQH3hmPaTVLR4ZALlYpBYCm_T6jxIS_5NGLLqRToYvUP_JvAcIBf9IXbCAcxeH6LA/s400/30.05-GaochangCityRuins-8.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Is this my best side? </em></span><br />
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<div align="justify"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">It was at Goachang that I bought a CD of what I can only describe as a "Uyghur girl band" and I am so sorry that I cannot include a bit of one of the tracks on this blog. As I do not read the script I have no idea what the band is called but it was playing in the tourist shop and I was so taken with it that I bought it immediately. The three artistes look so fetching in their white berets on the front cover. It is the sort of music that has me dancing round the house when I put it on - and it is very good for belly dancing to as well!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">Then a visit to the Bezikelike Caves of the 1000 Buddhas. <em>"Caves built into rock decorated with scenes from the life of the Buddha &/or Jataka & roof of each cave covered with time Buddhas - Unfortunately very damaged- some early Islamic damage - ie. gouging eyes but later Aurel Stein & others removed whole walls. Some of which were taken to Germany and subsequently destroyed in WWII. Lovely lunch in car park- watched a guy climb up the huge sandstone dune face- that's what it was effectively a huge sand dune with rocks on tip. We all cheered when he got to a certain point- when he came down just before his bus left he came over & said "hi" to us which was rather nice."</em> This sort of thing happened quite a bit. People making contact like that. Though we gave him a really loud cheer along with everyone else in the car park too. I have not got any photos of that side of the sandstone dune but here are a couple showing the caves and the sandstone cliff on the other side of the river.</span></div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">Not surprisingly in this part of China there is still a significant amount of resentment to Aurel Stein - I suppose that there is always the argument that had he not removed the artefacts that he did that they would probably have been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution - by quite likely this might not have happened. But going to the places and seeing whole gaps where there had been statues was still, even 80 or more years later, still very embarrassing! </span></div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyzLUZtRU4SAAadwXXEixBFBxaRM-78rNZdJYIQ3VucymK4SrjnxDrg7OI2mDSxczfIY1NdPQymEWWdg2PAzIAHJA9gD2mygR6ttxwze0rU4yc44tO9rqLTs7np3nhhyIOShDioiHIlw/s1600/30.05-BezikelikeGrottos-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyzLUZtRU4SAAadwXXEixBFBxaRM-78rNZdJYIQ3VucymK4SrjnxDrg7OI2mDSxczfIY1NdPQymEWWdg2PAzIAHJA9gD2mygR6ttxwze0rU4yc44tO9rqLTs7np3nhhyIOShDioiHIlw/s400/30.05-BezikelikeGrottos-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>These amazing sandstone cliffs</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaA6N2TBZbNOQT0wld4Fsd428K4XxMlDzyugQKB82ONlvkWQPAzNnlwStc-RmrTnttERDtimNw8NHRyW2lZ_upsCgO7uyDXGYq0od5Dp5-Sx9VelQlePCw0kFUU29Zi4n6CjGS1xH459Q/s400/30.05-BezikelikeGrottos-4.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">The caves - but not possible to take photos of the interiors</span></em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLoi6EZRGVVH55-f3wHJw9kEw1NWIRFKK7vtS0u6sXgkn5O12FBi1gbmSX_0qrk08AVhCT3FqqSzo6hhPZ3ItR5oJqCMz5hJvdJeuix4mXcBKeHy40IGOqb0E9GQV-MpCxtNXlpOylmk/s1600/30.05-BezikelikeGrottos-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLoi6EZRGVVH55-f3wHJw9kEw1NWIRFKK7vtS0u6sXgkn5O12FBi1gbmSX_0qrk08AVhCT3FqqSzo6hhPZ3ItR5oJqCMz5hJvdJeuix4mXcBKeHy40IGOqb0E9GQV-MpCxtNXlpOylmk/s400/30.05-BezikelikeGrottos-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The notice board</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia;">Our campsite that night was a wild camp - but more of that next time...............</span></div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-63316915884605162252011-02-06T22:52:00.006+00:002011-03-05T20:08:55.643+00:00Driving East....................<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My diary for 27th May reads <em>"Another long drive - left the desert only to come into a flat dreary landscape covered in salt pans. All along the road I have seen depressions in the sand - & wondered what they were - when we arrived at the salt pans I realised instantly what they were. On the way there was a stop at another wild west town - mainly for truckers. We carried on until we came to an industrial site near a railway & made camp!" </em>And indeed it was an industrial site - it looked as if there had been some sort of removal of the surface over a large area and wherever we were we were in view of a mining operation slightly further up a hillside. Having a pee was difficult because I remember having to find an area where there was an indentation and squatting down so as to be out of view of the a) the campsite and b) the mining operation - but I managed. I also have recollections of the day being rather grey, spots of rain and certainly seeing puddles! This part north of the Taklamakan Desert is flat and very industrial. </span><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia;">On the 28th May we travelled through the mountains - I seem to think that this is the time that the road that the mountain road divided into 2 on a one-way system with quite a few miles between the 2 roads (if you look at this link you will see what I mean) before descending into the Turpan/Turfan Basin. The Turpan Basin is the third lowest place below sea level in the world being 154m/502ft below sea level and is also very hot and dry. But despite that the city of Turpan is a joy because of the beautiful pergolas which line the city streets in the centre. For some reason I did not take a photo of these but putting Turpan into Google images will come up with photos that others have taken. My main concerns in my diary entry for the 28th are to do with bodily functions - as follows! <em>" Stopd for a pee stop amongst the most amount of turds I have seen. Lav at a truck stop in morning was truly horrendous. Wd. have gone behind the lav but that was even worse" </em>The turd stop was just after we had descended the mountain pass and immediately before we joined the westward road at the end of the one-way system. So if ever you find yourself there - DESIST - HOLD ON, WAIT, BE CONTINENT <strong>but NEVER, NEVER get out just where the road is straightening out and there is a bit of a parking space</strong> - just hold on until you can safely stop further down the road!!! Other than that the road through the mountains was very pleasant. And on arriving in Turpan there in the hotel compound was another John's Cafe (see entry for 27th December) where I met a delightful French couple from Marseille. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We went off grockelling on 29th - diary reads "Went to visit ancient city of Jiahoe, very hot reacted badly to the heat. At this point I lost a lovely silk hat that I had recently bought and was still recovering from the illness, antibiotics, etc., was feeling down and I note "Am beginning to think longingly of home - Another 4½ weeks - I long to have some time on my own. Finding constantly being with people very wearing." But the next entry on a happier note reads - "City was fascinating- Lots of mud brick buildings - now ruined but outlines still visible and [something illegible even to me!] across on top of a hill between 2 rivers. Dates from BC to early CEs. Buddhist temples but no sign of Islam so deserted before then." And here are the photos of Jiahoe.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>I managed to wait until this space was empty of school children!</strong></em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzdu7Be81NC3Evm_W9xa0vXkuznc-xFhkr1xkbuNTyJwcZGqYXPeGxaX-OvJ7zdyk6pPF_UjIXn1-xda_-ATUNTH3IxjyxdxugGIr4ePvVwtxcrm2H4aQ-MFHP77_W-49AIVrn9-RMC4/s1600/29.05.JiahoeAncientCity-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzdu7Be81NC3Evm_W9xa0vXkuznc-xFhkr1xkbuNTyJwcZGqYXPeGxaX-OvJ7zdyk6pPF_UjIXn1-xda_-ATUNTH3IxjyxdxugGIr4ePvVwtxcrm2H4aQ-MFHP77_W-49AIVrn9-RMC4/s400/29.05.JiahoeAncientCity-4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>The ruined city as it is now ...............</strong></em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnyxpPVfzCrBxkxAcBnnzM3hVTuXJUpKWIa1rhrxEBKj9uU_yuageYn8_hScvuyKISJ7AaMfVkexiQMdhOj9pQBPRmUtSdqwlv_Ef5axCb5pnoVNRV8vukw297Q0kd_1-HAL6AvNjcWs/s1600/29.05.JiahoeAncientCity-12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnyxpPVfzCrBxkxAcBnnzM3hVTuXJUpKWIa1rhrxEBKj9uU_yuageYn8_hScvuyKISJ7AaMfVkexiQMdhOj9pQBPRmUtSdqwlv_Ef5axCb5pnoVNRV8vukw297Q0kd_1-HAL6AvNjcWs/s400/29.05.JiahoeAncientCity-12.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>but you might imagine it as it was once with a caravan, carrying silks, metal wares, precious stones, carpets, glass, dried fruit, exotic delicacies and many other things winding its way up the street from the gate having braved the crossing of the Taklamakan Desert ..........</strong></em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4C84FsIT5pOgNmqrTYIXn2p1vaA2U7Kg0sdQb5TuvKCafmU6rBoqKdi1LVGn8fCWMDLV06UPhL_psnw7HYXN-gCvYn80SZcKIBJjesepLIL57YYlDZLpg5jZTzNo9QanxAusPWGvCPZQ/s1600/29.05.JiahoeAncientCity-13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4C84FsIT5pOgNmqrTYIXn2p1vaA2U7Kg0sdQb5TuvKCafmU6rBoqKdi1LVGn8fCWMDLV06UPhL_psnw7HYXN-gCvYn80SZcKIBJjesepLIL57YYlDZLpg5jZTzNo9QanxAusPWGvCPZQ/s400/29.05.JiahoeAncientCity-13.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>......... as busy messengers, puffed up with self-importance, make their way along the narrow streets with tablets or documents from one government department to another.</strong></em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHk8eLktk1beNZYnN44Av1EwcALtE8vjsVb-7QlGJjVcJfY1neV2gMgKyVhBk_AEuHwReGaLGlVzO_1iOVSzHZ1q7uIaI8Vs2XpsnsdpLmerZBjwXIw1yOBANBItczfx9gRvlCm1HH5w/s1600/29.05.JiahoeAncientCity-16.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHk8eLktk1beNZYnN44Av1EwcALtE8vjsVb-7QlGJjVcJfY1neV2gMgKyVhBk_AEuHwReGaLGlVzO_1iOVSzHZ1q7uIaI8Vs2XpsnsdpLmerZBjwXIw1yOBANBItczfx9gRvlCm1HH5w/s400/29.05.JiahoeAncientCity-16.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>But by now these once proud buildings have weathered away.</strong></em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After the morning spent at Jiahoe the next port of call was the Karez System, my diary reads- <em>"Then went to look at the underground water system - karez - which are like the qanats of Yazd. They brought water (snow melt) from the Tien Shan to Turpan - they are a prodigious feat of mining through rocks - making channels to carry the water. The museum was very well laid out (better than Yazd) & gave good descriptions (Uighur/ Chinese/English) & also models with real water. There are little circular depressions across the desert (like at Yazd) so that it is possible to plot a karez as it makes its way down off the hills. The disturbing thing is that there is less snow fall each year and Turpan is completely dependent on the karez water systems. Also as an underground part of the museum showing a working karez. The water looked clean and clear</em>." I met up again with the couple from Marseille and we had a longer talk in mixed French/English. They made similar observations to myself about the Uyghur situation. We discussed the insistence that the Uyghur learn Chinese, and I note <em>"..... coming from the UK I can well understand this as to how we dealt with our linguistic minorities - very similar. Although there are a great deal of bilingual signs there are also many in Chinese only</em>." Following this entry there is a description of some street eating<em>- ".... Chinese first for deep fried veg/chicken- Then noodle dumplings from a Uighur stall. Always v. gratifying when the stall holders appreciate my poor Uighur - but now can say "goodbye" (her kosh)! Went into a Chinese pharmacy and saw a bat on a stick. Delightful meals - the city all very vibrant and a couple of guys at the next table taking photos of us!! in a very friendly and pleasant way. I have found people very accepting here. A very pleasant day all round apart from the hat." </em>So obviously the low mood of the morning had lifted.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The following photos all appear to be a strange colour - but I can assure you that it is nothing to do with my camera (or your eyes) but the roofing covering the displays was made of green plastic!!!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFNvKYtVpjVGuZASVIq_LBWcCPXq7uYnWnExsufcAZouevdclPsryytsb-2V6bkmzVmTprxNzPJ3ieGtH09UkTyG8Gl7SxprqfhwsDSQlVg6rI1ZueN_dgr20h_a4jgjZGBSOM9N9Zqs/s1600/29.05.TurpanKarezSystemMuseum-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFNvKYtVpjVGuZASVIq_LBWcCPXq7uYnWnExsufcAZouevdclPsryytsb-2V6bkmzVmTprxNzPJ3ieGtH09UkTyG8Gl7SxprqfhwsDSQlVg6rI1ZueN_dgr20h_a4jgjZGBSOM9N9Zqs/s400/29.05.TurpanKarezSystemMuseum-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The first hole is always hardest to sink </em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB7sjpXKUDt6O_XeMwhjnqGLPjfvlRGAYqB7gRW07menTqDVSd-bPziRIXAfErJDAiyTNIed0kNyvo9syuvefA5w03D5nFLGwv7ZL2dmwnl1mv9gRAA0A9QFLPBw20xgy3ta0XfrwcGy8/s1600/29.05.TurpanKarezSystemMuseum-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB7sjpXKUDt6O_XeMwhjnqGLPjfvlRGAYqB7gRW07menTqDVSd-bPziRIXAfErJDAiyTNIed0kNyvo9syuvefA5w03D5nFLGwv7ZL2dmwnl1mv9gRAA0A9QFLPBw20xgy3ta0XfrwcGy8/s400/29.05.TurpanKarezSystemMuseum-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>... but now that's done <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(please note rather bored attendant who has seen it all before!)</span></em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpRiDZ9VQY_XINjVjuq63NcQNgwGwrGDd_uhmpQKlXkhkC0Zf7P1RJ0caUEGbkONjczQtqvzxEM1U_uNxBxAvM5IkxywZ6qFRbYAY9alaqA0XCPW_MnTuGLNmHJ-1hh8bjvwg8E0SSoc/s1600/29.05.TurpanKarezSystemMuseum-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em><img border="0" h5="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzpRiDZ9VQY_XINjVjuq63NcQNgwGwrGDd_uhmpQKlXkhkC0Zf7P1RJ0caUEGbkONjczQtqvzxEM1U_uNxBxAvM5IkxywZ6qFRbYAY9alaqA0XCPW_MnTuGLNmHJ-1hh8bjvwg8E0SSoc/s400/29.05.TurpanKarezSystemMuseum-3.JPG" width="300" /></em></strong></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>.... but now they are ready to go underground ...........</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7k0Pmyzrdt8oyAj-9MiE4_gPBamf4brqO7QD4FAFopbX9VvFPJzbDClSYTpcr3kPsatYPKEToDfibqKomdybMSO5WtPvjuzGwotUwRo9NtRnRFCggDZ5D5yy9N0EtgvOoyUHJcvUJMfM/s1600/29.05.TurpanKarezSystemMuseum-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7k0Pmyzrdt8oyAj-9MiE4_gPBamf4brqO7QD4FAFopbX9VvFPJzbDClSYTpcr3kPsatYPKEToDfibqKomdybMSO5WtPvjuzGwotUwRo9NtRnRFCggDZ5D5yy9N0EtgvOoyUHJcvUJMfM/s400/29.05.TurpanKarezSystemMuseum-4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>... the best way to take out the rocks .............</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRaL9hSWSfW_V21Q388dS1u2UBCBABr-VfdJOXdvxl7tGIPhR-OOR9jtkGuTBbgp2PkioYsULA2r9OSRcSZFq0NwZ5yP134DEe2wOxt3yjCBZbPCXeGo4AHuALNcfijZxWQFyiu9fk2bQ/s1600/29.05.TurpanKarezSystemMuseum-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRaL9hSWSfW_V21Q388dS1u2UBCBABr-VfdJOXdvxl7tGIPhR-OOR9jtkGuTBbgp2PkioYsULA2r9OSRcSZFq0NwZ5yP134DEe2wOxt3yjCBZbPCXeGo4AHuALNcfijZxWQFyiu9fk2bQ/s400/29.05.TurpanKarezSystemMuseum-5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>..... and help is always to hand.</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-69758861797588918722011-01-29T22:58:00.000+00:002011-01-31T10:11:57.446+00:00More of Khotan and the North/South link road across the Taklamakan ................<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">25th <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">May continued.................</span></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">According to my diary I spent a pleasant afternoon walking with my room mate and going to markets where I bought a couple of silk scarves - which will by now hopefully be worn by the friends for whom they were bought. I went for a meal with some of my fellow travellers and this is the description of the meal. <em>"Delightful meal with G, R & J, M, M & self. M organised our meal by using our "crib sheet". It was delicious apart from the chicken knuckles - which I think we all agreed was a bit naff - the seasoning was OK but there really is not much meat on a chicken knuckle. Pork with ginger, potatoes & chinese leaves, a beef dish and the famous "fish tasting" pork which was not fish tasting at all but rather hot- (Sichuan </em>[sic] <em>style) & an egg plant stew which was also delicious. Back to hotel to the strains of Colonel Bogey </em>(very tinny and continuous!) <em>- which according to G, played until 0200 - of this I was unaware." </em>"Colonel Bogey" was some piped music, I think from some sort of a merry-go-round in the main square below our window. I also note about the Chairman Mao statue (yes, another one!) I saw in the main square just outside our hotel. <em>"Chairman Mao statue in main square shaking hands with a Uighur leader or representative of the Uighur. CM towers over the Uighur - has the Uighur's hand firmly grasped - ie. "I have the power - you are in my hand" The hand shaking the Uighur's hand appears to be cast bigger than CM's other hand by his side- all v. subtle but a strong message all the same as CM depicted as much bigger that the Uighur & the Uighur is looking very grateful." </em>So the power of political images and the messages they give. Thirty four years after his death every city still has a statue of him. In the Central Asian countries one had to look really hard at times to see Lenin, if there was one at all - and I only saw one of Marx - not Osh but one of the first places we visited in Kyrgyzstan.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We left Khotan on the morning of the 26th and this was the first time that I had been in a position to see the early morning Tai Chi in the main square. I am sure that it happened in Kashgar and I certainly heard the wake-up music over the loudspeakers but round the Seman Hotel was not really a Tai Chi sort of place and probably not a Tai Chi sort of population! So here are a few snaps - slightly blurred because I was high up in the hotel overlooking the main square and also I was using "zoom".</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em><u><span style="color: purple;">Early morning in Khotan</span></u></em></strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">Tai Chi to wake up</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">and everybody is at it .............</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiN3DdzH-C77UfiDJb2i9hgVnJoRgaJFfXiZ_ckukEEGk0K2r08-d8k4FbiLOMsrTxmYzM5BOon4snrZ_K63zLHF6QzguczEGvBSEzn8yvFdkJupfFSGopjlgdCTGddq2ePopQYlzJzgo/s1600/26.05-Khotan-9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiN3DdzH-C77UfiDJb2i9hgVnJoRgaJFfXiZ_ckukEEGk0K2r08-d8k4FbiLOMsrTxmYzM5BOon4snrZ_K63zLHF6QzguczEGvBSEzn8yvFdkJupfFSGopjlgdCTGddq2ePopQYlzJzgo/s400/26.05-Khotan-9.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple;">& dogs do Tai Chi too! And very obligingly there is piped musak to </span></em></strong><strong><em><span style="color: purple;">do the exercises to!</span></em></strong></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2IvWSQNpujSten6YJ641EIFq4S-vgjlYQKNE-vO97XtcvxgNZ7SMCqQg75WpTBR6WKtihz7WyBQZliN_fyzhwXGrFVvlVhCtezybhyqIX8GbY5_mxn6VhSQov_OCASptnfXY1mHY_RTU/s1600/Mao-UighurStatue-Khotan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2IvWSQNpujSten6YJ641EIFq4S-vgjlYQKNE-vO97XtcvxgNZ7SMCqQg75WpTBR6WKtihz7WyBQZliN_fyzhwXGrFVvlVhCtezybhyqIX8GbY5_mxn6VhSQov_OCASptnfXY1mHY_RTU/s320/Mao-UighurStatue-Khotan.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>This is the statue that I refer to. My photo of this was not good enough to post however Phil Colley, Chief Caravaneer at The Oriental Caravan (<a href="http://www.theorientalcaravan.com/">http://www.theorientalcaravan.com/</a>) has kindly given permission to use the one from their website.</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDRkYftLEFtKDisW1RzYlEkPVN2-hDoC_eevrhqTYbKQfMgO-T7NFMJTsv8EZU7sn1SXHUuDXw-IP5zZmja7xTZ0xqrF0H4eue8p7944WhbWhGyoQEk8IJ_Y4eFumaas1fPofKmsSL1s/s1600/26.05-Khotan-7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjDRkYftLEFtKDisW1RzYlEkPVN2-hDoC_eevrhqTYbKQfMgO-T7NFMJTsv8EZU7sn1SXHUuDXw-IP5zZmja7xTZ0xqrF0H4eue8p7944WhbWhGyoQEk8IJ_Y4eFumaas1fPofKmsSL1s/s400/26.05-Khotan-7.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Gives a little hint about the pollution levels. You can make out the statue on a plinth in front of the </span></em></strong><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;">white building with the windows on the left hand side of the photo.</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So leaving Khotan behind we headed off to cross the Taklamakan Desert from South to North. When Charles Blackmore wrote his account of crossing the Taklamakan in 1993 the road that we took had not even been built (<em>see Charles Blackmore - The Worst Desert on Earth - a fascinating account of endurance by a British/Chinese/Uyghur exploration team who set out to cross the Taklamakan desert mainly on foot but also with the support of some camels</em><strong>.</strong>)<strong> </strong>There are huge reserves of natural gas and petrol to the north of the Taklamakan and probably underneath it as well. So as such it is a strategic resource for China which also explains the political difficulties with the Uyghur people who do not see themselves as Chinese at all and furthermore that that they belong in the region and the Chinese do not.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong>See the following links for more information:</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taklamakan_Desert">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taklamakan_Desert</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLL_en-GBGB358GB358&q=taklamakan+desert&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLL_en-GBGB358GB358&q=taklamakan+desert&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl</span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We travelled along the road to the south of the Taklamakan through lots of small towns in the oases which skirt the desert. Photos taken through Archie's windows and rather dirty at that! But I should not complain there were days when I was on "window washing duty" and they were dirty! Very hard to keep Archie's windows clean with all the dust in the desert.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <u>Desert Landscapes</u></span></span></em></strong></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidW5vgz9X2CNu20wAwaHUrWDGaFDXjIuuOZnjoDbNzC5sX-BOhWv17K8FMFQJ5JYfqfSpkzC-e0yzJytaFBp7OUOsSsnp__fmR9z4Zk3d7QTIsSxGp_98FBmfl5w5yqWeEkRXof9BB5sc/s1600/26.05-TaklamakanDesert-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidW5vgz9X2CNu20wAwaHUrWDGaFDXjIuuOZnjoDbNzC5sX-BOhWv17K8FMFQJ5JYfqfSpkzC-e0yzJytaFBp7OUOsSsnp__fmR9z4Zk3d7QTIsSxGp_98FBmfl5w5yqWeEkRXof9BB5sc/s400/26.05-TaklamakanDesert-2.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><u><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A typical Uyghur farm on the outskirts of a village </span></u></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7kVrTDFTvw9jw4NZnKMQZd99eYmkRAE0g0bDacWPnKuQLt6oXBu0SG4J0kjvBJHF5JfEN3NDgj_4WF23W-ffND2a4-BayNefrU59mFVji2-dUBmQHs82eHgqgX1FNADAL5wSiIKnGs1M/s1600/26.05-TaklamakanDesert-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7kVrTDFTvw9jw4NZnKMQZd99eYmkRAE0g0bDacWPnKuQLt6oXBu0SG4J0kjvBJHF5JfEN3NDgj_4WF23W-ffND2a4-BayNefrU59mFVji2-dUBmQHs82eHgqgX1FNADAL5wSiIKnGs1M/s400/26.05-TaklamakanDesert-4.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">Oasis landscape</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Q0IWcoFlrBQzzi3yVA-agNWNauJwrvCNN5y0_JFFa_ZPK7OwcIs_X2W_S6JtA99I7gZShGAZwXKf5Ecwqo0oV7kwV-d76qrKp9nX7-DXp1ld9JUzaHPS1vE2ZcZoC7W6APbs07qHxEE/s1600/26.05-TaklamakanDesert-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Q0IWcoFlrBQzzi3yVA-agNWNauJwrvCNN5y0_JFFa_ZPK7OwcIs_X2W_S6JtA99I7gZShGAZwXKf5Ecwqo0oV7kwV-d76qrKp9nX7-DXp1ld9JUzaHPS1vE2ZcZoC7W6APbs07qHxEE/s400/26.05-TaklamakanDesert-5.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">Back in the desert on the edge of an oasis. </span></em></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple;">(If you look carefully behind the vegetation there are what look like piles of earth. These are</span></em></strong><strong><em><span style="color: purple;"> a karez (known as kanats in Iran) or underground irrigation system but more of these later when I get to Turfan.</span></em></strong></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My diary for 26th May reads:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>"Left Khotan and headed out in the desert. Lots of small towns in oases. Stopt. for lunch and a group came to see what we were doing & a man offered us green dates. Then into the everchanging desert. The road north is fascinating. A wide strip either side is regularly irrigated with pumping stations every 5k. 2 of the pumping station men joined us for our night camp. The sat with us and chatted through John </em>(our guide) <em>J </em>(fellow traveller & farmer) <em>asked them a lot of questions about the upkeep of the road and the irrigation system. They were happy to share information and I suppose gratified that we took such an interest in what could be a very lonely job." </em>As the pumping stations was a government scheme the men working them were state employees and Han Chinese - not Uyghur. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I also write a bit about the desert; <em>"Sand blew into the tent until everything was covered in a fine layer of sand - The sand blow always seems to co-incide with us leaving the truck! As soon as we set up cook group the wind starts up carrying the sand. The Taklamakan is a desert desert - sand dunes which shift & change shape like huge hills with wind ripples all over them. The road north has pumping stations every 5k & irrigation pipes the whole way along & is lined with bushes in a band about 15/20 feet wide. This is to keep the road open so that there is access to the oil fields & natural gas fields further north. There is a gas pipe installation about 1/2 way along the road as there is a gas field. The road after Hotan was atrocious but is being upgraded into a 4 lane highway. This means that it will far easier to access into the Uighur Autonomous Region - such as military or Chinese influences. Also far easier access to the rather unstable border- ie. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, etc. But it must also have and impact on the Uighur who may feel somewhat threatened - as up to now the poor communications s of the Taklamakan may have helped to keep some degree of distance from China. As we move eastward the Chinese appear more in numbers & Uighur less. Although there is a great emphasis on the surface on Uighur culture." </em></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">There were also some jokes about the quality of the sand in the Taklamakan for it must not be forgotten that the Chinese use the desert near Lop to try out various nuclear tests - and in travel terms Lop is not that far from the Taklamakan and as the winds blow I, along with all my fellow travellers, probably inhaled some leftovers from various testings. But despite this I would not have not gone through the Taklamakan for the world.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <strong><em><span style="color: purple;"> <u>Some more desert landscapes </u></span></em></strong></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDwxwfhVkG8Pzj29iqSCbWQNjDIP_1wEMsDPFuTtWLVFC7N28hCOjOgu8_cinwt2qtXnvo952cMNeI86uL8ptYSBuEkRQRqprucNdnDWUQMT-2UpA0HUunISitERZ8X1yCQwg16Wxrv8/s1600/27.05-TaklamakanDesert-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDwxwfhVkG8Pzj29iqSCbWQNjDIP_1wEMsDPFuTtWLVFC7N28hCOjOgu8_cinwt2qtXnvo952cMNeI86uL8ptYSBuEkRQRqprucNdnDWUQMT-2UpA0HUunISitERZ8X1yCQwg16Wxrv8/s400/27.05-TaklamakanDesert-4.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Taklamakan Desert - a desert's desert - sand and dunes</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuE892iyXIYIezOM-4mTQAVseMLfKczFMf-frpA_BV_t26dSdSc3mHtIKzXBzdmGp0ViEMMbv_bf-940_EGiv1siJmJQjFwJ55fYV4QM-4f9IB8nS5jpsmfRkZAJ-_zbhPv_B4UKrHvDE/s1600/27.05-TaklamakanDesert-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuE892iyXIYIezOM-4mTQAVseMLfKczFMf-frpA_BV_t26dSdSc3mHtIKzXBzdmGp0ViEMMbv_bf-940_EGiv1siJmJQjFwJ55fYV4QM-4f9IB8nS5jpsmfRkZAJ-_zbhPv_B4UKrHvDE/s400/27.05-TaklamakanDesert-2.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The irrigation band complete with pipes!</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjg0B4Ym6p7phprK72UDM0evwzNLEvL0CauIFvo_fN2UK9b5ze3hpQX5FQtNgIcJpA3jmKvj1-ZRm01X1fHIpfEtLVikNS9S6ljYR1FRMezSAwowMTQMfrQNJoUm960obJ1qSZYzuPyc/s1600/27.05-TaklamakanDesert-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBjg0B4Ym6p7phprK72UDM0evwzNLEvL0CauIFvo_fN2UK9b5ze3hpQX5FQtNgIcJpA3jmKvj1-ZRm01X1fHIpfEtLVikNS9S6ljYR1FRMezSAwowMTQMfrQNJoUm960obJ1qSZYzuPyc/s400/27.05-TaklamakanDesert-5.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">One of the many pumping stations as we whisked past</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDj7wXUMn5NoFyuOqAOt_JjWFrxvf_B5tGpdSZGUrQz6zERQfLJuFC6D6NtoPDQKZ5IQbsGypEoxYNR0FD4S2H5poAB9702ebJ-C-J7H-M0usBbnmw9Tg9lV0mQjnoK5b-SpQRR4vSwgM/s1600/27.05-TaklamakanDesert-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDj7wXUMn5NoFyuOqAOt_JjWFrxvf_B5tGpdSZGUrQz6zERQfLJuFC6D6NtoPDQKZ5IQbsGypEoxYNR0FD4S2H5poAB9702ebJ-C-J7H-M0usBbnmw9Tg9lV0mQjnoK5b-SpQRR4vSwgM/s400/27.05-TaklamakanDesert-6.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And another one hidden behind the bushes.</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj45X1_ijaf92rWow8k0FRT4XpEjx4O4NsvRqnVRgDtlswmdY4k-FPk071GbO1wGvVpOkNYMTK6UOd6Y46rqQpD4ToOLTt7ZOkPR7qFQQ5_ZPxoIY3wqyar1yyP6Oy3utfZmJXHyUI7fYo/s1600/27.05-TaklamakanDesert-7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj45X1_ijaf92rWow8k0FRT4XpEjx4O4NsvRqnVRgDtlswmdY4k-FPk071GbO1wGvVpOkNYMTK6UOd6Y46rqQpD4ToOLTt7ZOkPR7qFQQ5_ZPxoIY3wqyar1yyP6Oy3utfZmJXHyUI7fYo/s400/27.05-TaklamakanDesert-7.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And a third one - high on a hill.</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-27153205202397596762011-01-29T18:48:00.000+00:002011-01-31T10:13:23.185+00:00Leaving Kashgar and "the worst desert on earth"............<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The diary entry for 24th May reads:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>"Left Kashgar in morning - drive to Yarkand to look @ Mosque but not able to go in as prayer time. Lunch went down well - Group liked the salad and salad dressing.</em> (I seem to remember a tomato and mushroom salad with a garlic salad dressing) <em>Then more driving - found camp in Taklamakan desert - meal cook - success - lots of fruit. But the dust. Fortunately had meal before the dust storm - watched it come in the tent in clouds - settled everywhere. Very hot all the night - sweated so much."</em> Followed by a diary entry for 25th which reads <em>"Decided I do not like desert camping - when I awoke @ 0530 the clock was covered in sand. Everything was so gritty - Worked all the way through from 0600-0800 cooking - prep - etc..........."</em> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Just reading that now brings back the journey. I took an executive decision not to take my camera out while in the desert, except for a few taken through the window while going along in Archie so I don't have many pictures of the Taklamakan desert. I did not want sand in my camera. When I was little on holiday at Wells next the Sea, on the north Norfolk coast, where there are huge expanses of sand when the tide has gone out I have the memory of walking back to the beach from the sea across this seemingly endless sand and crying as the wind blew the sand against my legs. It stung like 1000s of simultaneous pin pricks. And if I put my towel around my waist to cover my legs then my shoulders got cold, we are talking about an English summer in the 1950s here! It was misery. I have often revisited this memory when I walk across wide expanses of sand with a sharp wind blowing; laughing to myself about the delicate juvenile skin on my legs that suffered so much and saying to myself that how, now I am adult (?) I can take it .......... or that was until I visited the Taklamakan! And all of a sudden I was back into that child state with exactly the same sensations of sand whipping up against my now adult skinned legs and it still felt as though I was being stung by 1000s of simultaneous pin pricks! And as to the grit - I remember my grandmother on one of these Norfolk holidays saying how the sand always got in the sandwiches and even got in the tomato juice (of the bottled variety). And if sand can get in a closed bottle of tomato juice it can certainly get in a camera! So imagine the morning cook with sand blowing. It was early morning when we started getting the tables and chairs out, it was barely light, trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake the "happy campers"! We were still stumbling around wearing head torches. It was grey, though I must admit I cannot remember if there was a pre-dawn cold I have a feeling it was a pre-dawn mugginess- as I refer to being "very hot all night" but what I do remember is the greyness and the sun coming up through a haze of sand. And trying to keep the breakfast we prepared from having a layer of sand deposited on it before we had a chance to eat it! I think this campsite might have been the one where apparently lorries passed by all night right by the tents - but if they did I did not hear them despite my remarks about being hot and sweaty in the night! Interestingly enough it seemed that we would arrive in a seemingly sandless spot only to find that as soon as we got the cooking equipment out we were in a sandstorm! When we got to Khotan we found - not the rather racketty and run down Khotan with a rebel army described by Ella Maillart and Peter Fleming some 75 years before - but a rather disappointingly slick modern city with high rise building, streetlights, pavements and tarmac roads. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></div><div align="center"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u>The Silk Factory in Khotan</u></span></em></strong></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: purple;"></span> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xi6WiUIVYAWpy8XIg5vy86-GCEM5oHHzWLJKkuTu8zZFkg-R4q4puBJCDoUcr5ey2GQaKqwb41ZQf1qtcXYTV5Y_hxCvuioYsroMxMlNYPpTSCe7qAnPBChp4l07Y7VxrCT-QMxZ_Gs/s1600/25.05-KhotanSilkFactory-14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xi6WiUIVYAWpy8XIg5vy86-GCEM5oHHzWLJKkuTu8zZFkg-R4q4puBJCDoUcr5ey2GQaKqwb41ZQf1qtcXYTV5Y_hxCvuioYsroMxMlNYPpTSCe7qAnPBChp4l07Y7VxrCT-QMxZ_Gs/s400/25.05-KhotanSilkFactory-14.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>Spinning the threads is women's work</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: purple;"></span> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLvQP5WQ932-9k8Sw-1ssuUpJVuT6kIpDH2-fISnfdGSNOfU3O_wJWMq1TO-LKxCezsK76h-syNJ2XpCa9lo6VQLHqs3z291EpCBT4f6O8VGf__2Rgekts9XOwFVMwb9pVHstp1njOY0/s1600/25.05-KhotanSilkFactory-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLvQP5WQ932-9k8Sw-1ssuUpJVuT6kIpDH2-fISnfdGSNOfU3O_wJWMq1TO-LKxCezsK76h-syNJ2XpCa9lo6VQLHqs3z291EpCBT4f6O8VGf__2Rgekts9XOwFVMwb9pVHstp1njOY0/s400/25.05-KhotanSilkFactory-2.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>but dyeing the silk is men's work,</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5T1-UfFCEI7Tr-p4Qm-OqyThsBX7OjPlESMd-GPU76eBD04FCT4Lt1NKslvnkb8JwhwOg_goKGxQViWYiqU6tBKRjdeSG7PrKs2MFdZG4D9fKE-F2Wup8E4cm5aQKtbEFG-h9BMt6wkg/s1600/25.05-KhotanSilkFactory-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5T1-UfFCEI7Tr-p4Qm-OqyThsBX7OjPlESMd-GPU76eBD04FCT4Lt1NKslvnkb8JwhwOg_goKGxQViWYiqU6tBKRjdeSG7PrKs2MFdZG4D9fKE-F2Wup8E4cm5aQKtbEFG-h9BMt6wkg/s400/25.05-KhotanSilkFactory-5.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">as is tying the dyed threads into the pattern.</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnVY-2SVA_1s8nw_okYiKXixyR3XffFn2ChrcPt3J2NtQR4KmfGOXHecKHYsFaf1vvj-Pd9BWqPx16r9z_kfAl0jiPzGq-1SYRKz5H0x59aVDFWtNxjD4A5jXXDn9OqMveUqQaxOhK9A/s1600/25.05-KhotanSilkFactory-9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="400" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnVY-2SVA_1s8nw_okYiKXixyR3XffFn2ChrcPt3J2NtQR4KmfGOXHecKHYsFaf1vvj-Pd9BWqPx16r9z_kfAl0jiPzGq-1SYRKz5H0x59aVDFWtNxjD4A5jXXDn9OqMveUqQaxOhK9A/s400/25.05-KhotanSilkFactory-9.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong>Weaving is done by women or men</strong></em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-gP-yOOUA6vVT83JDCF7oCtcIf4VK7L8es2TZhRf5r2jQOj30DWcJz-ghdg_9EDV5jyA30WaL3G3oANX07OIFRrx1cuOxmTicS9y2r97_H-VZtaLw9RjlDE0ggRMMXyGjH8993Xgnu0/s1600/25.05-KhotanSilkFactory-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH-gP-yOOUA6vVT83JDCF7oCtcIf4VK7L8es2TZhRf5r2jQOj30DWcJz-ghdg_9EDV5jyA30WaL3G3oANX07OIFRrx1cuOxmTicS9y2r97_H-VZtaLw9RjlDE0ggRMMXyGjH8993Xgnu0/s400/25.05-KhotanSilkFactory-10.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong>using a technology that has proved good for maybe 1000s of years,</strong></em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAjVP6sn3ty_YxPuPj4c2bGDHAZ1gDQec_wiu30_bcTfyZBbjkF-ihPSdZzT0LLjuDPRIbLotmCxbvEy_kwUV-26u2HnkS_bMq4IWoVB_fpKQzyW6YD4c136BLrkKd_6xO6sfNf9VoH8g/s1600/25.05-KhotanSilkFactory-11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAjVP6sn3ty_YxPuPj4c2bGDHAZ1gDQec_wiu30_bcTfyZBbjkF-ihPSdZzT0LLjuDPRIbLotmCxbvEy_kwUV-26u2HnkS_bMq4IWoVB_fpKQzyW6YD4c136BLrkKd_6xO6sfNf9VoH8g/s400/25.05-KhotanSilkFactory-11.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">with results as sophisticated as any</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNIV1O5oBTj3O5ReTfXTlK76Z2KPHq0sa8OY0pgII93GlY5frgVd-XRXElPA04X2krP_wJ1IA1O-i1ZJKu6qnGr_fIm-635CZVpFyVaZnOfzGDhdzxHP3DsaKkql6Pc_rVN2zLYJNPBI/s1600/25.05-KhotanSilkFactory-12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNIV1O5oBTj3O5ReTfXTlK76Z2KPHq0sa8OY0pgII93GlY5frgVd-XRXElPA04X2krP_wJ1IA1O-i1ZJKu6qnGr_fIm-635CZVpFyVaZnOfzGDhdzxHP3DsaKkql6Pc_rVN2zLYJNPBI/s400/25.05-KhotanSilkFactory-12.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>modern machine woven fabric.</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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</span></div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-49613917685888188562010-12-29T14:33:00.000+00:002011-01-30T01:07:55.301+00:00How to get rid of "germs" Chinese style<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">This is the story of going to hospital in Kashi. Somethings the Chinese do better than the NHS and others they do differently. As you might have gathered since Kyrgyzstan there were references to not feeling too good and by the time I got to Kashi something needed to be done as I was suffering one of the worst upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) I have ever had in my life. So rather than going camping up the Karakorum Highway and over to Tashkurgan and nearly into Pakistan I stayed behind at the hotel and went to hospital instead. However I was not the only one in need of hospital treatment as another traveller called "L" had bronchitis, so the 2 of us, with great disappointment, sadly waved off the others, "the Karakorum 18", and Archie in the morning, for 3 nights adventure in Archie while we made our way to the hospital. As John, our guide for China, was with us we became the "Kashgar 3" But our consolation prize was seeing Chairman Mao every morning on our way to the hospital.</span> </span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAcWsXBHVrQHAgFHeoizIhBBXE_hxJfQEXjYcZPfpMrXYS-IP00KEljWSwccHq0iqe0tdHXJeQEbN_3QonQ5SsZF4-wcToCPSx5lWzXzPFAoGqQocsw1WSBK9Viy6Veq-3r2BCGXfHwQ/s1600/23.05-KashgarChairmanMao.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAcWsXBHVrQHAgFHeoizIhBBXE_hxJfQEXjYcZPfpMrXYS-IP00KEljWSwccHq0iqe0tdHXJeQEbN_3QonQ5SsZF4-wcToCPSx5lWzXzPFAoGqQocsw1WSBK9Viy6Veq-3r2BCGXfHwQ/s400/23.05-KashgarChairmanMao.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>With a suitably sombre sky behind him.</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">O</span></span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">nce at the hospital I don't suppose that "L" and I had to wait more than about 20 minutes before being ushered in to see a doctor. She did the usual things, listened to chests, looked at throats, say "ahhh", etc. all of this being relayed back to her in Chinese by John, although the doctor was Uyghur. When she asked me the colour of my "expectorations" and when I told her the colour she looked very impressed (I did say it was one the worst or possibly the worst UTRI ever) or she did not believe me!!! After this we were sent upstairs for a blood test. Again this was done with minimum wait. We found ourselves in a ward with a large nurses station behind perspex windows, and in the windows there were lots of little holes a bit like a booking office at a train station. Looking around to see what other people were doing, we knew, when our turn came to stick our arms into the "ticket office". The needle was put in and blood taken and this was tested immediately and a few minutes later, armed with a printout of results we were back down to see the doctor. All in the space of about another 20 minutes. The doctor assessed the results of the blood test and made out a prescription there and then. Back upstairs again to pay for the prescriptions - I think my whole treatment came to about £30 or £35. The prescriptions came as 3 small bottles of antibiotic and 3 larger bottles of glucose/saline solutions. We then presented ourselves at the treatment ward where we sat down in one of the chairs round the edge of the room and took stock. The ceiling had a track running around the whole ward and suspended from this were lots of brackets. The nurses mixed the antibiotic into one of the solutions and then put a needle in the back of the hand and slowly drip fed the antibiotic intravenously - only I found out how to make the solution go in quicker by fiddling with the control mechanism while the nurses were not looking! But even with that it took about 3 or 4 hours to get the antibiotic in. So that gave plenty of time for observation and reflection. One of the things that "L" and I noticed and commented on was the cultural division in the ward. As the ward was large and as the nursing station was central it made a natural divide in the ward with two separate areas although still an open ward. "L" and I found ourselves in the "Uyghur" half of the ward, where there were more patients than the "Chinese" end on the other side of the nursing station. The ward was none too clean when the dirty dish rag came out to wipe down the surfaces I felt like bringing in some jay cloths! But the nurses could not be faulted they were incredibly kind and helpful despite the language difficulties (I had my Central Asian and Turkish phrase books with me to help us along but we had lots of smiles from other patients as well) but The next couple of days it was the same procedure but we were clued up by this time and asked for a bed in a side ward (at 10yuan roughly equivalent to £1) and were able to lie down. Perhaps because we were not locals we each got a bed each rather than sharing as some others appeared to do. I found it a very aggressive way of delivering antibiotics but it really did the trick. We really broke the rules on the last day by bringing in a "thank-you" box of biscuits for sharing in the nursing station - but not allowing for communist (or Chinese?) culture where any sort of tipping or acknowledgment such as a box of biscuits is an absolute no-no. They refused to take them and in the end we left them by the beds and I don't know if they were eaten - I hope so.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">One of the interesting exchanges we had at this time was with a young man we met who had worked as a tour guide. His English was good and we were able to pick up quite a bit about the political situation in Xinxiang Province (or (Uyghur Autonomous Region) where the Uyghur are the majority population. Although a significant physical area of Xinxiang is covered the Taklamakan Desert (named by Charles Blackmore as "The Worst Desert in the World) there are also very rich mineral, natural gas and petrol reserves which contribute significantly to the Chinese economy. And therefore Xinxiang Province is of great importance to China both economically and politically. </span><span style="color: magenta;">He told us how the Old City in Kashgar was being destroyed, the old houses pulled down and the former residents are moved into high rise flats. He explained that this was "government" policy. When I asked where the "government" was based, as Xinxiang is an "Autonomous" Region first of all he said "Urumqi" and then "Beijing". His distress and anger as he talked to us became more apparent with each explanation. The mud brick houses, which have stood for hundreds of years are deemed "unsafe" and therefore have to be pulled down - but there is more to it than that. There has been unrest in Xinxiang Province over the last years and particularly in Urumqi as the Uygher try to express their protest at what is being done to their lifestyle and culture. The overall emotion at the siutuation he finds himself in that I picked up from this young man was an overwhelming sense of powerlessness and abandonment. "L" was much more up to date on this whole situation than I was at the time as she had seen a programme on the television about the Old City in Kashgar. I enclose a few links which explain this far better than I can and a few of the photos that I took in the Old City. And who knows as the destruction is happening on such a scale that the streets where I took these photographs may no longer exist - and that is since May this year. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;"><a href="http://www.farwestchina.com/2010/09/what-remains-of-kashgars-old-city.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.farwestchina.com/2010/09/what-remains-of-kashgars-old-city.html</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/aug/08/china-silk-road-kashgar-heritage"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/aug/08/china-silk-road-kashgar-heritage</span></a></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong><u>Photos from the Old City taken 23rd May 2010</u></strong></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYVibp2CSfFyR3VNw_A4yxR3JjJWOxACTy5CRoEG9N8DGU9bTdGk1y-L20OjTL1Q-yUlSAIKgsYRMdqYz3J5sE88wOnqJheHHJBzgr_cSC1O3zYOE_FZuwAoUPp2kfS4DUJGm-YZfMu8/s1600/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOYVibp2CSfFyR3VNw_A4yxR3JjJWOxACTy5CRoEG9N8DGU9bTdGk1y-L20OjTL1Q-yUlSAIKgsYRMdqYz3J5sE88wOnqJheHHJBzgr_cSC1O3zYOE_FZuwAoUPp2kfS4DUJGm-YZfMu8/s400/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-4.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Old City street scene</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUSbw6SDocDTyuNMxjpiZ9Gq3z095S3Yw7Rl7A4vkEmD_nlEPMF_hTX7Mjk2zBFpILPIkiPuXwYRyU9gPJluU1qiQmDpxODmlS5hpQLX_U4w71gpYOR_23uwmp2C0jmzuTCOWa4MHQKrs/s1600/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUSbw6SDocDTyuNMxjpiZ9Gq3z095S3Yw7Rl7A4vkEmD_nlEPMF_hTX7Mjk2zBFpILPIkiPuXwYRyU9gPJluU1qiQmDpxODmlS5hpQLX_U4w71gpYOR_23uwmp2C0jmzuTCOWa4MHQKrs/s400/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-11.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>A playground within the ruins .................</strong></em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoruOabtQcPWs3FhEfj3UBUjFccIL-WTIN95Tk9gVw0goduq9QmuaT9kWsLqV_gxDevAfVTeMFMyQIUykhURNhv7_PdspB9q9keD6RB77nKPS9y9F1TPK8JG6utyrcihOiw3-r4xhM4A/s1600/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-24.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoruOabtQcPWs3FhEfj3UBUjFccIL-WTIN95Tk9gVw0goduq9QmuaT9kWsLqV_gxDevAfVTeMFMyQIUykhURNhv7_PdspB9q9keD6RB77nKPS9y9F1TPK8JG6utyrcihOiw3-r4xhM4A/s400/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-24.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>I am not sure what happens with all of this ............</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvwHiFSczlPZIU_rJYxZ0ygBcRPnTe6J-B_LOEXT4p0cZrNiOOoEJP7zEDbFMg8TYhqA7Ix2YfnljdYGqsN4iNQDMFmxjMjeEfZitmXGP8tIHLDWrKYRPSLskvh0sRtcE1EkZFcGABH8/s1600/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-39.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibvwHiFSczlPZIU_rJYxZ0ygBcRPnTe6J-B_LOEXT4p0cZrNiOOoEJP7zEDbFMg8TYhqA7Ix2YfnljdYGqsN4iNQDMFmxjMjeEfZitmXGP8tIHLDWrKYRPSLskvh0sRtcE1EkZFcGABH8/s400/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-39.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Houses disappear ..............</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqB7_yz-C4KAYD-MSacPhShAhXtu-oesQY_seqaLR3SK63mVlW-S6drG8PIY8Jg-ZWup692KlpKwd8LX2jEHgXYdkRn9P5cx-uEc3WzQlFG0vyJoYXEjygNUA-qMXawX6SUrjVQfS5IkU/s1600/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-35.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqB7_yz-C4KAYD-MSacPhShAhXtu-oesQY_seqaLR3SK63mVlW-S6drG8PIY8Jg-ZWup692KlpKwd8LX2jEHgXYdkRn9P5cx-uEc3WzQlFG0vyJoYXEjygNUA-qMXawX6SUrjVQfS5IkU/s400/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-35.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>And whole streets ..................</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7kw9hiZIgG2bBwMwvSqbmlqTaDtcVYGCC9pmXVSdsyn-DUKax5EgwPV2DG6FJ1T1vf-PbaZoEpMPQX6MigyoutuBhqwySDbCtXDzYMHSb3bBftwuXBX_YZC0FLjrCN7sa-t0puM92Ur0/s1600/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-26.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7kw9hiZIgG2bBwMwvSqbmlqTaDtcVYGCC9pmXVSdsyn-DUKax5EgwPV2DG6FJ1T1vf-PbaZoEpMPQX6MigyoutuBhqwySDbCtXDzYMHSb3bBftwuXBX_YZC0FLjrCN7sa-t0puM92Ur0/s400/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-26.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>And if the front door looks like this I wonder what it might have been like inside?</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFU6NYhK2pC8r9xKk9C5G8ipibE2XaxcXtl_C-1qTYKOYlCTU1PsKaTAhmWbLniE6OYcHUOhLsbonZxlV7N_TifR4DdJ7X0o1vxAxSpso4RncrUEuGDIGAWYRvT-SwgwEtQJbVVqO3l4/s1600/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-33.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFU6NYhK2pC8r9xKk9C5G8ipibE2XaxcXtl_C-1qTYKOYlCTU1PsKaTAhmWbLniE6OYcHUOhLsbonZxlV7N_TifR4DdJ7X0o1vxAxSpso4RncrUEuGDIGAWYRvT-SwgwEtQJbVVqO3l4/s400/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-33.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>Life goes on in the Old City .... but for how much longer?</strong></em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u><strong><em> <span style="color: purple;">More photos of Kashgar</span></em></strong></u></span><span style="color: purple;"> </span></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9LcIvWaJ-xvhAR6vCdCK_ai7_6E-ImCXUuvsYkwTRvxrUk_cK86goyurpv7KjqioDGPQ4Y3XuxGn9mV93K-43HSgSeWGW2dTCvew9qSUTdqO3X97qkhMD55keUnDLn9DqkhlB7KvUd4/s1600/23.05-KashgarMarket-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9LcIvWaJ-xvhAR6vCdCK_ai7_6E-ImCXUuvsYkwTRvxrUk_cK86goyurpv7KjqioDGPQ4Y3XuxGn9mV93K-43HSgSeWGW2dTCvew9qSUTdqO3X97qkhMD55keUnDLn9DqkhlB7KvUd4/s400/23.05-KashgarMarket-1.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The wonderful exuberant and utterly ....</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple;"></span></em></strong> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXmeZt9CLA_en0SJZuSU1K7ieZ-nYOC2EVtIFkpQE06WjpmxvBmTAWt-reE5l-GIgMKjbYSuG0uZS2rJDnoz6rLqjMo4IKAS2yFfgA8wGeP97iQnoakvAq6HlMQUyZsB8cCtKhTMaGZ8/s1600/23.05-KashgarMarket-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXmeZt9CLA_en0SJZuSU1K7ieZ-nYOC2EVtIFkpQE06WjpmxvBmTAWt-reE5l-GIgMKjbYSuG0uZS2rJDnoz6rLqjMo4IKAS2yFfgA8wGeP97iQnoakvAq6HlMQUyZsB8cCtKhTMaGZ8/s400/23.05-KashgarMarket-3.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>"over the top" silks in ..............</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5UcqUhFvTPJbEGeE60eVuHC0qCuqni1BMxh_5f3mK26ZqFjy0rcqmSUpuom2tq0haf0naKoGAaakLkFryZYQGlaR9Y-JhZx4XLg3JCdN18Qgk0MXN0Gxk6uLh4TgSRx9jNKNSZex73Y/s1600/23.05-KashgarMarket-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha5UcqUhFvTPJbEGeE60eVuHC0qCuqni1BMxh_5f3mK26ZqFjy0rcqmSUpuom2tq0haf0naKoGAaakLkFryZYQGlaR9Y-JhZx4XLg3JCdN18Qgk0MXN0Gxk6uLh4TgSRx9jNKNSZex73Y/s400/23.05-KashgarMarket-2.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Kashgar Sunday market.</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;"></span></em></strong></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicO8EjA1xfvjDdzI3630Un4OM68fNMoxgdCNt2cYrLdiwoi6ZRp3BHnbj3IDlqhKZ4ekFWqos67tURsZxS-1P8Y9Et77as4R8Ta_tm2zcO6Huho1F2saK6bpX-s5is3s4floASY7VQCQ/s1600/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-28.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiicO8EjA1xfvjDdzI3630Un4OM68fNMoxgdCNt2cYrLdiwoi6ZRp3BHnbj3IDlqhKZ4ekFWqos67tURsZxS-1P8Y9Et77as4R8Ta_tm2zcO6Huho1F2saK6bpX-s5is3s4floASY7VQCQ/s400/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-28.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>More street scenes in the Old City</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyNOh3oGeG8QMpmQU_6ZwgYluvXnN_ncNDzku50_sYm4wVbz8run068VI_febmEHW4I5dlGPrlhrFGQt1iTcWPEYSgpGPcF_Nnn3aEePRifueWItMAH6DyRDGRWk4xPf0n2-mKpziHl4/s1600/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyNOh3oGeG8QMpmQU_6ZwgYluvXnN_ncNDzku50_sYm4wVbz8run068VI_febmEHW4I5dlGPrlhrFGQt1iTcWPEYSgpGPcF_Nnn3aEePRifueWItMAH6DyRDGRWk4xPf0n2-mKpziHl4/s400/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-12.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmPJIs1jqwtIVjMgAJsL_k4w9DMN-IH39Yg-X1tbjRduyrOnJUu18j2zZd7nIcW-fh38_Or-DzgcEGUEkI3KZ1bWcF072TFte_q_OCV00W0JkbxeWTfNfxa91NB4aYcObfzgKXYQLouc/s1600/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-31.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglmPJIs1jqwtIVjMgAJsL_k4w9DMN-IH39Yg-X1tbjRduyrOnJUu18j2zZd7nIcW-fh38_Or-DzgcEGUEkI3KZ1bWcF072TFte_q_OCV00W0JkbxeWTfNfxa91NB4aYcObfzgKXYQLouc/s400/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-31.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgimgUB75BA-QmPOhKUy12JQZj26KMNK1_Orall06qlrsZCxf00uAiqKCjIYn3unCX4HKLNEHrlWF9vVqNUn1V43Ii8D3RiFOw_meNxb94U_IaYtFGLIO-VWwoAxApHrXEnYmiQB_Dh7Qg/s1600/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-40.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgimgUB75BA-QmPOhKUy12JQZj26KMNK1_Orall06qlrsZCxf00uAiqKCjIYn3unCX4HKLNEHrlWF9vVqNUn1V43Ii8D3RiFOw_meNxb94U_IaYtFGLIO-VWwoAxApHrXEnYmiQB_Dh7Qg/s400/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-40.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The Mosque and main square ..............</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY23gmKWuxNTKDvPZwDbtrIm2ELoYCvAs4GbBLyy7nH1cU3JY0ASkf_P9Ze1hAGl7uk8UdA8_k8KRP6ZRcUiuJy3Duh3IGplJR4hyphenhyphenrl25YaC2c0zeusY1MAYqNxUXE1whwtIsllWT9e4s/s1600/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-41.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY23gmKWuxNTKDvPZwDbtrIm2ELoYCvAs4GbBLyy7nH1cU3JY0ASkf_P9Ze1hAGl7uk8UdA8_k8KRP6ZRcUiuJy3Duh3IGplJR4hyphenhyphenrl25YaC2c0zeusY1MAYqNxUXE1whwtIsllWT9e4s/s400/23.05-Kashgar-OldCity-41.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>in the Old City</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"> </div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-50572993850950195222010-12-27T15:06:00.000+00:002011-02-06T21:19:13.690+00:00What happened next - the road to Kashgar or Kashi........................<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKSM-loQBgG9cNiEdrXeKqU9uWl55TddPEk0JLarj-Ry-UMFaRPpLXcTCLXw3djDJb9HCXzp0D3UhQUMorrBW7Yb0ebxE98Cs39CVWBVOekuD2e20Pyigbu_ZI9aYoDTcbIKH0dEhJJA/s400/22.05-Kashgar-SemanHotel-5.JPG" width="400" /></div><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>"Over the Torugart Pass- No difficulties though took things slowly - Complete change of scenery - Though still in the Tien Shan. The rocks very dramatic, arid, harsh and at times quite threatening. Wind storms in the valley. A wide stony river bed with hardly any water in it and by the end of summer it will be a trickle, if that. The contrast between the 2 sides of the border is dramatic. The houses are similar in the mountains but otherwise everything else is subtly different. The Uighurs have similar facial diversity to the Kyrgyz & maybe more so. I have seen people in Kashgar who could be Mediterranean or middle Eastern or Balkan as well as Central Asian. But the think I noticed instantly was the lack of horses. The sheep/goats graze on the side of hills or by the roadside but mostly they appeared to be left to their own devices r/t</em> [rather than]<em> managed by a man (or woman) on horseback. In fact the whole time coming down the pass I only saw 1 horse - several donkeys but apart from that one - not a single horse."</em> So reads my first "China" diary entry (19th May). Customs was a strange experience. All the customs officers appeared to be young Chinese soldiers, (as opposed to Uyghur) doing national service I imagine, and posted to what must seem the outer end of China. So the arrival of a "tourist" truck rather than the usual heavy goods lorries must have been a welcome diversion. We were all unloaded and had to take back packs of the Archie back locker and pass them through a mobile scanning unit. All things went well and without a hitch except for 2 of the party who were obviously the "chosen ones" for the day. Their possessions were gone through with a toothcomb. And the toothcomb included nearly confiscating a small Persian miniature painted on camel bone that they had bought in Isfahan. But the point of issue was not that it was painted on camel bone (and therefore a banned animal product) but that it was a military scene - depicting a battle fought maybe 4 or 5 hundred years ago between the Persians and an unknown possibly Central Asian foe. The reason given for this was that it was against regulations to bring representations of war or battles into China. Heigh ho, the ridiculous rules and regulations!!! My diary reads <em>"They are probably all Han & very much in an alien culture - sort of foreigners in their own country - only its not......"</em> They did not look in the truck at all nor did the customs post down the road (well quite a few hours) although they scanned our bags from the back locker again. So the day bags, laptops and cameras left on the truck remained undisturbed. Including the undiscovered autobiography of the DaliL's sister which was in the truck library! So what with me inadvertently taking a book with a Salman Rushdie introduction into Iran, a copy of Craig Murray's <u>Murder in Uzbekistan</u> (a really good read and very revealing of the politics and allegiances in the run up to the Iraq War) going around the truck in Uzbekistan and now the DL's sister's book into China we were not doing too badly in the "banned" literature department! There was very much a Central Asian feel to that first day (apart from the lack of horses) and it still felt like travelling through the "Stans". As noted all the officials were Chinese but the population most definitely were not. Diary read <em>"..... Long, long drive town to Kashgar to the Seman Hotel. What a place, apart from the decorative plasterwork over the porch having obviously collapsed a few minutes before we arrived - it was all that could be asked. The room would not be out of place in Mad Ludwig's castle</em> (Neuschwanstein). <em>The ceiling is picked out in shades of pale pinks, green and blue with Rococo plasterwork picked out in glitter blues, yellows, red, greens, etc. The cornice is pierced tracery - also picked out in glitter. Likewise there are wall panels in similar style. It has become a photo opportunity - It is a pity that I was feeling so awful throughout."</em> And here it is.............................</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmiORYlMOHiYMge5wNMK4bdrgUoQRDrh0eZbIDuQA7mkEE7DxDYFlTS2kRWF4PXdl6PM6-NFTOU7n4L1vw__NIZGq4g4NJqszB543ME6woyXAvIrbrw1HD4xvI_QuIGI1kVAMIjkzYf6k/s1600/22.05-Kashgar-SemanHotel-7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmiORYlMOHiYMge5wNMK4bdrgUoQRDrh0eZbIDuQA7mkEE7DxDYFlTS2kRWF4PXdl6PM6-NFTOU7n4L1vw__NIZGq4g4NJqszB543ME6woyXAvIrbrw1HD4xvI_QuIGI1kVAMIjkzYf6k/s400/22.05-Kashgar-SemanHotel-7.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKSM-loQBgG9cNiEdrXeKqU9uWl55TddPEk0JLarj-Ry-UMFaRPpLXcTCLXw3djDJb9HCXzp0D3UhQUMorrBW7Yb0ebxE98Cs39CVWBVOekuD2e20Pyigbu_ZI9aYoDTcbIKH0dEhJJA/s1600/22.05-Kashgar-SemanHotel-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMt1eBtcPlx0wj3MkgbqxPDNhKGKZyDvrFSoCSbz9NxRAjQnizgdy54YrvP-FE4vlZ88ee0M_Zp4QpEhQ6rPAuqiTdAvLobgxPO71nivYVFt1e1K4SE_6fg7fUPJ7FBWlEp_3UI01AOpE/s1600/22.05-Kashgar-SemanHotel-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMt1eBtcPlx0wj3MkgbqxPDNhKGKZyDvrFSoCSbz9NxRAjQnizgdy54YrvP-FE4vlZ88ee0M_Zp4QpEhQ6rPAuqiTdAvLobgxPO71nivYVFt1e1K4SE_6fg7fUPJ7FBWlEp_3UI01AOpE/s400/22.05-Kashgar-SemanHotel-3.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1j_KJKOuGWHW0_OWLdvBYiXJou6hNCFv6A8I1bXk2QFeQZ9-v98B-4QnSi8cUOnMhKAbzTK-dmQrCjR1LOGsgU5pKluJ9hXRf5YJlQKjOJ0NqieON57yis31Fn2n3Ic8SkvpgSrlz5Io/s1600/22.05-Kashgar-SemanHotel-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1j_KJKOuGWHW0_OWLdvBYiXJou6hNCFv6A8I1bXk2QFeQZ9-v98B-4QnSi8cUOnMhKAbzTK-dmQrCjR1LOGsgU5pKluJ9hXRf5YJlQKjOJ0NqieON57yis31Fn2n3Ic8SkvpgSrlz5Io/s400/22.05-Kashgar-SemanHotel-2.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMUFmZEbF61zaOtHlB_cueBFlcKbf_csqtyPv_hq4Pe_MPzp9t0Q9lN6EYoHzR6nbYdJubdKJ1DPfwsLttC8S7ZeaMpqS-cSYRNuwJ2gGRqUfbUuUlz7rz6LgMWxdWH0D6sWmEl-ZogL4/s1600/22.05-Kashgar-SemanHotel-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMUFmZEbF61zaOtHlB_cueBFlcKbf_csqtyPv_hq4Pe_MPzp9t0Q9lN6EYoHzR6nbYdJubdKJ1DPfwsLttC8S7ZeaMpqS-cSYRNuwJ2gGRqUfbUuUlz7rz6LgMWxdWH0D6sWmEl-ZogL4/s400/22.05-Kashgar-SemanHotel-6.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And OH JOY & DELIGHT - not only these wonderful, exuberant decorations to admire but our old friend Nasruddin the Hodja on his donkey (wrong way though - facing forward) right outside the hotel!</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifycsEKGTneV7rqboz_7Y9_VUYLmndXDyl-2Dffm1TTr3wGWDdykOVlmBXOC3v8xGWkZSXHbwagZ6Tz8UJEawnNN3fuOMt43-xUt28cRf4OjRPABcw_vFGS7BUccPi8VsGnKshZqTUkNQ/s1600/22.05-Kashgar-TheHodja-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifycsEKGTneV7rqboz_7Y9_VUYLmndXDyl-2Dffm1TTr3wGWDdykOVlmBXOC3v8xGWkZSXHbwagZ6Tz8UJEawnNN3fuOMt43-xUt28cRf4OjRPABcw_vFGS7BUccPi8VsGnKshZqTUkNQ/s400/22.05-Kashgar-TheHodja-3.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIg19Cd0uBZRqHmRqlbrzvfU9lCfMOJ9K_NSH6AHeGcv-vZXy7Uf17KTIiGtugaPeSIFOy_frFdrhuTml4VjTShikcYqeFz1pLyw44jmEtRBft9kzdT0YqmrLy6ypzewFjvYef9raH6b0/s1600/22.05-Kashgar-TheHodja-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIg19Cd0uBZRqHmRqlbrzvfU9lCfMOJ9K_NSH6AHeGcv-vZXy7Uf17KTIiGtugaPeSIFOy_frFdrhuTml4VjTShikcYqeFz1pLyw44jmEtRBft9kzdT0YqmrLy6ypzewFjvYef9raH6b0/s400/22.05-Kashgar-TheHodja-1.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I completely forgot to mention that wonderful Silk Road institution known as John's Cafe, to be found in the same compound as the Seman Hotel where I went for all my meals. <a href="http://www.johncafe.net/">http://www.johncafe.net/</a> This splendid cafe was ably run by John himself and the great thing was that for the next few hotel stops we found a John's Cafe at each one. </span></div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-23369691043981901522010-10-26T12:02:00.000+01:002011-02-07T00:27:16.105+00:00Just before crossing over into China<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I so loved being in Kyrgyzstan - Before I take you over the border to China I would like to share a few more of my Kyrgyztan photos with you.</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHingM1Jv6Qf2jcsXWHyX7WI49EHKPQkQ1Xvf73x3jc86zxkKVSUyTbx2MqIqkBee-SBwCaFPY5bopfM9BI954lieWq614QfZygU0AZX9P_xBbTWtXVlsT3RKtC9m-SV1UziG51xbVyn4/s1600/05.05-ArslanbobWalnutForest-21.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHingM1Jv6Qf2jcsXWHyX7WI49EHKPQkQ1Xvf73x3jc86zxkKVSUyTbx2MqIqkBee-SBwCaFPY5bopfM9BI954lieWq614QfZygU0AZX9P_xBbTWtXVlsT3RKtC9m-SV1UziG51xbVyn4/s400/05.05-ArslanbobWalnutForest-21.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Landscape around the <span style="font-size: x-small;">Arslanbob</span> Walnut Forest</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqOxpyCnuXiKsgnJSwQnM42ul0CpUM9eLGqfGpLyjp9rRXK1JOSb9jJF3lg0uQ3GUBMF6U-KAhDc139T5ZAeimwiEAw_yf9pxx89BPGRyrE5C53dc-DD79t93V3qR4r786Zv1nMb00nU/s1600/05.05-ArslanbobWalnutForest-24.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtqOxpyCnuXiKsgnJSwQnM42ul0CpUM9eLGqfGpLyjp9rRXK1JOSb9jJF3lg0uQ3GUBMF6U-KAhDc139T5ZAeimwiEAw_yf9pxx89BPGRyrE5C53dc-DD79t93V3qR4r786Zv1nMb00nU/s400/05.05-ArslanbobWalnutForest-24.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>Leaving the Walnut Forest</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em> </em></strong></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO9TdB3jQkF1yN3Qhnl4wSFfbU_d23QItp5jJqBoJcFiWW4lcDwd-P1rz0daL_QiKI7jgcJUa_ObpV1VddRU_IqT8WxHwZy4FNVWTx72Taq7TC4mafdspK6I9X0G9daVbEtzPO5kZsDfQ/s1600/05.05-RiverNarynScenery-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO9TdB3jQkF1yN3Qhnl4wSFfbU_d23QItp5jJqBoJcFiWW4lcDwd-P1rz0daL_QiKI7jgcJUa_ObpV1VddRU_IqT8WxHwZy4FNVWTx72Taq7TC4mafdspK6I9X0G9daVbEtzPO5kZsDfQ/s400/05.05-RiverNarynScenery-2.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">River Naryn again. It really is this colour!</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEer1gcbScCq36a1gVET7Rs77Ev7E70eM5PHiZtCkso6-Wn720lGgUQRWUjGA2XSjtNmNWgyDYFrr30JchKkfs9mxG44ieYpqqFdDPsm9FB1PQVYsPJOBwv9YWDhdDmVad0jcxPquRzrU/s1600/07.05-KyrgyzstanScenery-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEer1gcbScCq36a1gVET7Rs77Ev7E70eM5PHiZtCkso6-Wn720lGgUQRWUjGA2XSjtNmNWgyDYFrr30JchKkfs9mxG44ieYpqqFdDPsm9FB1PQVYsPJOBwv9YWDhdDmVad0jcxPquRzrU/s400/07.05-KyrgyzstanScenery-2.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong>Seen from Archie</strong></em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBj2Y4EY2EEMS-hE_Z1bOGV_2Co4EBr4I8o4IHzqm8OyQG8gIh9-8-be4FX5BaDn_UQmDzHlgUzTaEay3ecfhO1uqEKZPnN0qsOz1b-IcdaFFRQpG3vshkTT59fj4GOJS4qoi4r9utNbM/s1600/DSCN1831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBj2Y4EY2EEMS-hE_Z1bOGV_2Co4EBr4I8o4IHzqm8OyQG8gIh9-8-be4FX5BaDn_UQmDzHlgUzTaEay3ecfhO1uqEKZPnN0qsOz1b-IcdaFFRQpG3vshkTT59fj4GOJS4qoi4r9utNbM/s400/DSCN1831.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Another one of the Toktogul Resevoir</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYGOOME9J2ypNMPOWz_naJK_xsnCqLr0EoHuFymuXZyp4muU9JM-DsLt8QlkOm8nbnkzmOxlbcAAHaL1w2oNIofqW7DuBd8dRlyVRocQz10TP5g2YrtrUReVWh6a2s2SWr9I87wxQLCRM/s1600/DSCN1852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYGOOME9J2ypNMPOWz_naJK_xsnCqLr0EoHuFymuXZyp4muU9JM-DsLt8QlkOm8nbnkzmOxlbcAAHaL1w2oNIofqW7DuBd8dRlyVRocQz10TP5g2YrtrUReVWh6a2s2SWr9I87wxQLCRM/s400/DSCN1852.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong>Jailoo (or the grasslands)</strong></em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRh58bhsNl-41hww0IeLSwrW0Q9iD2b1H23wXEutGk_22rfCfHgZ8eSDz53ldbcFc2-7ZYG8Yojx4xwWwcMoKrrH_0vWgQ7ls6gL5vlxfkMxlMuLKQJQMosMA1Su9hzlImi_gpInmqVF0/s1600/DSCN1850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRh58bhsNl-41hww0IeLSwrW0Q9iD2b1H23wXEutGk_22rfCfHgZ8eSDz53ldbcFc2-7ZYG8Yojx4xwWwcMoKrrH_0vWgQ7ls6gL5vlxfkMxlMuLKQJQMosMA1Su9hzlImi_gpInmqVF0/s400/DSCN1850.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong>More "jailoo" (seen from Archie)</strong></em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgBTz5_2EJ4zWxz5vHPpbRPW1HebTMWLVNqChrq2DsfmVwKlq-kYU028TE5Mh-UfX-qAemSe0I7GbVewjTfdhWUaf0RaDc-qVd1opbeZ19b5G2qsJa_zMaSARAuinWc-HJRmnQWA6ylY/s1600/DSCN1860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgBTz5_2EJ4zWxz5vHPpbRPW1HebTMWLVNqChrq2DsfmVwKlq-kYU028TE5Mh-UfX-qAemSe0I7GbVewjTfdhWUaf0RaDc-qVd1opbeZ19b5G2qsJa_zMaSARAuinWc-HJRmnQWA6ylY/s400/DSCN1860.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong>High ............</strong></em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwmUS-vXEAZ_A0qEL1U0c0l5sb0SzzI96S5W7wlAUwUgje2fo75AKzoKOQG5r9ElRgz4zv8BEZoxgyivmPfzzCUM2xeBceqFThy3Lpp8jxtH-yXvWLKT1vbpRZtx1Hwqq6AfqTcX8JKdg/s1600/DSCN1864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwmUS-vXEAZ_A0qEL1U0c0l5sb0SzzI96S5W7wlAUwUgje2fo75AKzoKOQG5r9ElRgz4zv8BEZoxgyivmPfzzCUM2xeBceqFThy3Lpp8jxtH-yXvWLKT1vbpRZtx1Hwqq6AfqTcX8JKdg/s400/DSCN1864.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and cold!</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK38ubD1Ne1NrUh4yvM-BKE2Gn7jZliNVXsl9kaIqyo8jvA8WzCT5YeRxVFSXMvC3QMt6S7Hg1U1gzrrEwQaYN8fd0qkj-ogSqGkLmVi0NAMSRgc9D48XM_G-gE53X2Kw_KdJnJCV9lYs/s1600/DSCN1905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK38ubD1Ne1NrUh4yvM-BKE2Gn7jZliNVXsl9kaIqyo8jvA8WzCT5YeRxVFSXMvC3QMt6S7Hg1U1gzrrEwQaYN8fd0qkj-ogSqGkLmVi0NAMSRgc9D48XM_G-gE53X2Kw_KdJnJCV9lYs/s400/DSCN1905.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Fast flowing rivers ........................</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvggbuVal097bNF9TQO8yngSIO0FoCiDhCwZmW8Twd4o2fp9l0WJpv96h-0jJpSdQs8kvJ35b46UYPXIO2qwagHyiP_t32P1ZPmB4zRrC5ZfvS4Trg0e69Tdawj-5-jeqjrn9WLb7Dps/s1600/DSCN1907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvggbuVal097bNF9TQO8yngSIO0FoCiDhCwZmW8Twd4o2fp9l0WJpv96h-0jJpSdQs8kvJ35b46UYPXIO2qwagHyiP_t32P1ZPmB4zRrC5ZfvS4Trg0e69Tdawj-5-jeqjrn9WLb7Dps/s400/DSCN1907.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAiwa42eTMd4TYtN_GkdswvPMRIi3gBGbsPlM4mE_Q6uhES8bKPuPS6Wq44J1iJDymN6vrH26Ti-DXc3dfwf8zfPcfByExAoIwqeyscQRhbescdkOIlbBP6kEBNHcUUe00jt6pLf0qhTs/s1600/DSCN1904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAiwa42eTMd4TYtN_GkdswvPMRIi3gBGbsPlM4mE_Q6uhES8bKPuPS6Wq44J1iJDymN6vrH26Ti-DXc3dfwf8zfPcfByExAoIwqeyscQRhbescdkOIlbBP6kEBNHcUUe00jt6pLf0qhTs/s400/DSCN1904.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple;">and dodgy roads! (This road was truly scary but thanks to Dion's </span></em></strong><strong><em><span style="color: purple;">careful and skilful driving we survived!)</span></em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisswmWpd8ubNd6QN9Qa9Mdc4aaPfD3-ebb9J3oZy0_TM3m8wJfmPFjC2mF3Jy1MmlncYlwuFzW5pmEKHq7m24DPSUNouOynAWF9wfVawUXRKDQ1q00TTkA9-ySItr9wzFpfH333GHzwcY/s1600/07.05-KyrgyzCemetery-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisswmWpd8ubNd6QN9Qa9Mdc4aaPfD3-ebb9J3oZy0_TM3m8wJfmPFjC2mF3Jy1MmlncYlwuFzW5pmEKHq7m24DPSUNouOynAWF9wfVawUXRKDQ1q00TTkA9-ySItr9wzFpfH333GHzwcY/s400/07.05-KyrgyzCemetery-1.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A few more cemeteries</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwfpYJWwzz-da97v3o6hiL6hH7VY2ePe2gK-eSdOUpQFI2plHMoiqf8C81ZdxBK1ywPnLefZDdd_Gb6lKt6LqXp0gi6VohsYoDUqGhwTBA1Ix9vschV_L7IEsoPBFzu36R-YtaJW46UN4/s1600/07.05-KyrgyzCemetery-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwfpYJWwzz-da97v3o6hiL6hH7VY2ePe2gK-eSdOUpQFI2plHMoiqf8C81ZdxBK1ywPnLefZDdd_Gb6lKt6LqXp0gi6VohsYoDUqGhwTBA1Ix9vschV_L7IEsoPBFzu36R-YtaJW46UN4/s400/07.05-KyrgyzCemetery-4.JPG" width="400" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVZxZ8D9eOok9jwTCpLzlQqrQ_5Lqcbj7UJ1x8l1Awm9op5jI4vSLEsd_IwJ5JGqdlOPBPAZiAn_RBXzvrTEubtdOmh1XgVeeVitROatiud-hxPtH8htsWwEu5lmszZuSBZy3uf09rPA/s1600/DSCN2070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVZxZ8D9eOok9jwTCpLzlQqrQ_5Lqcbj7UJ1x8l1Awm9op5jI4vSLEsd_IwJ5JGqdlOPBPAZiAn_RBXzvrTEubtdOmh1XgVeeVitROatiud-hxPtH8htsWwEu5lmszZuSBZy3uf09rPA/s400/DSCN2070.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HWGDRnveOCceYpn063SJpmcOEP2bO8D3MyH346dILpgN5zk3b5XLZphH0SBE4112lu9A2geFVjNKcs0TyTUhXf5RAnIi5X13I3bbn3hA8u_YgpcrXO1YgxdBJxmik5FCajbmmyGoLqs/s1600/DSCN2076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8HWGDRnveOCceYpn063SJpmcOEP2bO8D3MyH346dILpgN5zk3b5XLZphH0SBE4112lu9A2geFVjNKcs0TyTUhXf5RAnIi5X13I3bbn3hA8u_YgpcrXO1YgxdBJxmik5FCajbmmyGoLqs/s400/DSCN2076.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeK5Nn1VgzzIvVGPUgJlZQnECyA4HysE5Aa4BxksbtROJY9SYfoq4K8hPbXcH195PBQPfnQRwuuyXL38j00gXC8ERq1Trac-1ovZSjzkabgifAwPNIxuFKOoiIKvgEV8irk9aE9CvMcGg/s1600/DSCN1845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeK5Nn1VgzzIvVGPUgJlZQnECyA4HysE5Aa4BxksbtROJY9SYfoq4K8hPbXcH195PBQPfnQRwuuyXL38j00gXC8ERq1Trac-1ovZSjzkabgifAwPNIxuFKOoiIKvgEV8irk9aE9CvMcGg/s400/DSCN1845.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hills and mountains ................</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1xnHxIHv6tVxYiwZhwqClhPPcP2Vsys7mzS0at9VRNN3_3wcroDgXrHi2iSRsy5jr8cj4-FMqm6-2DGuUXZO-jcreQL0htKRH2etJlJj2IF5hirKHtOXbbe3QUd64udkboyzwOzupNlo/s1600/07.05-KyrgyzstanScenery-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1xnHxIHv6tVxYiwZhwqClhPPcP2Vsys7mzS0at9VRNN3_3wcroDgXrHi2iSRsy5jr8cj4-FMqm6-2DGuUXZO-jcreQL0htKRH2etJlJj2IF5hirKHtOXbbe3QUd64udkboyzwOzupNlo/s400/07.05-KyrgyzstanScenery-10.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">wide open spaces .......................</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRaaPCKygWsHQx539D6M1XYwoqtustQ3dc3pUZCE-LWt-MJkV6OrBue9UZihEYDyxhKDXde1lr1cPA22JlgQOM3NqCnWsprlBUl9uUIH3niyRSOCWKJOcTQLrZmNWxqx3Ilnd0ui9nUoQ/s1600/DSCN2093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRaaPCKygWsHQx539D6M1XYwoqtustQ3dc3pUZCE-LWt-MJkV6OrBue9UZihEYDyxhKDXde1lr1cPA22JlgQOM3NqCnWsprlBUl9uUIH3niyRSOCWKJOcTQLrZmNWxqx3Ilnd0ui9nUoQ/s400/DSCN2093.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">clouds .......................</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfzk96FeolVRfTAaz70HcdGgaIqO9Vbp0HIFiBld1janQQm1PJFR2MNih3pEakyEr02agerY_Dso_-0ExwTv5mrgV2E5apMZxK71NRHIOUdYDzQfXC6xY4Jjx15lNivnOGk6T3-4c5CU/s1600/DSCN2106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRfzk96FeolVRfTAaz70HcdGgaIqO9Vbp0HIFiBld1janQQm1PJFR2MNih3pEakyEr02agerY_Dso_-0ExwTv5mrgV2E5apMZxK71NRHIOUdYDzQfXC6xY4Jjx15lNivnOGk6T3-4c5CU/s400/DSCN2106.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">and landscapes that reminded me of</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKIBrweE4vymvBwJtwf7Eoxa9lliPGJ4P1eibTFKbSSUk9aqYn9zupnbfI2wT8sF9M6tYTkHQUc1IB14KjqvoqvRB-EnLWVpCVPb63IbdqoTmjS_aTItdzTNxr6PydRKT-QBN-AqProv4/s1600/DSCN2116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKIBrweE4vymvBwJtwf7Eoxa9lliPGJ4P1eibTFKbSSUk9aqYn9zupnbfI2wT8sF9M6tYTkHQUc1IB14KjqvoqvRB-EnLWVpCVPb63IbdqoTmjS_aTItdzTNxr6PydRKT-QBN-AqProv4/s400/DSCN2116.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">the Scottish Borders</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiupeWHfPIpEqe3-UcKFnxKHtqejQfRJzfwTGI4YuWtHpzunFUm9SYOD0O64AAdfDZViHRq_l9yLFEYuUf4lxl7cw3-8mJL8tMofFWlPidVXbq5hcHt-1tl-zjN6SwMzO7AwfseHLbfc6U/s1600/05.05-RiverNarynToktogulResevoir-13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="400" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiupeWHfPIpEqe3-UcKFnxKHtqejQfRJzfwTGI4YuWtHpzunFUm9SYOD0O64AAdfDZViHRq_l9yLFEYuUf4lxl7cw3-8mJL8tMofFWlPidVXbq5hcHt-1tl-zjN6SwMzO7AwfseHLbfc6U/s400/05.05-RiverNarynToktogulResevoir-13.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A "local hero"</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3iQ2J_4gP6nOTeBLKFUr9UrqAYizwGo1pcJjBh0IWCDVr5MU39TNGQM_DZ85Q9p9pm4SnICS6OEVe5x3EVZs6WlkB22WDnfBTY1p-at1ISTdEpk_I-b_HAQ7c1fWji0AmSZjV9JYwUc/s1600/DSCN1691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="400" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3iQ2J_4gP6nOTeBLKFUr9UrqAYizwGo1pcJjBh0IWCDVr5MU39TNGQM_DZ85Q9p9pm4SnICS6OEVe5x3EVZs6WlkB22WDnfBTY1p-at1ISTdEpk_I-b_HAQ7c1fWji0AmSZjV9JYwUc/s400/DSCN1691.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: purple;"><strong><em>Another sort of "local hero"</em></strong> </span><span style="color: purple;"><em><strong>a</strong></em><em><strong>nd a sad reminder of the</strong></em></span></span><br />
<em><strong><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1979 Russian invasion of Afghanistan</span></strong></em></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: purple;"></span> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0iqGXwXXQ2rboYFVWDsEQCItoTHT9xOYtbxDsda0pwgn16QMHum551sLlyjQsfuka8AU899AwF5vV1kVa5m0jjNMxySKJPLs_1ZDMNi4GlCa8BdJD2Bpa15preJ4eSDnjQvZfmrRN2Ac/s1600/12.05-Karakol-HotelAmir-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0iqGXwXXQ2rboYFVWDsEQCItoTHT9xOYtbxDsda0pwgn16QMHum551sLlyjQsfuka8AU899AwF5vV1kVa5m0jjNMxySKJPLs_1ZDMNi4GlCa8BdJD2Bpa15preJ4eSDnjQvZfmrRN2Ac/s400/12.05-Karakol-HotelAmir-1.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaLVn67dFZspMo2C8KvtE36pmqA4y_E_9BLksW3nbiGsYc1_u81V59Q5JKZkqEEf0rIZeHQZiZlkG71TaDntLsBsFsZUWrXG9OEQeuwBNjpCaODB_Pv1cVEyENbRDlb0iF1rzqu5yxEjQ/s1600/12.05-Karakol-HotelAmir-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaLVn67dFZspMo2C8KvtE36pmqA4y_E_9BLksW3nbiGsYc1_u81V59Q5JKZkqEEf0rIZeHQZiZlkG71TaDntLsBsFsZUWrXG9OEQeuwBNjpCaODB_Pv1cVEyENbRDlb0iF1rzqu5yxEjQ/s400/12.05-Karakol-HotelAmir-2.JPG" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
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</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ZJdqWGAmm0LsZtd9WlDntuHYL35uCtFLlaRWo6hPa4nx-2oyV0qzVpU_kXitaYlC4OzMWWZEuWr1rKIETcyUZEF3eAqIXdjD_0DJR2jS-9g5yyfJAtAXlkL2qwsdXj7bi19YIS0NHUM/s1600/12.05-Karakol-HotelAmir-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ZJdqWGAmm0LsZtd9WlDntuHYL35uCtFLlaRWo6hPa4nx-2oyV0qzVpU_kXitaYlC4OzMWWZEuWr1rKIETcyUZEF3eAqIXdjD_0DJR2jS-9g5yyfJAtAXlkL2qwsdXj7bi19YIS0NHUM/s400/12.05-Karakol-HotelAmir-4.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Felt hangings in the Hotel Amir, Karakol</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2PZu_8mzLU0_bStN9zXHZjBrpVElYtYMLuBQbhL0fRTxC3y6iBsSA_kY_OxG_DcVcr7oCJzBh2C_EWbsEAyzyykMDqut3mlgQE1c5yyFskTYr-hHHD9J3-pUbnSjByPJ7c3ZQj3yxi_8/s1600/12.05-Karakol-RussianChurch-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2PZu_8mzLU0_bStN9zXHZjBrpVElYtYMLuBQbhL0fRTxC3y6iBsSA_kY_OxG_DcVcr7oCJzBh2C_EWbsEAyzyykMDqut3mlgQE1c5yyFskTYr-hHHD9J3-pUbnSjByPJ7c3ZQj3yxi_8/s400/12.05-Karakol-RussianChurch-3.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Karakol</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9zs5YD6VzRivxwIaYqCNzntgU0NAYuaJ-OA-OP_8J-0MzdluNYMQY43BAJtkRh5Dle7QtsXWZWjHTSw9XT50T5-MNKOvnIogThDb3pxwFpZz3a1nUDLUQnZDEK2E1UGrQw_Q3Be5rlk/s1600/12.05-Karakol-RussianChurch-7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9zs5YD6VzRivxwIaYqCNzntgU0NAYuaJ-OA-OP_8J-0MzdluNYMQY43BAJtkRh5Dle7QtsXWZWjHTSw9XT50T5-MNKOvnIogThDb3pxwFpZz3a1nUDLUQnZDEK2E1UGrQw_Q3Be5rlk/s400/12.05-Karakol-RussianChurch-7.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaVsjFHtk_Tot4WXe8SLwLcEPVWyX4rlWQWbNqmHR77CeB5YRCQGbzwLIiCFV7es_NNCA46UQCiAK3dfKHq_rcGva2AXWIfBY0xJhfQkIs0moucclGTfPVtaywsH-XS2ifq8yrO17WMxU/s1600/12.05-Karakol-HotelAmir-12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaVsjFHtk_Tot4WXe8SLwLcEPVWyX4rlWQWbNqmHR77CeB5YRCQGbzwLIiCFV7es_NNCA46UQCiAK3dfKHq_rcGva2AXWIfBY0xJhfQkIs0moucclGTfPVtaywsH-XS2ifq8yrO17WMxU/s400/12.05-Karakol-HotelAmir-12.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1bs_XWcRvxXdoHsP2q-qfXF3SxCufC1zw09_XWb4msmVGtCi9DXGeRIQl5sbN90ocxR42RtGPbSVc30eFlm5aZmI7f1jArCWGpAZ_u2MiBYa7dQfZ0zUFv-BPH8ZpKZHQC3mfQAFbVE/s1600/12.05-Karakol-HotelAmir-13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU1bs_XWcRvxXdoHsP2q-qfXF3SxCufC1zw09_XWb4msmVGtCi9DXGeRIQl5sbN90ocxR42RtGPbSVc30eFlm5aZmI7f1jArCWGpAZ_u2MiBYa7dQfZ0zUFv-BPH8ZpKZHQC3mfQAFbVE/s400/12.05-Karakol-HotelAmir-13.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2 views from the Hotel Amir, Karakol</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY9Fhsu2sUkoRZ75pfsXgG2P07V6PjbbhVY8OAC5ErSjoN4smPskhJDdscnVTFL19ILNwvk3snBR_iHyDt4zfGGDyls64yFjN98ov8XKALVdTsfx5WgrtdctmfvIgEHhd0qlTgDkAqZoU/s1600/13.05-Karakol-HotelAmir-7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY9Fhsu2sUkoRZ75pfsXgG2P07V6PjbbhVY8OAC5ErSjoN4smPskhJDdscnVTFL19ILNwvk3snBR_iHyDt4zfGGDyls64yFjN98ov8XKALVdTsfx5WgrtdctmfvIgEHhd0qlTgDkAqZoU/s400/13.05-Karakol-HotelAmir-7.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A Karakol street scene!</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJdJzkwVOyKAmW2wVRwymq97eBIVv8Gaw8m6B-UHLQdHJLTZ78aj2FAe_PqyFeUNlz80li7hMnG7lT995Q6Atz-WzFAWKIU3I2Cd_iA7KEfVSptw28P12Ggw046a65qm9mNuWZdAkPdA/s1600/14.05-Bishkek-AsialMountainsHotel-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJdJzkwVOyKAmW2wVRwymq97eBIVv8Gaw8m6B-UHLQdHJLTZ78aj2FAe_PqyFeUNlz80li7hMnG7lT995Q6Atz-WzFAWKIU3I2Cd_iA7KEfVSptw28P12Ggw046a65qm9mNuWZdAkPdA/s400/14.05-Bishkek-AsialMountainsHotel-5.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Archie "scene" from the Asia Mountains Hotel, Bishkek</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8yDJ076dYkGdsArxgMlX7_4GTajpg_NevBTtJo8c2TqObCnrMUNTomZ2h7UiMYQHJ9eMp2C7dqT9A_6P3lbrEKukQ0i59RfdTKutN0N5CNiBfJ0URdChR_xqJicV0xZzHyKwuGKVXSSI/s1600/14.05-Bishkek-AsialMountainsHotel-7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8yDJ076dYkGdsArxgMlX7_4GTajpg_NevBTtJo8c2TqObCnrMUNTomZ2h7UiMYQHJ9eMp2C7dqT9A_6P3lbrEKukQ0i59RfdTKutN0N5CNiBfJ0URdChR_xqJicV0xZzHyKwuGKVXSSI/s400/14.05-Bishkek-AsialMountainsHotel-7.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple;">Everyone else went camping in the Ala-Archa National Park but this </span></em></strong><strong><em><span style="color: purple;">view of the Tien Shan from my hotel room was my consolation prize!</span></em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img height="72" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaLVn67dFZspMo2C8KvtE36pmqA4y_E_9BLksW3nbiGsYc1_u81V59Q5JKZkqEEf0rIZeHQZiZlkG71TaDntLsBsFsZUWrXG9OEQeuwBNjpCaODB_Pv1cVEyENbRDlb0iF1rzqu5yxEjQ/s400/12.05-Karakol-HotelAmir-2.JPG" style="filter: alpha(opacity=30); left: 441px; mozopacity: 0.3; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 8719px; visibility: hidden;" width="96" /></span>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-34521043115175936732010-10-21T10:59:00.000+01:002011-02-07T00:36:02.316+00:00Final leg- 5 down last to go...................<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">On the way to China. The last "Silk Road" entry was the 16th May and now I am updating in October so some of what I say will be "with hindsight" as I am looking back over the 4 months since I returned and a period of adjustment, which has not always been easy, to being back in the UK. So different style maybe - on one hand not so immediate but on the other with reflections about the journey and the process of the journey. I am using my diaries as "aides memoire", the photos I took and also my memory - which from a programme I was hearing on the radio and also from personal experience and communication with others is probably our least reliable cognitive function! So now to the updates - and as an aside I cannot tell you what bliss it is to be using my own laptop and not relying on those Internet cafe or other public computers with somebody breathing down my neck to get on and always the worry that the connection might go and I was not "saved"!!! I will include dates and "diary" entries, so anything in a <i>"quote and italics"</i> will denote a diary entry and anything else is "freestyle" retrospective, reflective or relying on that imperfect memory! Also any notes, etc. in [ ] is information that I have added to my diary subsequently and was not in my original diary entries. I will also include some of the photos in the text that they relate to rather than being added as I am in the process of doing in the previous entries.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6up0o1Id-UesKFM2osPFLN5O6kD2T7yWACgO8h0tYusQyxAjP3ZcIVlnBTYzVfy4GDmrQHJGqW-LnLD0nnE282WeVjdQP0mir3Rg_6ghnl-QEOqMHKfrdjfMBFH2QlmIZrX4JVkddkD4/s200/17.05-BuranaTower-Balbals-8.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Balbals at Burana Tower</span></strong></span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGT30BQVZ0ET7fvZPJ_5Rhg-jFkSYxNyUS7OQ_bIz0edNOxT-P3ViSBPagPCM5ElrptZCRlazAGEOQr_dzZN16k1svGmtPhc0nfK0v5K_sF-fo_7NRmlQB-NFWYBhWomAzkVa6z1Qkxk/s1600/17.05-BuranaTower-Balbals-9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGT30BQVZ0ET7fvZPJ_5Rhg-jFkSYxNyUS7OQ_bIz0edNOxT-P3ViSBPagPCM5ElrptZCRlazAGEOQr_dzZN16k1svGmtPhc0nfK0v5K_sF-fo_7NRmlQB-NFWYBhWomAzkVa6z1Qkxk/s200/17.05-BuranaTower-Balbals-9.JPG" width="150" /></span></a><br />
<div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6erzryMdpcDNS9mmYXF3brlNiCCIwO6t4TA1q9seaMTWWobnRzmlWFHaThXAun1gMDt8OCyjMbv0_3DhLqt_lzb-94Ppk_EG6Fjgb-7Yi2_HmoXa7s2RJ1OTLZB0mZ0FsVX9ZUUDN9cY/s1600/Copy+of+17.05-BuranaTower-Balbals-14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6up0o1Id-UesKFM2osPFLN5O6kD2T7yWACgO8h0tYusQyxAjP3ZcIVlnBTYzVfy4GDmrQHJGqW-LnLD0nnE282WeVjdQP0mir3Rg_6ghnl-QEOqMHKfrdjfMBFH2QlmIZrX4JVkddkD4/s1600/17.05-BuranaTower-Balbals-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></a><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">At this point, although it does not come across too much in my previous blog entry, although I mention "bed rest", I was actually quite ill. I was suffering from possibly the worst upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) that I have had either in a long time or ever. Something I could not shake off. It had been going round the truck since Turkmenistan/ Uzbekistan. Everyone in the truck was so very kind to me and I was allowed to sit in the back offside seat and be ill. Under normal circumstances we used to move around the truck every day so that we all got a go at sitting in the prime seats as well as the not so prime ones and nobody had "my seat" moments. So I was very grateful and much appreciated their kindness in just letting me disappear to the back of the truck and be ill. What it meant was that when the others went off to do something exciting like hiking and wild camping in the mountains I stayed in what ever hotel we were at and collapsed. Which was a great pity as Kyrgyzstan was the place I wanted to be. But "never bother" as my father used to say - I will just have to go back and do all the things I missed out on, and more, another time. So yet another chance for another blog or even adding to this one! Who knows?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk1GKFNE_SwzWKiuyT5Oj03FjxxTJaYUjGVIxEhvD9TO6BM4QS4vzOUsVoteJPKrYHelUm_054bNDjaHnFodm0xEO-jimRvpDEqyJv9i9d0RKZrAjUgA5E1zBgvOZsxmsVJlWMZ0EvpPc/s400/17.05-BuranaTower-Balbals-4.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>The field of balbals at Burana Tower</strong></em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The state sponsored marmot!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhICz0icJtbGqB4I5IYVS4cAtkwPewWfX2EzAf41Lz_kkTx4OADOa62YgSDR1IgXmwD2oFnB3jJ7ceS_QCopX_Ntkssb-NyRSlYBI5han2VLdjIJdg-L4jXvkRYASk4S7nC-dlhYMDBQjY/s640/17.05-BuranaTower-2.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="480" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The Burana Tower - used to be twice this height</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-PtfkOi6bOdUCt-G50xCQmvs2xoSIgfFkldN2NNsvxD796TW8pPEQbytiX_jGNWGOkj0UPwErHo6Jgr_7ebUYo9OOlMhGxri-AHXEWBVDOhG8PzxvYjb0ULADk53nXjHOGYG0oG_XvbQ/s1600/17.05-BuranaTower-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em></em></strong></span></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We said goodbye to 2 our our party, one of whom had experienced first hand travelling through the "ash cloud" and all that it entailed, arriving at Bukhara rather than Ashgabat. Her journey to get to the truck sounded as exciting and action packed as ours getting from Ashgabat to Bukhara! However 2 more joined us so we were back up to numbers again. We left Bishkek and as I note my diary entry of 17th May reads <i>"Left for Kochkor. Back by a minaret set in a graveyard [the Burana Tower] with gravestones from the pre-Islamic [period] - Shamanic, Buddhist stones remarkably like Celtic heads. ........... The stone heads were so diverse - shape, size and some other symbols."</i> These stone heads are called <i>balbals </i>and came from all over Kyrgyzstan but have been brought here to an ancient site which also has a small but very good and informative museum. I was fortunate to speak for quite a long time to the museum curator who had been instrumental in starting up the project about 30 years ago. Several of them were extremely phallic, as can be seen by the photos and to say nothing of the state sponsored marmot which far from being coy and hiding from us came out from under one of the heads and posed most delightfully for our photos! Ella Maillart mentions the balbals in her trek to Kirghizia (former Soviet Republic of) in 1932. See Ella Maillart: <u>Turkmenestan Solo</u> and also <u>Forbidden Journey</u> which is her account of the journey that she made with Peter Fleming (bro. of Ian); his account is called <u>News from Tartary</u> between Peking and Srinagar in 1934 (but more of that later). Actually see Ella Maillart anything. She is the most compelling writer. She had the good fortune to be born at a time when adventurous and intrepid women travellers were striking out and travelling solo in some very far flung places.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mcZ_0ROFmZmxjXCUkwe0oC0hoR07wAlJFb6wx5nuL16iq033-1XS_6x4o540BOQDLvtOiCimFbbYT2zgHmnQFTYyeiHqKbYq6wDitKSH4ya6017cAWU8KO6eJzx5xHnKqMt-txQ8IdY/s200/20.10-KyrgyzFeltSpecsCase.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="200" /></span></td></tr>
<tr style="color: #674ea7;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>My birthday present</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mcZ_0ROFmZmxjXCUkwe0oC0hoR07wAlJFb6wx5nuL16iq033-1XS_6x4o540BOQDLvtOiCimFbbYT2zgHmnQFTYyeiHqKbYq6wDitKSH4ya6017cAWU8KO6eJzx5xHnKqMt-txQ8IdY/s1600/20.10-KyrgyzFeltSpecsCase.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></a><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Back to Kochkor to pick up the felt picture of Archie we had made on the previous visit. Lucky for hindsight<i> -</i> the previous visit to Kochkor had been on my birthday. Kochkor is fairly near Lake Issy Kul and on our previous visit we had met a very feisty, upfront lady who was involved in a women's felt making co-operative in the town. I bought some lovely slippers and a couple of hats and as it was my birthday she very kindly gave a lovely felt specs holder with the Kyrgyz "happiness" symbol on it. She also took a shine to one of my fellow travellers and even with his wife sat right next to him - it made no difference! When we made our return visit, maybe for reasons of domestic harmony or maybe not because his wife certainly thought the situation was funny, he stayed on the bus. But not to be deterred the lady of the co-operative came on the bus to search him out and gave him a smacking kiss much to his embarrassment and our amusement!!! On the previous visit there was also a little frisson around the truck as we all knew that our lovely guide had a girlfriend somewhere and from the way that this assertive young woman patted his bottom we instantly assumed that this was she. And he was teased accordingly but denied that this was the "girlfriend", it turned out that she wasn't! We stayed in the Kochkor homestays again. A different one this time and I note in my diary that the bed was damp though I do remember the food being very good. As to my birthday back at the beginning of May I see from the 16th May Kyrgyzstan entry that I wanted to post the co-ordinates of where we wild camped. They are as follows: "N 41º 54.790 E 74 º16.061" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><i><b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">VIEWS FROM THE CO-ORDINATES</span></b></i></u></div><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEb0xmpsPTriGnl5gupYecJZgt1N_LvMFMTuUnPTACvPpFZOCmsRYtTbIqEsHoKMYfG7sKyrEyJzT7kZUjAbwh3HEND6bwiMaUghx_UISGWTzUTxC6n8yqKr6m1FCqASI94KKd9nHO58A/s1600/06.05-BirthdayView-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEb0xmpsPTriGnl5gupYecJZgt1N_LvMFMTuUnPTACvPpFZOCmsRYtTbIqEsHoKMYfG7sKyrEyJzT7kZUjAbwh3HEND6bwiMaUghx_UISGWTzUTxC6n8yqKr6m1FCqASI94KKd9nHO58A/s400/06.05-BirthdayView-6.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEgeb2keOEaTUCgs-i2ZvQoUps4PqBjYGMtjZf1shPWtE4EB4BxOS33i9THDwSTk1af1zsAqR-h_8BvQTq3G2Cp7ySzINatvFBogUYN1ht8ic08uR-k2UvntnIHP_4UVCQfGwWY5xbMcY/s1600/07.05-BirthdayView-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEgeb2keOEaTUCgs-i2ZvQoUps4PqBjYGMtjZf1shPWtE4EB4BxOS33i9THDwSTk1af1zsAqR-h_8BvQTq3G2Cp7ySzINatvFBogUYN1ht8ic08uR-k2UvntnIHP_4UVCQfGwWY5xbMcY/s400/07.05-BirthdayView-8.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLzqsviKDV6xVvnXTrwaVkp42FhslvLC79JAwEKgml6VHbWMxW23rstHEBpbLjC-zg3_5f0R5X9Xk5fCPLP5rtbqAfuB7AgabJ_q-1EmZeEuUrVRj_eokdoHiKBaMh7fTCJS529l8fjk/s1600/07.05-BirthdayView-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLzqsviKDV6xVvnXTrwaVkp42FhslvLC79JAwEKgml6VHbWMxW23rstHEBpbLjC-zg3_5f0R5X9Xk5fCPLP5rtbqAfuB7AgabJ_q-1EmZeEuUrVRj_eokdoHiKBaMh7fTCJS529l8fjk/s400/07.05-BirthdayView-4.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBAV3WpvYpT6EI8H4kRcMxYXSuYSXjVQUF3fENb1wab9R8LIRYtDruNwktdHWyZBmcjJYn9URAKIrL9CYNNbgsgAJZBQdTcbwEklgM1hUN1TDxd2nEe9OaRMDVHkgMgS-Ig96D7YffS0/s1600/06.05-BirthdayView-1-12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHBAV3WpvYpT6EI8H4kRcMxYXSuYSXjVQUF3fENb1wab9R8LIRYtDruNwktdHWyZBmcjJYn9URAKIrL9CYNNbgsgAJZBQdTcbwEklgM1hUN1TDxd2nEe9OaRMDVHkgMgS-Ig96D7YffS0/s400/06.05-BirthdayView-1-12.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <i>"18th Tash Rebat - climbed into the mountains. Feeling ghastly..... Arrived at the caravanserai quite late - snowing - bitterly cold ..... stayed in yurts........ Tash Rebat very striking & lonely. No evidence of other caravanserai - even though on a direct route to China."</i> And indeed Tash Rebat is lonely. Sited in a valley some miles away from the present day main road to the Torugart Pass and then on into China. There is a track leading past the Caravanserai and the yurts following up the valley which I imagine was the original "Silk Road" leading to the Torugart Pass across the mountains rather than the way we went the next morning along the main road, more of that later. I hope that the photos of the mountains around Tash Rebat show how cold and wild it was. Although it appears to be in such a wild, deserted place now there would have been a time when the valley and the caravanserai itself was full of passing visitors. The caravanserai itself is apparently unique of its kind. Made of grey stone and very solid it sits into the side of a mountain. When we were there snow had blown into the halls and rooms through windows and added to the coldness. Even though I was not really able to take it all it I could feel the how it might have been when the caravanserai was constantly busy with passing merchants, ambassadors, emissaries, soldiers, travellers and whosoever might find themselves on the Silk Road and for whatever reason. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The valley is at altitude, 35oom, but despite the URTI I still managed to sleep in relative comfort apart from the coughing, but I did feel for the others I was sharing the yurt with and as I was sharing the yurt with at least 4 or 5 other people I did not want to keep coughing. But again they were all very kind about it. The next morning 19th May it was time to say good-bye to Kyrgyzstan. My diary reads <i>"Left early by 0600 - road appalling - snowing and miserable but brightened up later on </i>(I obviously did too because I don't remember being particularly ill) <i>Got to Pass (Torugart) will in time by 10.30 Customs</i> (Kyrgyz)<i> and good-bye Kyrgyzstan - so sorry I was ill for most of it. Ironic."</i> The road was indeed appalling. It was not metalled as we would know it. To all intents it was what would be considered a track here. Full of ruts, holes and all the time slippy snow. Dion driving us came up trumps again because we got to the Pass without any major incident although there were hazards enough. One thing was that this is a major commercial route between Kyrgyzstan and China so it was full of well loaded lorries. The majority coming from China rather than to China. I did not realise until I saw that amount of traffic how much the neighbouring countries to China must rely on China for trade.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">But the Chinese customs were something else but more of that next time! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzy9uODmho1jc-LT6-rxgSofurBqx62-oBKthV6s-hGSbzSIrXKVNhXNNW9CbeplcCQsOlO5AndsdZ8f7GoIT6KqXr2V8QCI49alyBysAQs4n6Idcy6akRVUp32KDkfzRyQNyWysTLdVc/s400/18.05-TashRebatCaravanserai-1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr style="color: #674ea7;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">Inside the Tash Rabat Caravanserai</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzy9uODmho1jc-LT6-rxgSofurBqx62-oBKthV6s-hGSbzSIrXKVNhXNNW9CbeplcCQsOlO5AndsdZ8f7GoIT6KqXr2V8QCI49alyBysAQs4n6Idcy6akRVUp32KDkfzRyQNyWysTLdVc/s1600/18.05-TashRebatCaravanserai-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></em></strong></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUnNg6m6yTnicr9JGvqQUfKo5h9DNZPmUyIHrqDkUVTO7IrVLcFmu2N4mMIBOxVKITfmCdpmwfBX4xRMCvwS_rXovT6qbeSzgAalpNGH-RMZuuOiHQ_hSSW3Z5xGS__L6fcwMnE2ik3VU/s400/18.05-TashRebatCaravanserai-5.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></em></strong></td></tr>
<tr style="color: #674ea7;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">The yurt camp at Tash Rabat</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZV-N1HR3kMhUaOMiANZ9O6gQfWHSlxKjGlf44DSvmnoonreF_h_eDh0auHUG_qQdSGQdv747kB6f2znAwmymxAQYIGCESmW6pDY2jPNJ4hpR1MPVhdbvngCFg_2u4g__Fti8TxWzFJWY/s400/18.05-TashRebatCaravanserai-9.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr style="color: #674ea7;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The cold mountains! I am not sure if this photo conveys the cold that I was feeling at the time. When I look at it I shiver!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-21436642947261460132010-09-28T10:25:00.000+01:002011-01-30T00:38:16.241+00:00Back on track............. Bishkek and all points East<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hello to all - apologies for such a long delay in getting the rest of the blog up and running. Adjusting to being back in the UK has been more protracted that I originally thought. Reversed culture shock! But over the next few weeks I will be loading photos in the relevant places in the previous entries as well as writing up (from memories and the all important travel diaries) the remainder of Kyrgyzstan and the 6 weeks across China. Also I am looking forward to your comments too.</span>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-29029686880726021532010-05-16T09:37:00.000+01:002011-02-07T01:26:16.922+00:00Kyrgyzstan and half way through the trip....................<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: small;">It seems ages since the last entry - but so much has happened. Kyrgyzstan may be a small country compared to other Central Asian countries but it has it all. Our guide told me the story of how Kyrgyzstan came to be. God was allocating the different countries to the people of the world but the Kyrgyz was asleep. So the Kazakhs got the steppe because they like to live where they can see the sky and to ride horses, the Uzbeks are good at agriculture so they got Uzbekistan, the Russians like to be cold so they got Russia, Africans like the heat so they got Africa, no doubt the British like to be wet and to fish so they got Britain. The Kyrgyz woke up just after God had finished and ran up saying "where is my country?" "Where were you?", asked God. "I was asleep and now I don't have a country." "Well", says God, "I had just put a little bit aside for me so I suppose you had better have it." And that way the Kyrgyz have agriculture, fishing in lakes, horses, heat and cold, wet (in May) mountains, desert</span><span style="font-size: small;"> and everything. And it is quite true I have seen desert, I have seen mountains and I have seen lakes. The Kyrgyz are indeed blessed with their country. Wherever you go you can always see snow covered peaks. </span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZoXXgiGQyxWDYTlfssGnTBMYVa1kXp0Fma0eRfmGlyYjOwscl1vQSx0zFwW2bGPF4owgul8jh78DBhUO_ZRqtl-NjteFixTDsw7sfqz5qWZpmhcGLu_4eyOJH6UTNzxWfOdK5T6nSQ0/s400/DSCN1733.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The Tien Shan from the homestay</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;"></span></em></strong><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZoXXgiGQyxWDYTlfssGnTBMYVa1kXp0Fma0eRfmGlyYjOwscl1vQSx0zFwW2bGPF4owgul8jh78DBhUO_ZRqtl-NjteFixTDsw7sfqz5qWZpmhcGLu_4eyOJH6UTNzxWfOdK5T6nSQ0/s1600/DSCN1733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></a><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The first day we arrived (3rd of May seems so long ago) it was raining, we stayed at a homestay in Osh down in the South and we left in the rain to go to Arslanbob (read Roger Deakin-Wild Wood to find out more about the walnut forest) and arrived in the rain. I stayed in a lovely homestay where our host had what seemed like hundreds of bee hives in his back garden and a very comfortable room and the shower was absolutely bang up to the mark modern complete with jets and various other functions which I did not dare try out! There was a very naughty dog called Jackson who stole all of our shoes off the veranda and deposited them around the yard so our poor host and his son were out with torches trying to recover pairs! Our host learned a useful bit of English for future occasions which was "bad dog"!!! But Jackson was only a baby and he must have thought that this was Christmas and birthday all rolled into one when he was given a present of 7 pairs of shoes to play with. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"> <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Homestay village</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Our homestay</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRHD_Kw47ljbZALMstRiENHCm8SCWae2izaBZv3_kAh-dwkva_VqficZi-rCcasLDFjjQNBz0ImS7Km0gZa0BICHUXYtf_oevHcq2o2jQG17HGZ1JFj88Mi-vMAaF4IAWd480lVcM8w0/s400/DSCN1729.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The milk bottle!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGuRLWFeped5sbJljICNcire5cKWLfEtoefROMGBuOlZjqAxf7kN1BJBajJKGGAhqdBB_xUzuvCK4xpN0ARwcWew_4EDX66i0nIZRA1ktf725rAap8wS6i5Vbic5_dFOvwQHzlYrFnGIQ/s400/DSCN1730.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>JACKSON! the "bad dog" - smiling</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxkzuQOQecaXBpC6zDYz-P1LulBIuWfnuJKxG5x5sJnz7avz35Rx_vw12QRmYwAET89Rme5uh2r02v9MqJulYiaWRZXxtisOc9SIq2LPEHYnrC6kqG64JQ0KWqO6M_14lqOin2e6wFpEQ/s400/DSCN1734.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The kitchen garden - and all those hives</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAz5FduPkur2h5jnlcmhQIabVxPCiUnZnnb8H6zCEZC1yv9vxulasXCAfMno2z5LOXxZtOzZG6HWYMemIxiSZKJHJMvHmd39g4CpCFeuBCjgV5gH6kc1xTKmcDv2FMehxnmDDDWdZsznk/s400/DSCN1740.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Another view of the Tien Shan from the homestay</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: small;">Talking of birthdays I had mine just over a week ago- I meant to bring the co-ordinates with me today but they are in my diary back at the hotel but when I post the pictures I will show you what I woke up to<i> - see 21st October entry for the photos</i>.</span><span style="font-size: small;">)</span><span style="font-size: small;"> But to get back to Arslanbob it was all misty on arrival but nothing prepared me for the scene the next morning when I woke up to brilliant sunshine and the most stunning view of snow capped mountains and a blue, blue sky through the trees. And since then I have seen mountains every day. The breakfast at the homestay was fantastic and all specially cooked by our hostess and her sister-in-law. To say nothing of the delicious honey which came from the bees in the garden.</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;">The camping at Lake Issy Kul was a delight. The lake is a beautiful blue and even when it is cloudy it seems to be blue. I did some swimming but unfortunately the 3rd time I was not able to get warm again afterwards and I went down with the truck "bug" which has afflicted quite a few of us but even having to have bed rest in a hotel has not spoiled the pleasure I had swimming. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em> <u>LAKE ISSY KUL SCENES</u></em></strong></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZhF1jxm13pE-bwmP9OF3MV-7YeehUpowO-Z5Zvfpzx66XrL1_62JTIvP0NxkQafD0nRWBHZLFW_Se6SiXqsFG6zlvtrBKD4eDlmdkRAvsgRzHWGz7ZN33LgUymkenHCjOpCWZt_iQ8o/s1600/13.05-LakeIssyKul-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9j220rx6m4dUd7qjvgA-EghjHcXnyuMtejX4I3UeLkNIY7fHdPhwW0sN5iyLGBYxmwmkHL83ywYkJSwVZpNV5iKJ0S8EId5Sp5vSoQLqNx9vpHMUaizIm6cGliG-A1OHxWq7SNab3hs/s400/09.05-LakeIssyKul-25.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The campsite</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk81SuEre_wM23SIms93ztqjXGa2ktJAGZWB8dYgh8UQ9AOSqMR5SlQd7nU-xpzmgDbsq6Yf-HIUaD2jbw6ms_JoSaNOxDJLqIx5KzSNwdE2yh7kOcHNvfZKvk1KwYdsTiru1b2Eeznkg/s400/09.05-LakeIssyKul-34.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>More of the campsite</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxOA-wlHFf4NhOLfViF7fDXR8BHshwkIoXrDiSZflD2ZPxOSyAPs73Gg97Nrvk1Fj4r4ZviRSa1qBpKymcYyGL46JHXXymUdhAWQZEPeL3UII9Rs_h56tQinuwU2W2pu4ZXMjxyfGcIy8/s400/09.05-LakeIssyKul-16.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>The weather changes from moment to moment </em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QkM2XwP-8fSYziTGKjSaHLFayh6yCzHxA6cS19OP5M9pLEq-KwhUW36G_Pwb4d8FKp6iWOLL0EuP6ld14McQ88t1yNjA9Zu59A5DmjoPH3TypNfe4Qkt_GBg3988UipyS4fAeoG_dn0/s1600/09.05-LakeIssyKul-24.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6QkM2XwP-8fSYziTGKjSaHLFayh6yCzHxA6cS19OP5M9pLEq-KwhUW36G_Pwb4d8FKp6iWOLL0EuP6ld14McQ88t1yNjA9Zu59A5DmjoPH3TypNfe4Qkt_GBg3988UipyS4fAeoG_dn0/s400/09.05-LakeIssyKul-24.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeG0OXxZHIHuLqO9VhTrqfEXEQcMrMG10FGKfZIgqeefcfTEXu6w2csIIkaKHiktmblgA_3BKAOhl7FQUbHKE6Ozmwj1wlHLsbY2bQT9YoFqj3swl5jpyALF6266YZ2Pf0udVaMAo4Zok/s1600/09.05-LakeIssyKul-18.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeG0OXxZHIHuLqO9VhTrqfEXEQcMrMG10FGKfZIgqeefcfTEXu6w2csIIkaKHiktmblgA_3BKAOhl7FQUbHKE6Ozmwj1wlHLsbY2bQT9YoFqj3swl5jpyALF6266YZ2Pf0udVaMAo4Zok/s400/09.05-LakeIssyKul-18.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6k7NiuhXmbYLIE5mkuiKxd5ROc6VTECQBqCOvQvtvDP0o8YN_MYa9bidmzO_OabzJ8NfwVeADzXZnl_tw29Ib0XuuBVJqRIrS2w_EKQ5NXiV0ze_bhpPoVcClWdgZfPoSc3dq9-eqk8/s400/09.05-LakeIssyKul-32.JPG" width="400" /></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxIIEDfy_xj4bBPdhFOFr_jd4sNrTWr1Q59zV8NHI_DbG8gLDs0cRUJM3la9hmI7dmL_G4I35RFpQ0nQem1pa8CDaooWlTu7ynZs6X12C57ovxg-EQy9U6FWgD4FcGrMlbVOAhfkhKpU/s1600/09.05-LakeIssyKul-29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqxIIEDfy_xj4bBPdhFOFr_jd4sNrTWr1Q59zV8NHI_DbG8gLDs0cRUJM3la9hmI7dmL_G4I35RFpQ0nQem1pa8CDaooWlTu7ynZs6X12C57ovxg-EQy9U6FWgD4FcGrMlbVOAhfkhKpU/s400/09.05-LakeIssyKul-29.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQzQuWzZPSWme8NyzbtB8ZhMKVGqTKB3tbGr6Q8aN1iaH9QoPKOjb7wKKf6DGHleo7HPXrNk93gCewHtL3eESUG3aCKAahRjV7gwdtRlRufrAf2TM9UacrcjnRP7eFDIAlSEwu5xURV8/s1600/09.05-LakeIssyKul-37.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQzQuWzZPSWme8NyzbtB8ZhMKVGqTKB3tbGr6Q8aN1iaH9QoPKOjb7wKKf6DGHleo7HPXrNk93gCewHtL3eESUG3aCKAahRjV7gwdtRlRufrAf2TM9UacrcjnRP7eFDIAlSEwu5xURV8/s400/09.05-LakeIssyKul-37.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnsTkkjEWAiOktmN9Wn59Hy8XmdVXv3_Oy0fQ8GoQsVn_LuGAig2TnOuPr0gTXZwoqcHm3IatBSdL3d5i3h3SZD_hNe46xMv1AGUuVC0IglQ5aCx2dEwOvr-MIs1Ylcawft_LXZVq49cg/s400/13.05-LakeIssyKul-5.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>Mountains seen from the north shore</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYemQfw_NXqd-H-gBKR1EkFm3enxuTnSIuLHW2kfnvGSXcHCB5PTONef7Rby_38_KEciZUrtF2tA1BnUcBZT3IqR0LJvPWdbJ2kzbzHkXLieY7GTlJSu8wHiVvvjzmCghvianCV6naShA/s400/13.05-LakeIssyKul-7.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>A north shore resort</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53A7V7IeIs7V7iRi0DVJzvgQe3KGJKG1h-GxZBm3dABlgy0uyGghYEp7ID94p4EnAqbZiT-gs5tjVEV1oGhuavhUgfswc6rKcUP-AyARj3eUnt7Hhdjw-Hi8qdJo6zMkpHe9ZTmi4v-I/s400/13.05-LakeIssyKul-8.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>A Lake Issy Kul Butlins!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53A7V7IeIs7V7iRi0DVJzvgQe3KGJKG1h-GxZBm3dABlgy0uyGghYEp7ID94p4EnAqbZiT-gs5tjVEV1oGhuavhUgfswc6rKcUP-AyARj3eUnt7Hhdjw-Hi8qdJo6zMkpHe9ZTmi4v-I/s1600/13.05-LakeIssyKul-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXizmcWrb4BDHmSfzf1fkGykB8-IX6B8RUTsZ9g7gFt_s4km0dWxtyj3quAgoUPDVYe_ELD0Gzjnb-q5rS5UvSd97Gu8hXkz39qZe3brS89XniC5eEZspy3y8fAsgxQiJbI5CVewRDNrg/s400/13.05-LakeIssyKul-13.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>The Kyrgyz Navy (or Russian warships)</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The countryside we drive through is alwasy stunning. We have witnessed the annual movement of horses, cattle and sheep to the higher grazing pastures, although this does not really start until the end of May.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWLadoB_1mjEUi3W45vkdw6-yALBsFcEek6nKRWXjxgRnLv9Wynsp_e1G76e_3Syguk3NV1PB9Y47ACm3GgAfqkyI10MJAEujuHmeDtM1Lg0o0IWHo1CfbMBkgxfg1dhkBYlzFMH5n4U/s400/05.05-Transhumance-1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong>Transhumance in action - seen from Archie</strong></em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrlOqKi3q3CistKMq2LEh3zD-wYotoURXhNskyzGu-yIX6G40nA03ZLXW_Sz-eKiTWVJuTteaSul_CqjnczGYhJVZtwr8y2oVdASdOpul0I0kRsBUliu4VIKYhCs3Tr3z8gJFrzXoQCbc/s400/05.05-RiverNarynScenery-9.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr align="center"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <span style="color: purple;"><em><strong>The Naryn River which merges to become the Syr Darya</strong></em></span> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDUUOPhvLX2UcZpg3b3h3maASb0MJgMnav_nSS1aXO73rmjUmxoEaEtBujmALLIvRm5dCx2pl2g4F3ndEaIqcA62uB1pw2UChEJFqAO1lp4vrxYiX9FAXYNXZfDDOyIJin56uXjILmYw/s400/05.05-RiverNarynValley-1.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong>Typical mountain scenery</strong></em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Tmf7vrlmoS49a9aP9nTkPc2ummcQVycL2x4Znmc8OpX4GGtlQgJw81NfKkc6-QAyPox1ZOyBjtFtaQJ9NU-SqKJ4Bse2LDFtycyvkrCh8V0KlEIuKVT_rHhonYGE-lI50qZilMkfTR0/s400/DSCN1815.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>A cemetery</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju4H5qRvtdzmX9pdcvOpNImKWohTUF423-csG8Bt0uCcAI1BKbWJ4Px9eVFkqBSa6XMnQlldVV0BkJ_kGtYt97rguSGQB51uyN-hPlEJEZw9aY9vzg_0-iE02gbmso-I4DK6YuQdyK9fI/s400/DSCN1835.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>Toktogul Resevoir</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju4H5qRvtdzmX9pdcvOpNImKWohTUF423-csG8Bt0uCcAI1BKbWJ4Px9eVFkqBSa6XMnQlldVV0BkJ_kGtYt97rguSGQB51uyN-hPlEJEZw9aY9vzg_0-iE02gbmso-I4DK6YuQdyK9fI/s1600/DSCN1835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></a></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLa6yHeD8Wf5C0MnXUIsIX6f02gn8pU2gg1IxHdqMzxKS-kB1CFJA3RPsdiBoknjlYiRtpWat1g2rX2pZiwlaS8h-AzV0M0zcI76x4kPyZ9FoCCWtKd3A5nPFcYN8D84BV_L-n8JMfhLE/s400/DSCN1846.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>Mountain scenery</em></strong></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
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</tbody></table><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">These pictures represent just a few of the sorts of scenery that we experienced every day in Kyrgyzstan. After a visit to a women's felt making co-operative and the wild camping time at Lake Issy Kul we made our way to Karakol to "civilisation"! The whole of the journey I was doing my teeth with the water in the various hotels, but not drinking it, but Karakol was the place where the hotel said not to drink the water and supplied us with bottled water. I did meet a group of Swiss hydro engineers who were involved in a water treatment project. Not before time, it would appear. Nearly all the others went off wild camping, but alas I stayed behind to sleep and rest in the hotel, which was very pleasant and well run. The company who run the hotel are Swiss (as well as the hydro engineers!). So it is true. Swiss hoteliers all over the world. The hotel had some wonderful displays of textiles by a local felt artist.</span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><u><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Some of my birthday pictures</span></u></em></strong></div><span style="color: #0b5394;"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8Dm5PYyAayKRxWqC_lNEcEDtMOz2z0LZX6zsI_3Gv5FVcaXf8VkDdNxHARVhBC_OwsF9dDeMeU5-hExrdoWrcTQDOrMbExfcpITHl3AndMtRRa9m2VzElylipNdBzQL7gzgn9n9_Ui0/s1600/07.05-ArchieBirthdayDecorations1-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG8Dm5PYyAayKRxWqC_lNEcEDtMOz2z0LZX6zsI_3Gv5FVcaXf8VkDdNxHARVhBC_OwsF9dDeMeU5-hExrdoWrcTQDOrMbExfcpITHl3AndMtRRa9m2VzElylipNdBzQL7gzgn9n9_Ui0/s400/07.05-ArchieBirthdayDecorations1-10.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>Archie decorated for .............</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VnCrjxzG-r6qU7FWiVui4HuTGAnGOtGwVQmI6NzXVKhS6-dffn2JYP7vNpx7f2eMyyIlFQHzU5GRkfyXRWr85DQMxAXu_vvAEqcqSEwWqGLTjiOFzUQGkVzC7aX_FkWf3tK5pIo7Gb0/s1600/07.05-ArchieBirthdayDecorations-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VnCrjxzG-r6qU7FWiVui4HuTGAnGOtGwVQmI6NzXVKhS6-dffn2JYP7vNpx7f2eMyyIlFQHzU5GRkfyXRWr85DQMxAXu_vvAEqcqSEwWqGLTjiOFzUQGkVzC7aX_FkWf3tK5pIo7Gb0/s400/07.05-ArchieBirthdayDecorations-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>..... for the "birthday girl"</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzye8HuhW2kDvD5e_4PTQa-Gdd7g2z-o3si6LxJiFVvXC09J9xG7MhstndBdsHJVEAByVr-6sobrzkJAbn2yYd3JtIn9WUzCYkeDrsadevTLzGspMBGGSkf8f3CeU_nnLhgH1nVn7royc/s1600/07.05.Birthday.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzye8HuhW2kDvD5e_4PTQa-Gdd7g2z-o3si6LxJiFVvXC09J9xG7MhstndBdsHJVEAByVr-6sobrzkJAbn2yYd3JtIn9WUzCYkeDrsadevTLzGspMBGGSkf8f3CeU_nnLhgH1nVn7royc/s400/07.05.Birthday.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>& the "girl" herself complete with her lovely present 0f <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(out of date") </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">beetroot soup mix!</span></em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> </div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-38388334286566938312010-05-01T18:57:00.000+01:002011-01-30T01:15:43.101+00:00A bit more of Samarkand and the utterly amazing Tashkent....................<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This may be the last entry for a little while as tomorrow (Sunday) we head off towards Kyrgyzstan and out of the 2 weeks we have in Kyrgyzstan I think we have 3 or 4 nights in a hotel and the remaining time we will be camping in the mountains or staying in yurts so may not be near an internet source for some time. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia;">Just a little bit more about Samarkand before moving on to Tashkent. We stayed in a crazy hotel - the Hotel Furkat has the distinction of being Samarkand's only B&B, though I think Fawlty Towers (including a resident Basil) would be nearer the mark! The room that I was in had the most wonderful new wash hand basin in pink plastic with the best tap ever, I want one (and there will be an opportunity to see a picture of it when I load up the pictures. There was a joy stick in the middle of a circular glass disk. When the joy stick was twiddled water poured over the glass disk into the basin. However this whole effect was somewhat spoiled by the fact that when the couple in the room above used their shower our shower tray filled up with sand. However Mr. Furkat was unfazed when told this and just said "no problem" which was the solution to most difficulties at the Hotel Furkat! </span> </div> <br />
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH4AC9YSb4zU3kdup2d-2BNHoUASdiexRD6YQtSLyl9tKLkxH5MMM2QJLUN1anHQO-4JChUbgQZsJYXOE-gbmm712QYTGUsVnP7V2R5Ce3076W4ouU6eAhHy8TEHQmuqwvzww6VSBU5Kw/s1600/28.04.2010.Samarkhand-HotelFurkat-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH4AC9YSb4zU3kdup2d-2BNHoUASdiexRD6YQtSLyl9tKLkxH5MMM2QJLUN1anHQO-4JChUbgQZsJYXOE-gbmm712QYTGUsVnP7V2R5Ce3076W4ouU6eAhHy8TEHQmuqwvzww6VSBU5Kw/s400/28.04.2010.Samarkhand-HotelFurkat-2.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>And here it is.............</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivwOr6aXo7x6emBb5igTDtUn8YP38RjTyBTRZmYfcmlih8wafqty9qEBA4MiNuphptLHAG-Q6VDyC2_MV34C6hewnc-hadnwVe-VfME_rLnEp4ofWbEP-ABU1ynS-SQP3xouc8_MXcGM/s1600/28.04.2010.Samarkhand-HotelFurkat-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivwOr6aXo7x6emBb5igTDtUn8YP38RjTyBTRZmYfcmlih8wafqty9qEBA4MiNuphptLHAG-Q6VDyC2_MV34C6hewnc-hadnwVe-VfME_rLnEp4ofWbEP-ABU1ynS-SQP3xouc8_MXcGM/s400/28.04.2010.Samarkhand-HotelFurkat-3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>..... in all its glory!!!!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia;">However the breakfast room, under Russian army surplus camoflage so we would not get accidentally strafed, made up for all the "no problems" open sided on the very top of the building with wonderful views over the city - so for that alone I would recommend a stay there. 5 of the group had had to go to Tashkent a day early to sort out Chinese visas (fortunately all successful) so I was responsible for all their bags being loaded onto Archie. The bag loader employed to shift our bags into a car to take to Archie had obviously had a stroke. I started piling the bags up ready to take downstairs and poor man each time he thought that he had taken all the bags I had added another one from the pile in my room. I felt so sorry for him, but yet again it was "no problem" But then came the real problem as Archie had been parked away from the hotel and was being allegedly "looked after" when we tried to drive away Archie would not move. Somebody had nicked 500 litres of diesel! And finding replacement diesel took ages as only about 1:6 garages stock it and we kept turning up at garages only to find that their pumps were empty. There was obviously a diesel shortage in Uzbekistan that day - and who knows - maybe we bought back our own diesel!</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia;">Anyway we arrived in Tashkent in good time to have a look around later that afternoon. And yes, we did meet the French party again - some of them though not the "yurt 6" were staying at our hotel - and what is more one of them knew my cousin who lives in France!!! Her grandson had been at school with my cousin's son (and my 1st cousin once removed). How's that for serendipity - I go to Uzbekistan and not only do I find someone who lives in the same town as my cousin but actually knows her! </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia;">Tashkent is the most amazing city. It has the most beautiful metro of any city I have been to - and a really neat way of being able to get round the metro without a map - though a map helps - I liked the station with the portraits or perhaps one should say pictures of all the astronauts and they include Uleg Beg which just gives it a lovely inclusive feeling. But there is another station which has decorated domes - but unfortunately no photos as this is a finable offence. Tashkent is a city of contrasts. In the centre full of people dressed in the latest fashions and all very up to date. But you only have to go to the outskirts to find cows tethered by the side of the road or men trotting about on donkey carts. But I really like Tashkent - it is a city with a good feel and people are so helpful and friendly. Today I was shown the way to the Decorative Arts Museum by a woman sweeping the street - literally with a twig broom - in such a kind way. The museum was hard to find because it was down a residential street but when I got there is was well worth the difficulities finding it. Full of local art and crafts - some 19th/20th C but also some really modern things as well. And this evening I went to the ballet to see The Corsair - danced by the Uzbek National Ballet - that was an experience and a half. The scenery was stunning and the prima ballerina taking the part of Medora was as light as a feather and a very good dancer with brilliant gesture and facial expression. So this visit to Tashkent has only been a taster. I would love to come back to Uzbekistan and be here for a bit longer. So over and out for the present and look forward to catching up with this at the next internet stop.</span></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjvtSJbqWXD96J7icjTf0X-H_wOcLfjanDstxWlgPLlQY-_3wg4ci-grWHdv94i7Szn6XxfjvAmHBnvVtNahyyrg-bQnVg47bdtBhXO8Sx2o6JScwH_ImwWLth8VLxSX_w28F7scOZ7CY/s1600/30.04.2010.Tashkent-AmirTimur-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjvtSJbqWXD96J7icjTf0X-H_wOcLfjanDstxWlgPLlQY-_3wg4ci-grWHdv94i7Szn6XxfjvAmHBnvVtNahyyrg-bQnVg47bdtBhXO8Sx2o6JScwH_ImwWLth8VLxSX_w28F7scOZ7CY/s400/30.04.2010.Tashkent-AmirTimur-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Statue of Amir Timur in the main square</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0LQyLAuCtkWzGMHEwdkSHSI8Is8fRmvkXoTw6MXLqcbCNuj76Opr3_nmivsno7NbvE8V0Msnh5R8q1yiqnHJSDzzC1crWJ7ChpeiMBPFLfXlB607QC6bPFX8oIYZX-A5Zu65BWEA4E_I/s1600/30.04.2010.Tashkent-AmirTimur-7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0LQyLAuCtkWzGMHEwdkSHSI8Is8fRmvkXoTw6MXLqcbCNuj76Opr3_nmivsno7NbvE8V0Msnh5R8q1yiqnHJSDzzC1crWJ7ChpeiMBPFLfXlB607QC6bPFX8oIYZX-A5Zu65BWEA4E_I/s400/30.04.2010.Tashkent-AmirTimur-7.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Amir Timur with a couple of foot soldiers!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBMbLAOdRPkVxBs0lE_CX4rxd_FKRKUyrIgGyiuTxBq_K94C5eVSucm6WIviXIxT8EEJzPOKPrMcXLNAd1BlSLhAUL-3tx0H7hWCu0X4JJRqbKgdTJFXTQhHspI2bVNiNlyE5XGsHkaz8/s1600/30.04.2010.Tashkent-ChorsuMarket-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBMbLAOdRPkVxBs0lE_CX4rxd_FKRKUyrIgGyiuTxBq_K94C5eVSucm6WIviXIxT8EEJzPOKPrMcXLNAd1BlSLhAUL-3tx0H7hWCu0X4JJRqbKgdTJFXTQhHspI2bVNiNlyE5XGsHkaz8/s400/30.04.2010.Tashkent-ChorsuMarket-1.JPG" width="400" /></em></strong></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Spice stall - Chorsu Bazaar</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxpobtGudMOQ4rgI1i9TdaEQLs_7B1YW9skYrCrs6KmfcX2ndsMjh_tm3FWR-RIhjOJ7n6XevaUNR4MTGijrPFRuWAIpMuMWoB4qwcVjbwlMSXJe388cJWhyK9cDLPK_iklkHVY2CVZU/s1600/30.04.2010.Tashkent-ChorsuMarket-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxpobtGudMOQ4rgI1i9TdaEQLs_7B1YW9skYrCrs6KmfcX2ndsMjh_tm3FWR-RIhjOJ7n6XevaUNR4MTGijrPFRuWAIpMuMWoB4qwcVjbwlMSXJe388cJWhyK9cDLPK_iklkHVY2CVZU/s400/30.04.2010.Tashkent-ChorsuMarket-2.JPG" width="400" /></em></strong></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Our very kind and unofficial guide round Tashkent</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-64391508932554041772010-04-28T12:26:00.000+01:002011-01-30T02:09:43.078+00:00Still in Samarkand - after a lovely long lunch.............................<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Just catching up again after lunch. I realise that I hardly ever, if at all, mention the FOOD yet friends who know me will understand that the food I experience is very much part of this trip. So a brief description of today's lunch. The Russian influence on the former Soviet countries has certainly formed certain trends in the food. Ashbeghat had an enormous Russian Market in the city centre. There were vegetable stores selling the most wonderful array of fresh fruit and vegetables. Stands with the most lavishly and extravagantly decorated cakes I have ever seen. I did not try any because I felt sure that if they looked as wonderful and excessive as they did that the taste could only be a disappointment! Stores with all sorts of Russian delicacies such as caviar and salmon caviar (I will just have to pop to Waitrose on return!), cold meats and cheeses. The meat stalls were best avoided with sheeps heads in the window already for boiling into some sort of stew - though it did look as if the eyes had been removed. Also cows trotters. We did buy some mince for our truck supper but we made sure that the butcher minced there and then! However the butcher asked if we wanted it minced once or twice - and when we cooked it it was delicious. All around the edge of the market were little cafes selling Russian foods. So back to today's lunch - a range of salads - followed by roast chicken and pots of chay - green tea which everyone serves here. By the time I get back it will be like I have been at a health spa for a few weeks with the amount of green tea I have drunk. That was a fairly ordinary sort of meal. Yesterday a group of us went to an Italian restaurant where I had the least Italian meal I have ever had in my life! My starter was called "Bird Nest" an halved hard boiled egg yolk on the chopped egg white which was on top of a "Russian salad" of gerkins, boiled potatoes and pickled herring. All of this was on a "bed of lettuce leaves" and surrounded by fried noodles! The next dish was pork in sauce - yes pork in a Muslim country - however I did not see any evidence of pork in the Russian Market in Ashbeghat. Somewhere just before we crossed over into Uzbeksistan we stopped in a town at lunch time and had a look round the "bazaar". I found the most delicous dumpling stuffed with vegetables and salads. I have never had anything like that - it was a dream. The dumpling was soft but with a bouncy texture and when it came to choosng the filling I had a Harry met Sally "I'll have what she's having" moment (but with not quite the same build-up!!!). I watched the store holder filling one of these dumplings for somebody else saw how much she paid (some insignificant sum) then made my choice all through hand gesture even to having a tiny bit of the hot chilli on top. The fact that I had an "oh shit" moment immediately after because I left the market at the back gate rather than the front one and had a little bit of difficulty reuniting myself with Archie was more than made up for the moment I sank my teeth into that dumpling!!!!!</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The food we have on the truck is delicious. We have been separated into "cook groups" and we each take it in turn to cook meals. For my </span><span style="font-family: Georgia;">last cook group we did breakfast. We had a lovely lunch on the way here when we stopped at a sacred spring at Nurata. The spring water was a lovely blue-green colour and full of rather large "sacred trout". People take the well water home for sick relatives if they cannot get there to drink it themselves. It was said that Mohammed's brother put his staff into the rocks and the spring burst out but given the fact that it has a reputation as a healing spring and the amount of "cloutie" trees there are going up to Alexander's Fort above the town I would suggest that it has been a sacred spring for a great deal longer than that. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia;">A bit more about the yurt homestay- run by the very enterprising Russians. We met a party of French people from Lyon while we were there and I had quite a good chat to them. They were in Uzbeksistan for 10 days doing a whistle stop tour of the main sites. The morning after our rather rowdy night - it was Anzac day the day we arrived so there was a little celebration for the Aussies and New Zealanders in the evening when the vodka came around the table. It ended with all of us singing our national anthems so I went over the French party and asked if they would sing the Marseillaise for us which they very obligingly did! Then after that we had a truly magic performance of Uzbek classical music from a traditional singer/player on the dutour - a 2 stringed sort of lute/guitar round a campfire. The next day we went to a lake - the largest man-made lake in Central Asia - Lake Aidarkul - where, those who wanted were able to swim (1st swim since a week or so before leaving the UK). A lovely swim it was too, not too deep, not too cold and not too cloudy either. After the swim the enterprising Russians brought us lunch which we shared with the Lyonnais as they came to have a look at the lake too. We had a range of salads, probably what we did not eat the previous evening but delicious all the same and cold boiled potatoes with cold fried fish which had been caught in the lake the previous day. Wonderful! </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Georgia;">We met up with the French party again yesterday in one of the museums and who knows we may yet coincide again in Tashkent. </span></div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-33390301550353992422010-04-28T08:23:00.002+01:002011-04-05T20:59:06.588+01:00Bukhara and the "lengendary Samarkand".....................<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: purple;">Bukhara continued -</span> <span style="color: magenta;">Bukhara is full of puppets and storytelling. I met a puppet maker called ZoZo (though he was not a puppteer) and we had a long talk about puppet making and he showed me how he makes his puppets. He kept talking about "my master" then Iskandar "the master" appeared and interestingly he was not a puppeteer either but a puppet maker. He has some of his puppets in both the Museum of Childhood, Bethnal Green, and the Horniman Museum so when I am back I feel a little trip to London coming on. Later that evening I went to the Puppet Theatre of Bukhara to see a very lively performance telling of a village wedding with the two fathers not agreeing the bride price. The bride's mother bossing everyone around and the bridegroom only appeared at the very end. The part of the bride was part puppet and part young woman (who was also a puppeteer). In the middle of the story all the puppeteers came to the front and gave a lively performance of a traditional wedding with lots of singing and dancing. At one point it was quite sad as all her friends completely took over the wedding presents and started trying the jewellery on, wearing the scarves and generally excluding the bride altogether. This was a sort of little tragedy as the bride was sad that she was leaving her friends and all they were doing was admiring her presents. However all was made up and they all sang a song about how sad they were that she would not be with them anymore. After that the young women went behind the screen again and they became puppeteers and completed the show. They work really hard as when I spoke to one of them afterwards (the daughter of the puppeteer who had trained them) she goes to college in the morning, then works in the afternoon and in the evening she does the puppet shows. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjNDZL58fKWnbWaGjxUibu_5oh9ahFMG65ukoG7DrEVwgtSh4FNIIZIMOKsFjgqaUqTwNgbX0pfNQwPSB3_on1o3-H357OWPvbG4UYjlkC91fSdMhW381MFfy989p3H08868Il7c43F3U/s1600/24.04.2010-BukharaPuppetsZoZo-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjNDZL58fKWnbWaGjxUibu_5oh9ahFMG65ukoG7DrEVwgtSh4FNIIZIMOKsFjgqaUqTwNgbX0pfNQwPSB3_on1o3-H357OWPvbG4UYjlkC91fSdMhW381MFfy989p3H08868Il7c43F3U/s400/24.04.2010-BukharaPuppetsZoZo-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Zozo - the puppet maker</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOucibuFgaGqLRzYMmJu_zgAzMo7ZLq2arzrpksXpWOT8CPJmi1D-1b6s4XNoOH8e_ejberkZXVYUVQo13RM4oPhqzrYHRMF2iqxCBdwVzYdAAicOv9X3LPqQ7j524EWM4z0-7hZ-OQFA/s1600/23.04.2010-BukharaPuppets-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOucibuFgaGqLRzYMmJu_zgAzMo7ZLq2arzrpksXpWOT8CPJmi1D-1b6s4XNoOH8e_ejberkZXVYUVQo13RM4oPhqzrYHRMF2iqxCBdwVzYdAAicOv9X3LPqQ7j524EWM4z0-7hZ-OQFA/s400/23.04.2010-BukharaPuppets-4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The moulds for the puppets</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrS_fuRIMLyqn_PNZwYCmTA8b3Kzc9GMVanAzVD4hH_AgBUDljzhfSmYElwapEGQgd8xXr_1uOzJsIQDGHQdOrWvf6FSWyN60G9h_6_jT-i3CYKjEbZXbsH5jn4C5gmovaXx9HqgncPIE/s1600/23.04.2010-BukharaPuppets-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrS_fuRIMLyqn_PNZwYCmTA8b3Kzc9GMVanAzVD4hH_AgBUDljzhfSmYElwapEGQgd8xXr_1uOzJsIQDGHQdOrWvf6FSWyN60G9h_6_jT-i3CYKjEbZXbsH5jn4C5gmovaXx9HqgncPIE/s400/23.04.2010-BukharaPuppets-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>And the puppets he makes!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In the middle of Bukhara you will find a large pool surrounded by restaurants and mulberry trees, this is a great place to eat - either sitting on a traditional daybed type table or more conventional tables and chairs. Set slightly back from the pool up some steps is a treelined square and there is a statue of the Hodja Nasrudeen on his donkey! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhKswh-i1jbEGvd3VTl82XYJltq6t7Nk4h4axqHjfLDxkiEMz3lGU4XnwLLTD_t-78iCV3Xm96IpfTvoIhuutFw-KRgxl1gCSRjRjCPyGApz-F54_vPj0o_1lcoyMY2_cupMnw6gfpg8/s1600/24.04-Bukhara-TheHodja-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRhKswh-i1jbEGvd3VTl82XYJltq6t7Nk4h4axqHjfLDxkiEMz3lGU4XnwLLTD_t-78iCV3Xm96IpfTvoIhuutFw-KRgxl1gCSRjRjCPyGApz-F54_vPj0o_1lcoyMY2_cupMnw6gfpg8/s400/24.04-Bukhara-TheHodja-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The "Hodja" on his donkey</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Then we were on the road again and this time it was to an "Overnight homestay in yurts in the Kyzylkum Desert with Uzbek families". Actually it was not quite this as I checked with my guide because everyone seemed to be speaking Russian but a very enterprising Russian who has an "yurt village" where people can stay. That was magic and the camel ride was not to bad either though rather alarming when the camel sat down when I was totally unprepared for that! </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><em><u><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;"><strong>The Yurt Camp in the Desert</strong></span></u></em></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZxa1-8k5udJ34R0baYMhP9A4NkVxhQNo__XmfrPNsDu3cEnDtsWr2n1Y2K0ElHnWXx7VIs5dzNpEtVCxU_eZC_FOFAj_LoJaYG8g5tkGKSrfD_6ImKion_skiIY-l0Jg1wzPmHU_XUlU/s1600/26.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZxa1-8k5udJ34R0baYMhP9A4NkVxhQNo__XmfrPNsDu3cEnDtsWr2n1Y2K0ElHnWXx7VIs5dzNpEtVCxU_eZC_FOFAj_LoJaYG8g5tkGKSrfD_6ImKion_skiIY-l0Jg1wzPmHU_XUlU/s400/26.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The yurt camp</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKTKZAi6hKJaOYvSSeO4wgzk_GWVOwrtshzlgQ8zt3QZEuQp-tqMUVIr1f2eDbLTc4NDR_9ydCD8yzJnUiwJTj5N0VI2SqLh_VbR8OFdYhhC5N9p9XnXfJIXplKzqjlOWV7DrIJr65Z98/s1600/25.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKTKZAi6hKJaOYvSSeO4wgzk_GWVOwrtshzlgQ8zt3QZEuQp-tqMUVIr1f2eDbLTc4NDR_9ydCD8yzJnUiwJTj5N0VI2SqLh_VbR8OFdYhhC5N9p9XnXfJIXplKzqjlOWV7DrIJr65Z98/s400/25.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Waiting for the caravan!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjdkDbIjwRyBgYsdS9QOlrgk9WdKVrEZa0cZKObM1GuzwnjqZawSqS5umkX7ZF1C6b8TOZ_J9AfzanZhxdmJYCeMf45hSvber7dezH9MV3HH00koHmRzUYXUIQH3gVFZlcF7i_6qHTFqg/s1600/25.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjdkDbIjwRyBgYsdS9QOlrgk9WdKVrEZa0cZKObM1GuzwnjqZawSqS5umkX7ZF1C6b8TOZ_J9AfzanZhxdmJYCeMf45hSvber7dezH9MV3HH00koHmRzUYXUIQH3gVFZlcF7i_6qHTFqg/s400/25.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-10.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>A look of disdain!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>A desert sunset </em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPxTvg3Pnl4gcHZEpRIzmOxDCVcCg-FvrYegN00q8YyLkIpO0fu2wjHlAFzhQn83aY7-zY0RVGA_8v_dSVc_NN8OSu5z4LHYV-3pG_rnyFWJdvZYmzyFSRw4PprNkK1Zqq17tBEzZAOU/s1600/25.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpPxTvg3Pnl4gcHZEpRIzmOxDCVcCg-FvrYegN00q8YyLkIpO0fu2wjHlAFzhQn83aY7-zY0RVGA_8v_dSVc_NN8OSu5z4LHYV-3pG_rnyFWJdvZYmzyFSRw4PprNkK1Zqq17tBEzZAOU/s400/25.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-17.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>A few moments later .........</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2lyhSpxfCT6LlJxQYCvhdaz9Tqi0MmDyWWd80eEylt5CLf-bI764MRTxJmMIuJ-XOepz9KBxLuYayDUqBossP9NN4gypSOuCvODFcM4b4q-jecLyhbyVQDL5h-VJ8cF0kObcipUTKqIk/s1600/25.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2lyhSpxfCT6LlJxQYCvhdaz9Tqi0MmDyWWd80eEylt5CLf-bI764MRTxJmMIuJ-XOepz9KBxLuYayDUqBossP9NN4gypSOuCvODFcM4b4q-jecLyhbyVQDL5h-VJ8cF0kObcipUTKqIk/s400/25.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-22.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>A few hours later!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKr_tHY9YhkzuWH_JW_vbBaL7E5nU9VCujLpIeZ7eM4uCmrcepvXkR_0GEZroqq9pDb-kk7A6w-l6_Em6GCzv43tIAJD3rX_RgdtJSPZ_ZwfZpH1CdqjSwDu41f-Rea_nzDjSfdhTuhqk/s1600/26.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKr_tHY9YhkzuWH_JW_vbBaL7E5nU9VCujLpIeZ7eM4uCmrcepvXkR_0GEZroqq9pDb-kk7A6w-l6_Em6GCzv43tIAJD3rX_RgdtJSPZ_ZwfZpH1CdqjSwDu41f-Rea_nzDjSfdhTuhqk/s400/26.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The morning after the night before - a rather quiet breakfast!</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFO0xeOYsvabbeQP7Kp3ZbsNEDZavqa9ggKsnU17b9xmZjLGJcvmW2iYYzgM8z0LY58Zuseo3OBTLfkmk_J6SwwfQmiYFo24xa2jucfEiKZl-gEXhYD5CuNjrHkZLJP-uNwsq6mlweiVk/s1600/26.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFO0xeOYsvabbeQP7Kp3ZbsNEDZavqa9ggKsnU17b9xmZjLGJcvmW2iYYzgM8z0LY58Zuseo3OBTLfkmk_J6SwwfQmiYFo24xa2jucfEiKZl-gEXhYD5CuNjrHkZLJP-uNwsq6mlweiVk/s400/26.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>A view over the desert</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaX8HchVgo-ZBpN1gqnwsw3-OmnS0iOza5aHxSl60jmlbHhc9CWVURq9HluKuRqMch1m1ypXdLjpHm_1bQ_gIfSU2v3kxtjlVruuU4D5EUHKwNvSvYh8rf6jKO5Q3USkbENZGPtQDKBE/s1600/26.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaX8HchVgo-ZBpN1gqnwsw3-OmnS0iOza5aHxSl60jmlbHhc9CWVURq9HluKuRqMch1m1ypXdLjpHm_1bQ_gIfSU2v3kxtjlVruuU4D5EUHKwNvSvYh8rf6jKO5Q3USkbENZGPtQDKBE/s400/26.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Packing up, leaving camp and ........</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwk90VAf0UZn4ac1K5C0qbbBxwUtkrC189NfUTi0b1mIiGvWUb271qWqscF-XaNxCPECsnpGgNNZFpR2jc3DeeprwTEAzmsmS5z9KS60XzoATBouwQrxFXDKrWaHKnMB6G60ebZN6yJIg/s1600/26.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwk90VAf0UZn4ac1K5C0qbbBxwUtkrC189NfUTi0b1mIiGvWUb271qWqscF-XaNxCPECsnpGgNNZFpR2jc3DeeprwTEAzmsmS5z9KS60XzoATBouwQrxFXDKrWaHKnMB6G60ebZN6yJIg/s400/26.04-YangikazganYurtCamp-3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>on the road to Samarkhand..........</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Samarkand - Yesterday (which I think was Tuesday) was a tour round the sights of Samarkand - and what sights. The Registan Sqare which has maddressas on 3 sides - all of them beautifully restored and decorated with tiles the whole way round the exterior walls as well as the insides. Last night a small group of us went to a local production of a "wedding story" (not disimilar to the puppets) done with fantastic energy by a group of performers. I got some great photos from this. But when it comes to the buildings the highlight for me was the Mausoleum of Amu Timur (or Tamberlane). Quite simple from the outside but inside richly decorated with gold. His tomb is surrounded by other Timurs including Uleg Beg (the astronomer who was murdered by his son who did not approve of his astromical research). Timur's tomb is plain black stone, very simple but to oneside and high on a pole is a horse tail the sign of his people or clan. The atmosphere was very intense but at the same time very quiet and truly awesome. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Next off to Taskent so there will be more to write from there.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">IMPRESSIONS:</span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<ul><li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Steppe at last - very flat covered with low bushes and grass tufts - grey with patches of bright green.</span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Stopped at a Caravanserai - the water supply a domed building on the other side of the road. The trading dome an octagonal raised platform and the supporting arches just low plinths to mark where they were. </span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">All those lives, stories, trading, merchants, goods, luxury and bartering that went on there.</span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Yurt stay- lovely dawn with a few pink clouds in the sky.</span></div></li>
<li><div align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Listening to overnight rain in Samarkand pattering down.</span></div></li>
</ul>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-60441324584379832882010-04-24T07:35:00.001+01:002011-04-05T21:59:11.563+01:00Khiva and Bukhara...........................<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">While in Khiva coming round a corner on to the main square I was confronted by a group of men wearing Uzbek coats, fur lined metal helmets with swords, spears and shields. For a moment I thought that I had done a time warp. I know that Khiva is a UN world heritage site but surely this was taking it too far! Then the penny dropped - we were not in an Uzbek timewarp but there was a film crew and actors. The giveaway was one of the "soldiers" with a script trying to get his lines and being distracted by a group of tourists! A chat to the extras who assured me that they were "actors" revealed that the film was about Omar Khayyam, who spent time in Bukhara - but Khiva makes a better filmset. But to begin with it was one of those little surreal moments that seem to be part of this journey. The director and the director's assisstant, however, were not pleased with this disctraction and kept trying to chivvy the actors along but they were more than happy for the distraction and wanted to pose for photos with the "tourists". A bit later I was catching up with the group and came across a "guard" slouching along with his spear dragging on the ground. I promptly went into "I surrender" and he sharply drew up and went "on guard" this was followed by laughs and a wave and he went back to being a soldier. </span><br />
</div><div style="color: #674ea7; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Another long trek across the desert in Archie. The roads are rather poor and we go slowly but the advantage of this is being able to see the landscape. I found the desert surprisingly green. In fact is is all shades of green at the moment as there has been some rain. Also some interesting plants - don't know the names. At one of our lunch stops we saw a group of men on the other side of road with a breakdown. Their engine had burst - the only way to describe it - the whole engine appeared to be by the side of the road. I realised this when I saw one of them waving a head gasket - at that point I thought "this is serious". They appeared to be quite unfazed by the whole thing and were patiently putting it back together. Though they were happy when we offered them some sealant along with water and food. </span><br />
</div><div style="color: #674ea7; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Bukhara......................</span></b></span></div><div style="color: #674ea7; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: magenta; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">To be continued but it did involve a puppet performance. </span></span><b><span style="color: magenta;"> </span></b></span></span> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18A1ZZidRcF8wcl57OtCqV53ZN30wTIp2e5KnXVw5aqA-VALfkTy41abBb6inC-HUmAGw_xuHwPf8lEYDdId2QNmuTZui7_qF2oczc3COyh1XZxjn3x_NyZPCLpat4kZzvWwgn_OP9Os/s1600/24.04.2010-BukharaPuppetsTheatre-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18A1ZZidRcF8wcl57OtCqV53ZN30wTIp2e5KnXVw5aqA-VALfkTy41abBb6inC-HUmAGw_xuHwPf8lEYDdId2QNmuTZui7_qF2oczc3COyh1XZxjn3x_NyZPCLpat4kZzvWwgn_OP9Os/s400/24.04.2010-BukharaPuppetsTheatre-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The display board for the Bukhara Puppet Theatre</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaSS-itlEgnqhcNrwaB0C51m_VNuD-B3wU_8lVIY4st00yOd4EMvAmElKprPJLkiHfwQKk2lY480yDkLYSh31pM5HeIA6jirfvm40I0T4Kyh2-X7GEg9CasHDHfV0LpT6Kaf13LEZ1MY/s1600/DSCN0418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCaSS-itlEgnqhcNrwaB0C51m_VNuD-B3wU_8lVIY4st00yOd4EMvAmElKprPJLkiHfwQKk2lY480yDkLYSh31pM5HeIA6jirfvm40I0T4Kyh2-X7GEg9CasHDHfV0LpT6Kaf13LEZ1MY/s400/DSCN0418.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The "folk" opera performance</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilAPcZ5XOWVMsseYq_-3n9-fv6sxtIinZeWKbHBQR4GL3IDmO78ix3OWMhLQ9jSQfBJc6QphP4eefbUKkd3t5LdONoenugCrmClIDekHSd6iCZbg5dhjDuMZDZQXVhciMRENlM_GJIjSA/s1600/DSCN0453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilAPcZ5XOWVMsseYq_-3n9-fv6sxtIinZeWKbHBQR4GL3IDmO78ix3OWMhLQ9jSQfBJc6QphP4eefbUKkd3t5LdONoenugCrmClIDekHSd6iCZbg5dhjDuMZDZQXVhciMRENlM_GJIjSA/s400/DSCN0453.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_ob9lKHqcgKnoLIPeHPz5joDPPMPrxbyNm0hQ7VKtFpQDO5L5QahReGvoilVozYRAF_2G2ZydslNrpjZKVPQJAr1Pza5Ie3HuFi7SpxGti5errQCSpghmZlaFKStndi9jzsH8ZxbbjA/s1600/DSCN0463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv_ob9lKHqcgKnoLIPeHPz5joDPPMPrxbyNm0hQ7VKtFpQDO5L5QahReGvoilVozYRAF_2G2ZydslNrpjZKVPQJAr1Pza5Ie3HuFi7SpxGti5errQCSpghmZlaFKStndi9jzsH8ZxbbjA/s400/DSCN0463.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>In full swing</em></span></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy6SOaIyjqc0crqvbQ-9ZDI44fRtUBjxp4EVfHjBMPrxfimmcMeAlmGhU8QTpzJpySggD-PMzqImR64UoJ-' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="color: #674ea7; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #674ea7; text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="color: #674ea7; text-align: justify;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzuYnhjRR5sz6-Hvu65iiMkPQHPHmKMKYzW8pxo2VnYDyg8O3QA6WjbMaQI66whyIkkNNFEVO0kerd1EofTpQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="color: #674ea7; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"> <em><span style="color: purple;">A tiny little bit of the "folk" opera</span></em></span></div><div style="color: #674ea7; text-align: justify;"> </div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-87974611563252684552010-04-21T13:01:00.102+01:002011-04-06T00:09:17.099+01:00Iran, Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan...............................<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33WrIw11wuQJW5UR-hH4Xpo563DtGSQRTp0xAJ0AxYdtAP1vdVCtnKkQXVEkRWM0eg-sjf_m6p3LPZ-ozMjXVbDlJseNgdPE8C1IuyrhKMlQYdTGaG36XqUOeko5I7f-rLQgQZ1ryWQU/s1600/14.04-MountainsBeyondTehran-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33WrIw11wuQJW5UR-hH4Xpo563DtGSQRTp0xAJ0AxYdtAP1vdVCtnKkQXVEkRWM0eg-sjf_m6p3LPZ-ozMjXVbDlJseNgdPE8C1IuyrhKMlQYdTGaG36XqUOeko5I7f-rLQgQZ1ryWQU/s400/14.04-MountainsBeyondTehran-4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The valley of the fish farms ........</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBc99fSjm1Ob0KlVs9ybf-Ren00icMtcTIrC8Wd__7Y2JKityymFSXIJPfbRVFzpjed9nvCPgw7IDQzTIhNoMeZD-vf5ey3E3ad3f2rZouehoyt_oiOBVZaQ3gpll5GNwFIe9XBHtE2k/s1600/14.04-IranianFishFarms-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKBc99fSjm1Ob0KlVs9ybf-Ren00icMtcTIrC8Wd__7Y2JKityymFSXIJPfbRVFzpjed9nvCPgw7IDQzTIhNoMeZD-vf5ey3E3ad3f2rZouehoyt_oiOBVZaQ3gpll5GNwFIe9XBHtE2k/s400/14.04-IranianFishFarms-5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Our fish supper fished ............</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtPdi1ikNMUYMvJnScHNIgxiqH1mu9SmP1frp3G_5bEtU6lVSGaB-3VRRcNCs9tXBY3SKdkqJtggjilx4hAj8aTB5i32hJtCziZb267JLTns4l-_Qt8dpNrwAqRj0NjWTRtSh65YmPek/s1600/14.04-IranianFishFarms-9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVtPdi1ikNMUYMvJnScHNIgxiqH1mu9SmP1frp3G_5bEtU6lVSGaB-3VRRcNCs9tXBY3SKdkqJtggjilx4hAj8aTB5i32hJtCziZb267JLTns4l-_Qt8dpNrwAqRj0NjWTRtSh65YmPek/s400/14.04-IranianFishFarms-9.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>...... and gutted</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXNYb6-4lVajaYyGP36fpTh_JlGxtrVLNSn4nq49buCd1fovQ3qCpV7SARJ6agGVAJgWaM-7kBoKzHUcw6aQ96Kea97QWR04JXg-DRGHIV2kAxITG6-oGABQWF3Da68hafe2WTizRq88/s1600/14.04-IranianFishFarms-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKXNYb6-4lVajaYyGP36fpTh_JlGxtrVLNSn4nq49buCd1fovQ3qCpV7SARJ6agGVAJgWaM-7kBoKzHUcw6aQ96Kea97QWR04JXg-DRGHIV2kAxITG6-oGABQWF3Da68hafe2WTizRq88/s400/14.04-IranianFishFarms-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Fish tanks</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It is a week since Iran and so much has happened. I have not been abe to log in, explain later on in this entry. Leaving Tehran was fairly easy and we went through some stunningly beautiful scenery in the Golestan National Park. After the flat, dusty desert the trees, water, greenery was such a change. Interestingly we all thought that the scenery reminded us of somewhere from earer to our respective homes. For me it was the Ardennes and interestingly enough there were masses of vinyards (only producing vinagre or eating grapes, of course!) </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVfYHDCPOkpwf63NDDHBixO_1a6ct3tJ51gOAR4GkaTCnd3azygiav04yuBB6T4aQgaMwKRU9is-QjaKLKAckkCgpKdSYdLV71GiG3gAQlsqwEGI3S9-CnK8ZkJnPBee8PLXFt5MPrM4/s1600/15.04-GolestanNationalPark-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVfYHDCPOkpwf63NDDHBixO_1a6ct3tJ51gOAR4GkaTCnd3azygiav04yuBB6T4aQgaMwKRU9is-QjaKLKAckkCgpKdSYdLV71GiG3gAQlsqwEGI3S9-CnK8ZkJnPBee8PLXFt5MPrM4/s400/15.04-GolestanNationalPark-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The landscape so reminicent of France complete with the"ghost" of a Drago traveller!</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZeavETn7rHZOHbuB0izdR9FPFQl5ocYpo9YCvlzi87knTXgwMamGeQWuAqs4B_61Eapd1lE1IzOULL_7BVSvjgtSNYbqnJAAtPuq83NKjOCSUUbLxx4Scx0calUzB4l14XXCbr4Ybh0/s1600/15.04-GolestanNationalPark-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZeavETn7rHZOHbuB0izdR9FPFQl5ocYpo9YCvlzi87knTXgwMamGeQWuAqs4B_61Eapd1lE1IzOULL_7BVSvjgtSNYbqnJAAtPuq83NKjOCSUUbLxx4Scx0calUzB4l14XXCbr4Ybh0/s400/15.04-GolestanNationalPark-8.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Don't tell me that some of this doesn't end up </em></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>in a wine bottle not a vinaigre bottle!</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6PqzkAhITDEeAEIItPaE7sOsPMDS-tQIDYvPm3T-jUEY6EtsNOg4mcF3YlGdvOrigJio1K3x4H9iDGvI8NhPWqcsSyOQ1JuQEocaoWXiTL3hTheAWc3jSvexXFyBE9s1KlTprrwKrT0/s1600/14.04-MountDamavand-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6PqzkAhITDEeAEIItPaE7sOsPMDS-tQIDYvPm3T-jUEY6EtsNOg4mcF3YlGdvOrigJio1K3x4H9iDGvI8NhPWqcsSyOQ1JuQEocaoWXiTL3hTheAWc3jSvexXFyBE9s1KlTprrwKrT0/s400/14.04-MountDamavand-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>My first view ever of a dormant volcano, Mount Damavand ................</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcQeCgUBd86mT_HUu6fdJtVEMoE0ScKyYHDaVP9W4NSW8IYA519upOCLnDGzud2ToKQV_58skWmZ6tpeXXGjLspOXkj1UrzyieDhgRAH7W3L-JPr8WbtumniFA1aphno3MM21c0SWFRs/s1600/14.04-MountDamavand-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrcQeCgUBd86mT_HUu6fdJtVEMoE0ScKyYHDaVP9W4NSW8IYA519upOCLnDGzud2ToKQV_58skWmZ6tpeXXGjLspOXkj1UrzyieDhgRAH7W3L-JPr8WbtumniFA1aphno3MM21c0SWFRs/s400/14.04-MountDamavand-4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>.... with that tantalising, teasing little waft of smoke - when next?</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPt0-aRO_cUaZHBZUFi9ySpCLcMuhGzaUB-hPYT2qQPQKS89r4B9XD0_KGTXWXt3tczXWXyLK4crVWw4ODrMMSF659qJG-bTAgvpyme8tK7nV-x4UXsfNdp1bYSX9jnWGpm5nb9NUOeAA/s1600/14.04-TheCaspianSea-9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPt0-aRO_cUaZHBZUFi9ySpCLcMuhGzaUB-hPYT2qQPQKS89r4B9XD0_KGTXWXt3tczXWXyLK4crVWw4ODrMMSF659qJG-bTAgvpyme8tK7nV-x4UXsfNdp1bYSX9jnWGpm5nb9NUOeAA/s400/14.04-TheCaspianSea-9.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Ah! .... the places of romance and the places of history .....</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVI4nk1sA5vO6114jaImDilmXIn-XraFn4nRSIL547cIE3itfM4AvcRdpd19YBlsxBW4iK75n4EEwvbPAUGr9QMaAJfAotR5-xRF1f5uK2rvm7YRlYFplX5G6ZlldBBIFBjiIOZEPc_Y/s1600/14.04-TheCaspianSea-11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVI4nk1sA5vO6114jaImDilmXIn-XraFn4nRSIL547cIE3itfM4AvcRdpd19YBlsxBW4iK75n4EEwvbPAUGr9QMaAJfAotR5-xRF1f5uK2rvm7YRlYFplX5G6ZlldBBIFBjiIOZEPc_Y/s400/14.04-TheCaspianSea-11.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>the Caspian Sea</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-m274YmqOjsR3I64owpdgjCDyGVGqw6feImkaN18k5T5SBujLmfeWRFjTI6P6bb9cWUysla4GpTxTcx1gZ8hx_BGqoemt_AN8sUApSlrkkf5E_IZQQ5GUDTg5H1Ns3VwH5w7qN3T17o/s1600/DSCN0214.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-m274YmqOjsR3I64owpdgjCDyGVGqw6feImkaN18k5T5SBujLmfeWRFjTI6P6bb9cWUysla4GpTxTcx1gZ8hx_BGqoemt_AN8sUApSlrkkf5E_IZQQ5GUDTg5H1Ns3VwH5w7qN3T17o/s400/DSCN0214.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Iran does not import all the rice that is eaten there ........</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSP_bUoiFejKeDCdWflBPieAvEfYT4kkCBiBYcQf8OH1sDOJ7MdHsYf0Mrv5jrM7vjahAHsp4lFyOUIt8skVbjJNbt5n69ZMGqz6Z_6dSNY7YNPix_IeNb93a1vBT-ffbpWTwKQe5qtK8/s1600/14.04-IranianRicePaddies-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSP_bUoiFejKeDCdWflBPieAvEfYT4kkCBiBYcQf8OH1sDOJ7MdHsYf0Mrv5jrM7vjahAHsp4lFyOUIt8skVbjJNbt5n69ZMGqz6Z_6dSNY7YNPix_IeNb93a1vBT-ffbpWTwKQe5qtK8/s400/14.04-IranianRicePaddies-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>... rice paddies under an uncertain sky.</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We had a photostop to take pix of Iran's volcano (sorry forgotten the name!) but fortunately dormant at the moment that we passed it! Then down a valley where I think every single trout farm in Iran was situated - so we had the most delicious meal of fresh trout that evening in our car-park campsite. We parked up in a carpark in the middle of a town, having tried the regional Governor's place on the outskirts of town, but he said no! The local Mosque provided our "facilities". The tarmac was a bit hard but nobody bothered us apart from the usual interest. Next morning we headed off towards the border. We hotelled it that night and when we got to our hotel there was a wedding in full go. After a long wait we crossed the border and entered Turkmenistan and headed down to Ashbaghat.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: small;"><b>TURKMENISTAN.........</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A surreal city of white marble rising from the moutains on one side and the desert on the other. After Iran the lack of litter was almost in your face. In the morning, and at other times of the day there were groups of women, usually "supervised" by a man sweeping the streets with brooms. So that is how the streets came to be so clean! The previous President of Turkmenistan called himself "Turkmenbashi" or leader of the Turkmen people. He was very keen on white marble and arranged for a tremendous monument of himself to be built out of white marble topped by a huge golden statue which turns so that his outstretched arms always follow the course of the sun. This is truly amazing and indicates a man who had supreme confidence in himself! After Iran it seemed very quiet, nobody approached us in the street to talk and everything seemed very well ordered. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpS9igCRtBttwamjITZCn4uOKMgsSVMhhKnt4q-lgI7k83rQ_UsEfPEVtnBlk0Zs2-N9uhYYqagrBJIGv62a_lMwuGDyr57PXfzyiDMPI8hBAj-JWS21Y0j1Im_w87HD2EFwnP7bYkLs/s1600/16.04-Ashbeghat-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPpS9igCRtBttwamjITZCn4uOKMgsSVMhhKnt4q-lgI7k83rQ_UsEfPEVtnBlk0Zs2-N9uhYYqagrBJIGv62a_lMwuGDyr57PXfzyiDMPI8hBAj-JWS21Y0j1Im_w87HD2EFwnP7bYkLs/s400/16.04-Ashbeghat-5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The surreal, white marble city</span></em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4M-Sga-DlL66rmmqIMAcBeJ6Q8z3Vg3XScWpBSeuJJSZLVXrW_axNw5j7Y1GKucELn7gFMQDm2JUIvLYrAkhbQuuz1MCiptN-WnuIFJF-PG2ZyIR3B19M1oLlDwYy_DviCoFuuqC6kgc/s1600/17.04-Ashbeghat-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4M-Sga-DlL66rmmqIMAcBeJ6Q8z3Vg3XScWpBSeuJJSZLVXrW_axNw5j7Y1GKucELn7gFMQDm2JUIvLYrAkhbQuuz1MCiptN-WnuIFJF-PG2ZyIR3B19M1oLlDwYy_DviCoFuuqC6kgc/s400/17.04-Ashbeghat-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>.... of Ashbeghat</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1B0dII_ON1CUD09-WxYBBajR1IMskE5OGWcwhJoz1OO-c_XkBgQPGQGzyKlJdae8vnn3n4MBisGGb1wvrMKsr7steE1VFjcJ5H4olPUjGyl6rLiYJmj18PBC6QeMOIOq5vZQFBwWlJE/s1600/17.04-Ashbeghat-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1B0dII_ON1CUD09-WxYBBajR1IMskE5OGWcwhJoz1OO-c_XkBgQPGQGzyKlJdae8vnn3n4MBisGGb1wvrMKsr7steE1VFjcJ5H4olPUjGyl6rLiYJmj18PBC6QeMOIOq5vZQFBwWlJE/s400/17.04-Ashbeghat-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>... a dictator's dream rising from the ashes and dust .......</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6Gj1Jyvv85y-qZcspD_rgynjZL9b0XkRyRtDHE06pkuoqqoN4wqpWUuYXgopNlU1ZnCAYObq_2OomWuBJvIm21wwd0BI8GY8KLJFRE1YMLFcQbijmjd978ioOXepWEm2HH4Q0y8t5Sk/s1600/17.04-Ashbeghat-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6Gj1Jyvv85y-qZcspD_rgynjZL9b0XkRyRtDHE06pkuoqqoN4wqpWUuYXgopNlU1ZnCAYObq_2OomWuBJvIm21wwd0BI8GY8KLJFRE1YMLFcQbijmjd978ioOXepWEm2HH4Q0y8t5Sk/s400/17.04-Ashbeghat-3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>.... of a devastating earthquake.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsdDZvWVOV0WiW6hN5nfVsXYsTlJ73KhGcc2H6gbKfaathXrHjUfC16i4g2LOqgNRqtOEhqUuqD10z_dVHPg96QnNcIuQ5mYI9YSP_LZT6Cdk2VlIPmVdF05L4AQ2do4Cl3zDv_TTGMP8/s1600/17.04-Ashbeghat-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsdDZvWVOV0WiW6hN5nfVsXYsTlJ73KhGcc2H6gbKfaathXrHjUfC16i4g2LOqgNRqtOEhqUuqD10z_dVHPg96QnNcIuQ5mYI9YSP_LZT6Cdk2VlIPmVdF05L4AQ2do4Cl3zDv_TTGMP8/s400/17.04-Ashbeghat-6.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>But kept so clean [Turkmenbashi, the former dictator,on the right]</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLtLw0CvB7yguKk39VO8IInetBU0DEmkZqWsl6PIv0xgNmFxaGzz7ypPMXZYu8BhpBM1KzwxEUluGPk5cVccLKO_1i4mnxPfwJX4sjTbxIJ9NEsFyDT5B6rNZqVh_vHZyNCzQCP3oUuoo/s1600/17.04-Ashbeghat-12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLtLw0CvB7yguKk39VO8IInetBU0DEmkZqWsl6PIv0xgNmFxaGzz7ypPMXZYu8BhpBM1KzwxEUluGPk5cVccLKO_1i4mnxPfwJX4sjTbxIJ9NEsFyDT5B6rNZqVh_vHZyNCzQCP3oUuoo/s400/17.04-Ashbeghat-12.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>... because teams of women sweep the streets with house brushes.....</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5pQzwu6TlfQqT4ekCw7GOkqYHDWyzE12Mu7-TrZDW0AGI6BR05BmNH-YGHU-pu2tRDVbqVokADmc8we5Qht-UwazUYRTwhGL_UIXX-2E5a3AuUGFNuXPrTZ3w3npTMLt_NnRYwgbAAis/s1600/17.04-Ashbeghat-17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5pQzwu6TlfQqT4ekCw7GOkqYHDWyzE12Mu7-TrZDW0AGI6BR05BmNH-YGHU-pu2tRDVbqVokADmc8we5Qht-UwazUYRTwhGL_UIXX-2E5a3AuUGFNuXPrTZ3w3npTMLt_NnRYwgbAAis/s400/17.04-Ashbeghat-17.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>but fortunately did not sweep this little person away.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHE0re5U3XZcEA2qf0XxzmEQ97cuHNLL5iij1LLveEgRCGAAzEoJH7_ZC0WYy0Rc4ImfwSs6vnoVWwmpaR9MyrTO12a_o91b8vT7jYBfayl636sqzsyqBfpJPDm4e2XTcVF7gk2kmfR8E/s1600/17.04-Ashbeghat-18.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHE0re5U3XZcEA2qf0XxzmEQ97cuHNLL5iij1LLveEgRCGAAzEoJH7_ZC0WYy0Rc4ImfwSs6vnoVWwmpaR9MyrTO12a_o91b8vT7jYBfayl636sqzsyqBfpJPDm4e2XTcVF7gk2kmfR8E/s400/17.04-Ashbeghat-18.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Ah yes, they do a good line in cakes too!</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">So going to the Sunday market was a compete contrast to the city. There everything bustled in the huge market place where it seemed that anything could be bought or sold. The animal market was an eye opener - to see a camel being craned into the back of a lorry so only its head stuck out over the sides or a calf being put into the backseat of a car.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5oa6c_FjTAEP41EpVCjwNG_0zzQQfvYRIQixKrJMbwFYJoGfuNTmSsVhJmup1dBAqOmMbx6rscKaruSrszb_GiiRvpj1RLI3qIbjY2SQo0egEKkxbXExFoR2JtVJ3DfQOAu4xyAdND_M/s1600/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5oa6c_FjTAEP41EpVCjwNG_0zzQQfvYRIQixKrJMbwFYJoGfuNTmSsVhJmup1dBAqOmMbx6rscKaruSrszb_GiiRvpj1RLI3qIbjY2SQo0egEKkxbXExFoR2JtVJ3DfQOAu4xyAdND_M/s400/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Ashbaghat Sunday Market where all good containers go to die.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfaWWduDWCGbBJmbzBeGcUqxI3QXJs2-_gL2xqv9kBAbrsUGmy4cMFjHJxkE8TOl6mgobRDJhgX796UIWjWBm3ARZDjTp6rIIQZiCN1Tgi_dW0jMMkc4yx6MLNDbQDf00BNWznCWYWs5U/s1600/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfaWWduDWCGbBJmbzBeGcUqxI3QXJs2-_gL2xqv9kBAbrsUGmy4cMFjHJxkE8TOl6mgobRDJhgX796UIWjWBm3ARZDjTp6rIIQZiCN1Tgi_dW0jMMkc4yx6MLNDbQDf00BNWznCWYWs5U/s400/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>How to get a camel in the back of a lorry in 5 easy steps ........</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2Re2qkIpxjZQS_upeJUeUtmnGy4kA7gjPigr5LZElYgCY7nHhXhUjHNOLVFHXRTPihhRs_MqampuBzoQduij254L8BjwqW-FwLXlqu6vRxCIskLGeYZuS8cbw-YA80_0mwQsK0uNwgQ/s1600/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy2Re2qkIpxjZQS_upeJUeUtmnGy4kA7gjPigr5LZElYgCY7nHhXhUjHNOLVFHXRTPihhRs_MqampuBzoQduij254L8BjwqW-FwLXlqu6vRxCIskLGeYZuS8cbw-YA80_0mwQsK0uNwgQ/s400/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>.......... not for the faint hearted but at the same time ...........</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqYQfHIHyASOuejo-uv47MX2NTRj5nhrN8xcptVcSNQDKR1UYvkhD5pIt-SxsiSXeEU0vmBu-fJgBTCLXxrhi8gFpuUipm4VPxNRiTOEPb_7CW6WO_UnjnLHNmvMaDP5PoSuhBXLjF-sE/s1600/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqYQfHIHyASOuejo-uv47MX2NTRj5nhrN8xcptVcSNQDKR1UYvkhD5pIt-SxsiSXeEU0vmBu-fJgBTCLXxrhi8gFpuUipm4VPxNRiTOEPb_7CW6WO_UnjnLHNmvMaDP5PoSuhBXLjF-sE/s400/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-6.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>... these animals are somebody's livelihood and ............</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yoKIXKfzIxnKhyphenhyphenL-SB5xoqwrA8o_WGOzeuZEESkE7a4n2YmISnHzd4YpYABxsaIWjHC3J4OEvZv2o5tGs9H1qCL63rNCUgnL0gvriH8Lm3qguFleVjP60VFmvV2mR8uqqwzRiZlYBxk/s1600/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3yoKIXKfzIxnKhyphenhyphenL-SB5xoqwrA8o_WGOzeuZEESkE7a4n2YmISnHzd4YpYABxsaIWjHC3J4OEvZv2o5tGs9H1qCL63rNCUgnL0gvriH8Lm3qguFleVjP60VFmvV2mR8uqqwzRiZlYBxk/s400/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-8.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>.... and are a capital investment</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTRwq05YHLrHbnzSzd54LwRYuBjnyl9UQUpESpq2JWsT2II7OjwXQfSkTy4SVsBq2ktMJrsSYODIiQJb3avq6KwZXq_-cViIxWB6cOYDvUVMluGXQPCECcomh79aP0gkrJeF5iaaethWE/s1600/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTRwq05YHLrHbnzSzd54LwRYuBjnyl9UQUpESpq2JWsT2II7OjwXQfSkTy4SVsBq2ktMJrsSYODIiQJb3avq6KwZXq_-cViIxWB6cOYDvUVMluGXQPCECcomh79aP0gkrJeF5iaaethWE/s400/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-15.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>.... and from what I saw looked ........</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_SuYnCufCLOCQCJ6ubVryfayyv5cJVdXogG24bi1H-5Wgmp8ubaOtKr2kFP5_zrGqsjV6-PnjqGl7NJ_dKByQQAt8s27GFYjjtQ3p1FU4-rkbOZisJ0EuDOpcVkHeTqEB3VD3ui6h2E/s1600/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_SuYnCufCLOCQCJ6ubVryfayyv5cJVdXogG24bi1H-5Wgmp8ubaOtKr2kFP5_zrGqsjV6-PnjqGl7NJ_dKByQQAt8s27GFYjjtQ3p1FU4-rkbOZisJ0EuDOpcVkHeTqEB3VD3ui6h2E/s400/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-13.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>..... healthy and well cared for ............</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAQfi1Zyy5qqZRvCJfb9hPstaFzygT50kpv0_NiTzMt1l8vD2DARn7OKNJF-_U59D_kFgNssBxRzP0qi5lut2W3j_fHLA-Rf6ucLvTLTXk4dBfxhqgLab2BnFErbECtu9ter-fMHpcMk/s1600/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuAQfi1Zyy5qqZRvCJfb9hPstaFzygT50kpv0_NiTzMt1l8vD2DARn7OKNJF-_U59D_kFgNssBxRzP0qi5lut2W3j_fHLA-Rf6ucLvTLTXk4dBfxhqgLab2BnFErbECtu9ter-fMHpcMk/s400/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-11.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>..... even if the market appeared a bit chaotic.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxu_9iI_cTWagZ_1x_YGB2-AynmwaQqZn7QoMZ5i-i5M0JPvrLOjGU6FrwZxdx5fq5yVR9vaFTDgdIpQp-az15O4h51F8TKtTICNiigKSyQ8wBaaMapMkHTwMQBdsbV4fVRdipAoIICk/s1600/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-16.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsxu_9iI_cTWagZ_1x_YGB2-AynmwaQqZn7QoMZ5i-i5M0JPvrLOjGU6FrwZxdx5fq5yVR9vaFTDgdIpQp-az15O4h51F8TKtTICNiigKSyQ8wBaaMapMkHTwMQBdsbV4fVRdipAoIICk/s400/18.04-AshbeghatSundayMarket-16.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">A last view of the market before heading out to the desert.</span></em></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After this more desert but for me it was much more how I imagined desert to be - sand dunes disappearing into the distance, yet surprisingly green. When we took our "pee breaks" we were told to check for scorpions (more of this later) and snakes before squatting! There was a campsite in a desert truckstop which sadly was going to be closed in 4 days time (there had been several of these on the way - small, empty houses by te side of the road with holes knocked in the walls. The governement apears to discourage this sort of enterprise. This one despite the imminent closure was very welcoming and also offered sleeping accomodation to those that wanted. Then the most amazing thing happened - during the drive we had stoped at a couple of natural gas craters where there had been drilling. One filled with water and the other with bubbling mud as the gas made its way to the surface. But the 3rd one (at <b style="color: #674ea7; font-weight: normal;">Darvaza</b>) we were to see was way off ther road along a desert track Our guide flagged down a passing truck (ex Russian army 6 wheel drive) and after the nogociation of a small fee the drivers said they would take us. Actually they were on their way home to beyond Ashbaghat but the small fee persuaded them to do it - also despite being Turkmeni lorry drivers they did not know of the crater's existence. As it got dark and with the help of a step ladder we all piled into this huge truck (standing room only) and made our way down the road. When the 2 Queensland ladies got into the truck they did the most fantastic "camel in a truck" impersonation replicating to the last bray exactly what we had seen that morning at the animal market - even down to the heads sticking up over the sides of the lorry! It was an awesome performance - fortunately captured on video. At this point the guys driving us there may well have had doubt about the whole outing- and possibly wondered if they should be taking us to see a natural gas crater or to Turkmenistan's psychiatric hospital!!! As we cruised through the desert along the an track we were in a queue of lorries going to work at another gas well. One of the lorries in front got bogged down in the sand and the next thing we were flying off the track and across sand as if we were on a motorway - it was absolutely thrilling to be riding sand dunes and I was so sorry that the lorry unbogged itself and we rejoined the track. Then the crater - oh..... what a sight. A huge crater in the middle of the desert aboiut 40 feet deep - on fire. It has been on fire for over 40 years following a drilling accident in Soviet times and drilling operation went wrong and the well collapsed, caught fire and has burned ever since. As I am not having much luck with downloading photos, despite having bought extra space I will load all these photos when I get back hopefully by the end of July so that you can see what I am on about. But this certainly has been a unique experience and a memory I shall treasure and I think I found the ride to the crater as exciting, if not more so, than seeing the crater itself and that was exciting enough. Oh... what a day that was. Our final day in Turkmenistan was very "cultural" as we went to the site of Konye Urgench - a superb mausoleum and also the tallest minaret/building in Central Asia at 63metres (and 20 shorter than when it was built a long time ago - check the internet or a guide book for exact details- mine are on Archie at the moment) until Turkmenbashi built his enormous statue. That night we found a campsite by the side of the road - our guide certainly earned his money as he delath with the police, a farmer and an immigration officer just so that we did not have to move on - unlike Iran where camping appears to be the norm (we were not the only tents in that car park) despite having nomadic/semi nomadic populations the country is not a camping country at all - or at least not for foreigners. So this leads to the scorpion story - I went off to have a pee and did the usual scorpion/snake check and was satisfied that all was safe - started to do the business only to notice something moving - on closer inspection I saw a small but angry scorpion trying to run away from a stream of piss!!! I would have been angry too, I think. I finished the operation moving up the bank as I did and legged it out before the angry scorpion had time to realise who or what had caused its distress! Or maybe I drowned it - I did not hang around long enough to check! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><b><span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: small;">UZBEKISTAN......................</span></span></b> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Over the border yesterday (20th April) where I made a very serious border guard laugh- yes it is possible - He had been really po-faced with everybody and when it was my turn I said "salamaleikum" as recommended in my phrase book and got a "salam" grunt back again. He looked at the pasport - glared at me until I took my specs off - then proceeded to look at my passport - visas/stamps etc. until he came across my Iran visa which contains the most horrendous photo of me with hair completely covered by a black headscarf looking extemely severe (I was really pissed off when the photo was taken because black is not my colour and I do not look my best with hair completely covered - in fact I described myself as looking like a "middle eastern dominatrix"). So the guard looked at the photo - then back at me - then at the photo again and looked at me with a realy quizzical expression and at this point I snorted and he started to laugh and I guffawed and then I got a really lovely "goodbye" in return for my "rehmat" (thank you) and another big grin! The guard after that was an Arsenal supporter and very disapppointed that I did not have a favourite team! He said next time I come back to bring a shirt! So Uzbekistan - here I came.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Today has been spent in Khiva - truly wonderful and I can see why a world heritage site. A walled city full of musuems, hareems, palaces with beautifully decorated ceilings - more photos of this in uly. We went on a walking tour around the city and I have been just overwhelmed by the decorations, beautiful buildings and things I have seen. Tomorow we make our way to Bukhara and more culture. So hopefully a bit more of this later. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li><span style="background-color: white;"></span><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Lorry laden with wood slowly crawling the hill.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hairpin bends snake through the mountains.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Sulpherous smoking volcan white against a blue, blue sky.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Rough rocky peaks like a cheese grater.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Strands of cloud rising from the morning trees.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A frog leaping through a rice field.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Lunch by the Caspian Sea under grey cloud.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Poppies in the fields in April! </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Turkmen girls in bright red skirts </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Real border country- harsh and forbidding.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Climbing up to the border.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Border ridge 2000+ metres high.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Crossed the border (Iran/Turkmenistan)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Small fox by the side of the road.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ashbaghat - is unreal -surealist - empty white marble skyscrapers.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Clean white streets </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Camels walking stately across the desert.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Ripples on the sand dunes</span></li>
<li style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Wind whistling, whipping up the desert.</span></li>
<li style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Green fields.- irrigation systems.</span></li>
<li style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A donkey cart plodding along themain road </span></li>
<li style="color: #674ea7;"><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A surprised hnting hawk dropped its prey</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Crossed the Oxus - Syr Darya - now I feel that I am truly on a journey.</span></li>
</ul></div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-86568263364714515412010-04-13T14:52:00.000+01:002010-04-13T14:59:40.345+01:00Still in Tehran.......<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;">Another amazing experience today. Everybody else dispersed to go to various museums, palaces etc. So I headed out on my own with 2 slips of paper with the addresses of the places where I wanted to go. When I finally got to approximately the place I was heading for (Museum of Glass and China) I encountered a large group of women. I showed some postcards that I wanted to post and I had been directed to a post office nearby. They were so kind and helpful but said there was not a postbox near. However they invited me to join them and they paid for my ticket into another museum - so now I will have to come back for the glass and china! I started to go round with them but their guide arranged for me to have an English speaking guide. I was so humbled yet again by the kindness and generosity that I experienced. The guide was lovely and took me round explaining everything in detail. At the moment the museum was only displaying a small amount of the collection as it is in the process of renovation. However another reason to come back!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;">After this I went to the collection of the royal jewels (the National Jewels Museum). Oh, oh, oh................. a collection of <strong>BLING par excellence. </strong>One of the most significant in the world. Take the Crown Jewels then multiply them by 100! The glitter, the diamonds, the emeralds, the rubies and that is just in one small item. I was in heaven. And guess what- there was a pink silk parasol that had diamonds down the spokes, the handle and the bit at the top were diamond encrusted too. I could imagine myself with that! I think the late Shah might have been a tad disappointed that he was not able to leave the country with the contents of the vault. Though I must say that I did have a little snigger because there have been a war or two over this collection but the most significant piece in the whole collection was the Koh-e-Nur - and we know where that is and not even in it's original glory!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;">A few more days in Iran - then crossing the border to Turkmenistan - so you may well hear from me in Ashbagat. Best wishes to all.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;">Some impressions of our journey from Yadz:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><ul><li><span style="color: magenta;">Endless flat stretching away into to a heat haze - grey, buff and khaki.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: magenta;">Sometimes half-seen hills rise out of the haze.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: magenta;">Seen in Yadz - a cobbler mending some trainers by the side of a street.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: magenta;">Brick kilns by the side of the road.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: magenta;">Watering the trees on the central reservation from a water container lorry.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: magenta;">Dust, dust and more dust.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: magenta;">Folds of pink and green striated rocks pointing down to the road like cat's paws.</span></li>
</ul></div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-25317794450879453452010-04-12T19:06:00.000+01:002010-04-12T19:10:22.177+01:00Tehran............<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Arrived a few hours ago after driving over desert and desert and yet more desert. But am writing this to say that I completely forgot about the Towers of Silence in Yadz. Iran's biggest Zoarastrian community live in Yadz and just on the edge of the town are two Towers of Silence built up on hillsides. Squat round towers covering the whole of the top of the hills on which they are situated. These are the towers where the Zoarastrians used to place their dead so that the bodies could be eaten by vultures. They have not been used as such for quite a long time but climbing up to one of the towers was an awesome experience. Thinking about how they were used and the many people who had died and used that method of body disposal so as not to pollute either the earth by burial or the sky by cremation. I was lucky enough to spend quite a long time up there on my own as everybody else opted to climb the higher of the 2 towers whereas I went up the further but neither so steep or so high one. It certainly was a moment for quiet reflection.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Shiraz (of the grapes - the vinyards now only produce grapes for eating or vinagre) - stayed in a very interesting hotel. It was a former traditional home for a very wealthy family - we met several lots of architectural students who come to look at it. The rooms were all around a courtyard with a central pool and a garden on either side of the pool with roses and other plants. The steps up to all the rooms were very steep. This appears to be a feature of this part of the world. I call them "bloody Ottoman steps" as I first came across them in Turkey. I have visions of all these middle ages Turks, Persians, etc. all having severe arthritis of the knees because they are so steep! I saw a couple of museums in Shiraz and spent time looking around the Bazaar. This is how I had a pen bought for me as a gift by a very kind woman in a gift shop in the Bazaar. I would never have found the shop selling fountain pens so she took me there and bought me the pen as a present. Through her I also met a potter who explained something about the beautiful colours of the tiles on the Mosques. I had been confused as I had been told that the colours were vegetable but the potter confirmed that in fact they are earth or mineral pigments as one would expect.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7;">Esfahan - seems so long ago now - but a city of culture and craft and the most beautiful mosque I have seen to date. </span><br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;">PS. Archie is now working like a dream as s/he had a complete overhaul in Esfahan!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-78234024712784662002010-04-11T18:12:00.132+01:002011-02-18T18:36:20.542+00:00Yazd - Iran..........<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;">The 2 weeks in Iran are now half way through. After Shiraz - where I had the most wonderful experience of buying a pen (fountain) and ended up with the pen being bought for me. A couple of nights ago I told a silk road story in a Caravanserai - it was magic. We were sort of camping there. The Caravanserai had only recently opened up and they let us stay there camping of the daybeds and in the alcoves just like the traders and merchants would have done. And opposite the one where we stayed there was a mud brick built one which was 900 years old. The next day (which I think was Friday but it could have been Saturday ( I am seriously losing count of the days) we looked at an ancient citadel in the village where we had stayed. That too was in the process of renovation - it had been a moated, four towered square building 3 storeys high, again all the bricks made of mud. At present it is just 2 storeys high but will over time be restored to it's former glory. Then on to see a 4000 year old cypress tree which also doubles up as a "cloutie tree" where we had lunch much to the amusement of other people visiting the tree. When we stop for lunch we bring out tables to prepare the food, a table for washing up, the food, cutlery, crockery and anything else needed and prepare our meal in the open! This causes much curiosity from anyone who is in the vicinity and we quite often get people coming over to look and see what we are eating. We also do the same for the evening meal and that means getting the gas stoves out as well and cooking up a stew or similar. So we cause some consternation and interest where ever we go.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="color: magenta;">Then the arrival at Yazd - a city surrounded by desert (sorry my spelling has gone at the moment so I mean sand not food) and the thing about Yazd it its relationship to the desert. There is an underground water supply to the city, which is remarkable green, that the people use. The "qanats" or canals are dug underground for up to 60 kilometres away in the foothills of the surrounding mountains and supply villages and the city. There are a couple of reservoirs for water in the old part of the city surrounded by tall towers, which one sees allover the city which have a name but as I have forgotten my Lonely Planet I cannot remember the name of, however these towers are a sort of air con system as they channel cool air down into the buildings and the hot air rises out. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><u><span style="color: magenta;">The Towers of Silence</span></u></em></strong></div><div align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The Towers dominating part of the city ...............</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>the corpse road up to the Tower clearly marked .............</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZgTu5y43LE4vZtG4i9BbcRiHjqidHu5WplDELtXLx3BmpHlTGTeVo__4WYjdMGWcqk1adK_2x81eSd7bAYvVHnRZutBmWPblYV7XJe_oIqId4D1V5cDKCvtCrfTUsn6iU6uBqqqUy8k/s1600/DSCN0789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqZgTu5y43LE4vZtG4i9BbcRiHjqidHu5WplDELtXLx3BmpHlTGTeVo__4WYjdMGWcqk1adK_2x81eSd7bAYvVHnRZutBmWPblYV7XJe_oIqId4D1V5cDKCvtCrfTUsn6iU6uBqqqUy8k/s400/DSCN0789.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>.... and seeing the figures you can get an idea of the size of them.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscGGwwB3InXmmIrgp03hiFqRSOuVFUSIusxuVbRzs31lFIYpPm-Xgxu3XvijYJgIRliR54RPKM-OTAOxp_7CJ_Vt9gRDG1NJE1OE6wBHJia6dp2Xrn2rldHTDkvFBDnBbiksNFdIjo3s/s1600/DSCN0786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscGGwwB3InXmmIrgp03hiFqRSOuVFUSIusxuVbRzs31lFIYpPm-Xgxu3XvijYJgIRliR54RPKM-OTAOxp_7CJ_Vt9gRDG1NJE1OE6wBHJia6dp2Xrn2rldHTDkvFBDnBbiksNFdIjo3s/s400/DSCN0786.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>The city of Yazd seen from the towers.</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;">A couple of wonderful experiences today showing the kindness and generosity of the Iranians we meet. First was when I and two others went out for a walk in the old city - We went to the nearby mosque (tallest minarets in Iran but covered in scaffolding) and saw that there was a museum. We asked if we could see it then realised that we were in the middle of a Madressi (Koranic school) but we were gestured through. I asked if there was anything to pay but again we were gestured through. The curator then unlocked the museum for us and then with my Parsi phrase book and a great deal of sign language we were given a tour of the museum and by the end understood all the artefacts that we were seeing.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="color: magenta;">The next was even more awesome. We were admiring a door in the old town when a ?tourist/local (we never did work out which) explained about the 2 door knockers. If you knock one then a man will answer and the other a woman. He knocked both very loudly then left. The door was answered by a woman who seemed surprised to see us but instantly inivited us 2 women in for "chai" (my companions husband was out of sight). We met her and her 4 year old son who later invited my companion's husband in to join us. We found out so much about her and surmised more about her life. Despite living in a rather grand courtyarded house we realised that she was by no means wealthy and was in some distress because her husband was ill - we assumed in hospital - yet despite this she invited us in for "chai' and the degree of hospitality was incredible. Again the Parsi phrase book and the sign language came out but the real clincher was my companion's digital photograph key ring loaded with pictures of their daughters and grandchildren. I came away feeling very humbled by the whole experience.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>And this is the door! </em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: magenta;">I know I have left out Esfahan and Shiraz but there just seems to be so much to say and I only get to an internet cafe very irregularly. But heigh ho that's the way it is.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;">Impressions from notebook:</span></div><ul><li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;">Hills like jagged teeth in need of dental repair.</span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;">Huge willow trees by a stream</span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;">Quite often see dead dogs by the roadside.</span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;">Hostile jagged mountains reaching up to bite the sky.</span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;">Bright turquoise mosque in blue sky</span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;">Undulating sand peppered with tufts of grass and spinnifex.</span></div></li>
<li><span style="color: magenta;">Red purple hills breaking up the flatness.</span></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta;">Coup in Kyrgyzstan - may not be going there - disappointed - all this way then not to see the place I wanted to go to.</span> </div></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: center;"> <strong><em><u><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia;">Photos of places and things seen in Yazd</span></u></em></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>I walked past this to get to the other hostel where we ate.........</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>..... part of an arch surround in a mosque</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>and something just so beautiful.</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>And in a museum I found .............</em></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX36Ji0zxO2Wxt5F-0T9xZOHJ8dupDrq4n-dROc9DbnPP9C9Bi5G8hO8cZgidIvHOy2t7Vlg8ONfln_NmmH37iCeU2u7Ts6o8TUSG-ApI3IbGxRZPUGaDCgU2jZLXYKkUiwKdm3OH_9Dc/s1600/DSCN0814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX36Ji0zxO2Wxt5F-0T9xZOHJ8dupDrq4n-dROc9DbnPP9C9Bi5G8hO8cZgidIvHOy2t7Vlg8ONfln_NmmH37iCeU2u7Ts6o8TUSG-ApI3IbGxRZPUGaDCgU2jZLXYKkUiwKdm3OH_9Dc/s400/DSCN0814.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>... a set of chests lined with beautiful decorated papers ............</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-svpTNyZ8QX84nLaT7hYt7EZBeS7NtmYCht-mhBoCRmyf0cY_dfILFQZy-zHRtKUKY0O5JYtzUbDnk7lIATJmPaTy6apG76hWxlMskI1h6SSSmdoHC8nSvBUiWuexsf-oFbqnbBMwMo/s1600/DSCN0818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-svpTNyZ8QX84nLaT7hYt7EZBeS7NtmYCht-mhBoCRmyf0cY_dfILFQZy-zHRtKUKY0O5JYtzUbDnk7lIATJmPaTy6apG76hWxlMskI1h6SSSmdoHC8nSvBUiWuexsf-oFbqnbBMwMo/s400/DSCN0818.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>.... so there was another "transport of delight" moment </em></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>given my interest in decorated papers</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1dewqyXUL3YqAmGXHbqabMe1OMNiax19SdxzDoevM0tYe8jpi_daMAYA9pBbIpAIU-W1V2kjE7Khe_URZS_0z583uvvdCUBVwoEINF8sSh9Dt7b00JzEzlhsGq7jS4n_iUCoMHfab1Q/s1600/DSCN0812.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1dewqyXUL3YqAmGXHbqabMe1OMNiax19SdxzDoevM0tYe8jpi_daMAYA9pBbIpAIU-W1V2kjE7Khe_URZS_0z583uvvdCUBVwoEINF8sSh9Dt7b00JzEzlhsGq7jS4n_iUCoMHfab1Q/s400/DSCN0812.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>And Suzie was up to her usual tricks being part of the exhibits!</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfG5VnTFBWyZQSZ-Ip8sWZPj-Vwe4YZSNqM3hfM23bMqZhGp8plOt5Bms7v4K2V4MWktqaFXWVv6rFaaosc72OBq9r9bIcEh-XAZG1xYQQ0SQddxajHYyOE3kgXrQ238qsVaEjhzFcN8/s1600/DSCN0821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLfG5VnTFBWyZQSZ-Ip8sWZPj-Vwe4YZSNqM3hfM23bMqZhGp8plOt5Bms7v4K2V4MWktqaFXWVv6rFaaosc72OBq9r9bIcEh-XAZG1xYQQ0SQddxajHYyOE3kgXrQ238qsVaEjhzFcN8/s400/DSCN0821.JPG" width="372" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>.... suddenly a lion appeared in the arch at the top of the building!</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-24670247978170798822010-04-06T07:24:00.008+01:002011-02-17T20:42:58.201+00:00Iran................<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilDKOUDUSuTlPghJkItucs2sj3bjDI_QNWnK-lE9sGIzWUhy2bySf0Nf4hMwN8bn7Mxsh4Q_fky5xcao1PQcwD-9bvRiqOLXc2BWTVtWwj_ywIOJ7MI8RZXArP5elXPdqot5n9WsjTyIg/s1600/01.04-MountArarat-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilDKOUDUSuTlPghJkItucs2sj3bjDI_QNWnK-lE9sGIzWUhy2bySf0Nf4hMwN8bn7Mxsh4Q_fky5xcao1PQcwD-9bvRiqOLXc2BWTVtWwj_ywIOJ7MI8RZXArP5elXPdqot5n9WsjTyIg/s400/01.04-MountArarat-3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Mount Ararat - seen on the way to Iran</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaVYvXEGrRHuLFJYCCtgsdFDjF9HbDebYxtn3wP4cHsFrTd7Fdta5GXlMpi0W-FY5PFctz7V8FPe49WfOhMUmKa2OMYoXcI-eU4XrZudtuC_KHy2os4Aa7ntxPVVVudpKjkXCiOFSMvDE/s1600/01.04-Dogubeyzit.IshakpasaPalace+-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaVYvXEGrRHuLFJYCCtgsdFDjF9HbDebYxtn3wP4cHsFrTd7Fdta5GXlMpi0W-FY5PFctz7V8FPe49WfOhMUmKa2OMYoXcI-eU4XrZudtuC_KHy2os4Aa7ntxPVVVudpKjkXCiOFSMvDE/s400/01.04-Dogubeyzit.IshakpasaPalace+-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Mosque in the mountainside seen from the Ishakpasa Palace, </em></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Dogubeyzit (Turkey).</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Archie got us to the Turkish/Iranian border with no problems. The whole border crossing was great fun and very easy. Us 4 Brits were taken off to have our finger prints taken - nobody else - we were given special treatment but the reason is quite logical - the British government takes finger prints from Iranians so it is only fair. We could not have arrived on a more auspicious day. 2nd April is Nature Day - a pre-Islamic festival, not entirely approved of by the Imams but so very much an Iranian celebration and part of life here. Everybody, and I mean everybody was out in the fields, in parks, by the side of the road- anywhere there was a green space. So there were tents dotted everywhere - families sitting around the tents eating, drinking (not alcohol), talking and some were dancing to celebrate the coming of Spring. When we arrived at Tabriz (about 2000hrs) the festival was still in full swing. We camped in a public park, putting up our tents and cooking our meal. I felt very much that we were having our celebration of Spring as well. People came and looked to see what we were doing and then the talk started. Everyone was so open and sharing. Soon there were jokes, discussions, sharing of ideas, learning about people's lives and what they do. And this is what I am finding everywhere we go. One young woman introduced herself in English and we met her friends they let us use the loo before them - afterwards she brought her family to see us when we were cooking the evening meal. You should have seen the look of pride on her father's face as she spoke to us so fluently and with such confidence. Afterwards she admitted that this was the first time that she had ever spoken English to English speakers. You would not have believed it from the way that she was communicating.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We are now in Esfahan - a beautiful city - full of wonderful breathtaking Mosques. Even though it is a huge city people still stop us in the street and ask were we are from and what we are doing. Yesterday I was out with my room mate and we had a fascintating conversation with a young woman and her mother - part in English with the odd German word thrown in and a lot of sign language. As we were 2 older women we got straight into the women's stuff and learned a great deal about how people live and what they think. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We also had a whistle stop tour of the city - in a minibus - somehow our driver got us to the various places without incident as there was no tread on the tyres and he only stopped at red lights if there were cars in front and one way streets were just to be driven along. I knew that the Imam Mosque on the central square was superb but nothing prepared me for the enveloping beauty of the tile work. I was so moved by the utter beauty of it that I cried. Next was the Sheik Lotfollah Mosque which was the Hareem Mosque for the women of the Ali Qapu Palace opposite. Compared with the Imam Mosque it is almost quiet and understated but has a very gentle atmosphere and lovely decorations. The Palace was totally decorated, almost every space was painted. The Music Room has some extradordinary shapes cut into the walls which have an accoustic effect in that when music was played it could be heard all over the Palace. (I have taken some photos of that but as yet I have not yet worked out how to upload to the intenet.) </span><br />
<br />
<div align="center"><strong><em><u><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Esfahan</span></u></em></strong></div><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em></em></span> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtyFKWbvJ5SGTRgTtE5j9tBAYVBpaBUQiA1fbj3EVq7cE7zq3f2zavXEGVL1qnyD98KTDDCEwDQQdrqrSasmRLjLrM6IuXFFvHVzaocMfR2yDdMbltmAjna1vonpcJxmul-LnOx2g3_74/s1600/DSCN0482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtyFKWbvJ5SGTRgTtE5j9tBAYVBpaBUQiA1fbj3EVq7cE7zq3f2zavXEGVL1qnyD98KTDDCEwDQQdrqrSasmRLjLrM6IuXFFvHVzaocMfR2yDdMbltmAjna1vonpcJxmul-LnOx2g3_74/s400/DSCN0482.JPG" width="400" /></em></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Sheik Iman Mosque and Iman Square</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em></em></span> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKMlyMS6s0Kvju5-Zri_QS5CNSbj6j3BoZ0crRgzK-9nVKNkqd2tI9tChZIRp_iy5eGK7Yl8UZZeNzbJOsPuRF_RPzbt6xkodZX_yfsOFkR1-ozdYnERFea6GxEQJL9W4hXsMbEsJ9jQ/s1600/05.04-Esfahan-SheikLotfollahMosque.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: purple;"><img border="0" height="400" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxKMlyMS6s0Kvju5-Zri_QS5CNSbj6j3BoZ0crRgzK-9nVKNkqd2tI9tChZIRp_iy5eGK7Yl8UZZeNzbJOsPuRF_RPzbt6xkodZX_yfsOFkR1-ozdYnERFea6GxEQJL9W4hXsMbEsJ9jQ/s400/05.04-Esfahan-SheikLotfollahMosque.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: purple;"><em>Sheik Lotfollah Mosque across Iman Square from the </em><em>Ali Qapu Palace.</em> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn3b2qZG8QToJedJuNMWavxUhUfXK2nct5jgVQMBEbymW12JbaRQO0NonEzEpMM-ZAshi1fmDihu1hQpORAtHMzAqTb2xgtFv3nFakL0d5wbPK9H8EWBQnyX86Wt-4V8vdY0SB-1cJOBU/s1600/DSCN0475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn3b2qZG8QToJedJuNMWavxUhUfXK2nct5jgVQMBEbymW12JbaRQO0NonEzEpMM-ZAshi1fmDihu1hQpORAtHMzAqTb2xgtFv3nFakL0d5wbPK9H8EWBQnyX86Wt-4V8vdY0SB-1cJOBU/s400/DSCN0475.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>While in the Ali Qapu Palace itself the shapes that make</em></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em> the accoustics all over the palace......... and .......</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjELE3hpThc4NXA23ORefKzT9oquSM0iq548gRFCC02MpQ0x9fkNgmnULaIXv63NozfM_XajVSeRtVd5OkVS5F_UiFfC2myFipYslZWZtOCz6mNJa4eIn6-birq-HVzDbW8bn7v5akNYvg/s1600/DSCN0478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjELE3hpThc4NXA23ORefKzT9oquSM0iq548gRFCC02MpQ0x9fkNgmnULaIXv63NozfM_XajVSeRtVd5OkVS5F_UiFfC2myFipYslZWZtOCz6mNJa4eIn6-birq-HVzDbW8bn7v5akNYvg/s400/DSCN0478.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>..... murals ..............</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimLjV85DRrxt3m9QaD_0dHMGV-r7vdfhXw5z9oIUSU84HK94SFE4RBPRSBWDKY9mC1KA9qPe8tDK9qc_htQY-V0avhwIPAOKk7j2GR-WTx5ffVwzkrawScLeSRtYACZrIK7OeHEp7MbMQ/s1600/DSCN0480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimLjV85DRrxt3m9QaD_0dHMGV-r7vdfhXw5z9oIUSU84HK94SFE4RBPRSBWDKY9mC1KA9qPe8tDK9qc_htQY-V0avhwIPAOKk7j2GR-WTx5ffVwzkrawScLeSRtYACZrIK7OeHEp7MbMQ/s400/DSCN0480.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>.... murals .....................</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoX7W9ZjrImVS_hBMLZ8j3u-xTw3Z565XFlJSc3e5EBDO_Sh_yFApzbeY1Zu33OLbG3G3_lv_Q2T-mcIkBXJGqEeioBJPzgnL28FIHsZDEABtm1X_FzP-yoJBJn_DruLVPM6qumyzNuk/s1600/DSCN0477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoX7W9ZjrImVS_hBMLZ8j3u-xTw3Z565XFlJSc3e5EBDO_Sh_yFApzbeY1Zu33OLbG3G3_lv_Q2T-mcIkBXJGqEeioBJPzgnL28FIHsZDEABtm1X_FzP-yoJBJn_DruLVPM6qumyzNuk/s400/DSCN0477.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>...... and murals ......................</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKKnNDc2GYkRY0PLNBWIFk9xblGYOkm4Krzbe431_ZmW2WXwoQY3nvrNqmNkaaDedMizTrxepZ8nGzYB1XcYjq7qikO71usTnsj8QwCEByGJyaNy7CAqta8Xu3B5BZhgLPLKLzIzLYyMs/s1600/DSCN0476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKKnNDc2GYkRY0PLNBWIFk9xblGYOkm4Krzbe431_ZmW2WXwoQY3nvrNqmNkaaDedMizTrxepZ8nGzYB1XcYjq7qikO71usTnsj8QwCEByGJyaNy7CAqta8Xu3B5BZhgLPLKLzIzLYyMs/s400/DSCN0476.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>..... andevery surface painted ...............</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38EGSO6zEzZuaE05rVEwvx12AVJMz_QhsxeSGxNvT2k6mzzzUBkdpXw2bPym3GVEjW1ka_LU-2ZyK86Zg_mvVHZ-SuGX2PrHQDsQcwSTAP34IIqy2AdFZNRZ81hl4aNrj5gNuEi4df8o/s1600/somewhere+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg38EGSO6zEzZuaE05rVEwvx12AVJMz_QhsxeSGxNvT2k6mzzzUBkdpXw2bPym3GVEjW1ka_LU-2ZyK86Zg_mvVHZ-SuGX2PrHQDsQcwSTAP34IIqy2AdFZNRZ81hl4aNrj5gNuEi4df8o/s400/somewhere+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>.... or plasterwork ................</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxLq6RGjhe0OZr4-EApvh6Em7JMSNgtdw8k3SXdr0c4xQLC5ARnMMr1yRUi8rfmiky38eQj-4cThkqmesNUxcRT18KjTOs5R_I5ZwEC52TSU7J_712LJeGBpvvkjDWjRhzo2nhw65s7A/s1600/DSCN0485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxLq6RGjhe0OZr4-EApvh6Em7JMSNgtdw8k3SXdr0c4xQLC5ARnMMr1yRUi8rfmiky38eQj-4cThkqmesNUxcRT18KjTOs5R_I5ZwEC52TSU7J_712LJeGBpvvkjDWjRhzo2nhw65s7A/s400/DSCN0485.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>........... and straight from the Arabian Nights hidden behind this latticed window </em></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>a sloe-eyed woman may </em></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>look out to see </em></span><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>if her lover is on his way! </em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">These visits were completed by a delicious meal in a traditional Persian restaraunt complete with low carpet covered tables and cushions. We sat on and ate from the tables - complete with plastic tablecloth - thank goodness!!!! The food was great - we shared a dish of aubergines with yoghurt and spices, chicken and lamb grills and a stew of chicken and beans in a clay pot, which was drained and pounded up in front of us. The drained gravy was used a dip. There was also a yoghurt drink - I seemed to be the only one who liked it. Yet the more I drank the jug was still half full - so maybe it was an Arabian Nights trick!</span><br />
<br />
<div align="center"><strong><em><u><span style="color: magenta;">THE RESTAURANT WHERE WE ATE</span></u></em></strong></div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt1nGi7bHUWMb0QHZvMNCP40e4hHN5vwVB7qsM7S2U0tV9hZ0us52eVpUukrunLsdJ657Mg_e2SZlJb4iaCrv8rQ0j_164Frmr-1ufdDpnspaBXfoDMNLunMAgXLodWNyVbUGX1urF2F4/s1600/DSCN0139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt1nGi7bHUWMb0QHZvMNCP40e4hHN5vwVB7qsM7S2U0tV9hZ0us52eVpUukrunLsdJ657Mg_e2SZlJb4iaCrv8rQ0j_164Frmr-1ufdDpnspaBXfoDMNLunMAgXLodWNyVbUGX1urF2F4/s400/DSCN0139.JPG" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>This is one of the portraits of the poets which lined the walls.</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em></em></span> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9BNInZSKlWoSuRRYiuA3qoOVPgkah0vZKgVPF4FG_dy6d1h2JqAde5D1mMP21Tkqa1IvztsXiAd_uVF83ZoATyGpRtALO6JWgcObCammUoHz7l1PyDGMdd8DsQRxDUfC8EYs5-mxiMew/s1600/DSCN0141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9BNInZSKlWoSuRRYiuA3qoOVPgkah0vZKgVPF4FG_dy6d1h2JqAde5D1mMP21Tkqa1IvztsXiAd_uVF83ZoATyGpRtALO6JWgcObCammUoHz7l1PyDGMdd8DsQRxDUfC8EYs5-mxiMew/s400/DSCN0141.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>More of the glorious decorations ................</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPevIgrVXbbtv4FIewesmjeow13u07kY7nkdp-g4xeOfehLZygdMTlEHViG8SoVPMgtC44MH5Dgv1MumPpaGd2typ3paGWDmADulYUN8YlFGbCpH1J6FfLQQ5eiwYp4VhZpnNUzY2cx9o/s1600/DSCN0142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPevIgrVXbbtv4FIewesmjeow13u07kY7nkdp-g4xeOfehLZygdMTlEHViG8SoVPMgtC44MH5Dgv1MumPpaGd2typ3paGWDmADulYUN8YlFGbCpH1J6FfLQQ5eiwYp4VhZpnNUzY2cx9o/s400/DSCN0142.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>... all spangly with mirror glass - just up my street!</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7qXnRiHPeNjowPP1STPHQHCLEUFse89H2jj7BYdRVkJM71tqvm7dql0I0kSMVcE3ZzDUF4W29V7uktqd4Z6JoePlLME0w6iixHb19gue05N9BjTqaxvEUNBqqWT6smA5b2orruQgg0X8/s1600/DSCN0134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7qXnRiHPeNjowPP1STPHQHCLEUFse89H2jj7BYdRVkJM71tqvm7dql0I0kSMVcE3ZzDUF4W29V7uktqd4Z6JoePlLME0w6iixHb19gue05N9BjTqaxvEUNBqqWT6smA5b2orruQgg0X8/s400/DSCN0134.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>We prepare to eat ...............</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFwMjtSPDj7snzCc5aLTMlD9Ees0Dwgavq5TPP-nGCuCDn5H55RNkcpPntZxAAW71jmryGjRjwN4TJHowGWoJeMJC6YHeljZmaAxIknki551PXrgo6W5bR33QOlidh1gUnMk9aeC6i2c/s1600/DSCN0143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFwMjtSPDj7snzCc5aLTMlD9Ees0Dwgavq5TPP-nGCuCDn5H55RNkcpPntZxAAW71jmryGjRjwN4TJHowGWoJeMJC6YHeljZmaAxIknki551PXrgo6W5bR33QOlidh1gUnMk9aeC6i2c/s400/DSCN0143.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>now you see it.................</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_O6YDZ77SGPruQkV7H-9l5rrSP7jcNThXanBkr3WFKTJZS98EBVKSSd4dhzyYDfIgLoZDDSyzCZTwcn_EPR7mr5Vraikk4zYcOBTGY5GgCze06R9IJHTFm-bfcy0jvTWi6FSi9nk9Po/s1600/DSCN0144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_O6YDZ77SGPruQkV7H-9l5rrSP7jcNThXanBkr3WFKTJZS98EBVKSSd4dhzyYDfIgLoZDDSyzCZTwcn_EPR7mr5Vraikk4zYcOBTGY5GgCze06R9IJHTFm-bfcy0jvTWi6FSi9nk9Po/s400/DSCN0144.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>... and now you don't!</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Being in Iran has been and eye opener. I must admit that I am not happy about the "mantor" I have had to wear (long black coat) and find the headscarf very hot but now I am in Esfahan I can be a little bit more relaxed about what I can wear but apart from that personal and very Western gripe, I have found being here a joy. It is so very different from the appalling press that Iran gets in the West and it is not like that at all. The people are warm and welcoming. One of the places we visited - the Ali Sadr Caves, longest underwater caves in the world full of stalagtites/mites - an old man came up and talked to us - we did not understand what he was saying and likewise from him - but when the translation came it was that he wanted to invite us back to his house for sweets and he did not look as if he had enough to rub two sweets together. And that is what we are experiencing on a daily basis. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Archie (our truck) has been naughty again (needed a quick A&E on the way out of the Ali Sadr Caves!) but as far as I can gather has been in hopsital in Esfahan for a complete change of whatever and now Archie is on the way to recovery and should take us to Beijing without too much further bother or need for roadside operations!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I cannot begin to describe the things that I am seeing but here are a few of the jottings I am making as I go along:</span></div><ul><li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Layer upon layer of rugged snow covered mountains - volcanic, capped with puffy clouds.</span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Blue valley, really hazy, mackerel sky, heat rising from the valey.</span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">1 huge snow capped volcano surrounded by fumatories in layers</span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Fields of snow growing on the mountain sides</span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Mountains iced like a wedding cake</span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Unscheduled stop so that the Queenslanders can feel snow for the first time.</span></div></li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Rocks coming out of the earth in ripples, hills like meringues.</span></div></li>
<li><div align="center" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A fox rootling by the road - dismissive of passing traffic.</span></div></li>
</ul>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-71871877744098197202010-03-30T16:57:00.000+01:002011-01-30T02:08:35.249+00:00Another day in Goreme...........<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Archie has been up to no good - so an extra day. This morning I went with one of the Australian couples with a guide to walk the extraordinary landscape I saw from the balloon. The place we were heading for is called the Rose Valley - not for the amount of roses that grow there but because of the rose coloured rock in the valley. All around the Rose Valley the rocks are buff coloured but the Rose Valley truly stands out because of the beautiful pink coloured rock so different from the surrounding landscape. It was an eyeopener to be walking in it rather than flying over it. The soil was very sandy (ground up pumice I suppose) and some of the cone shaped rocks had pigeon lofts carved into them. In fact it is not right to say that they are cone shaped, some are, but others are so phallic that I have been discussing this with one of my fellow travellers that they really look as if they have been deliberately shaped then erosion over the centuries has done the rest. This seems a reasonable surmise because if these phallic shaped rocks then have rooms or a dwelling or possibly a sacred space carved inside them then there is the male/female principle in one rock. Also what leads me to suggest this is that this whole area is obviously a very special area and could well be a sacred landscape. There are so many rock churches and certainly the whole area was of deep spiritual significance to the early Christians, who used to build their churches on previous sacred sites. So to me this seems to be a logical explanation of these very individual and strange shaped rocks. While in the Rose Valley we stopped to look at another rock church- this time with beautiful blue frescoes on the walls. Most unfortunately defaced but the face of Christ was still distinguishable as were some of the higher paintings. The walking was quite hard as a lot of ups and downs so when we got back to Goreme it was great to go to the Haman (Turkish baths) again. This time we got the star treatment. One of my fellow walkers (female) came with to the baths. When we got in there it was mixed - men and women - but half way through a wonderful soap sud massage I heard some talking and then there was a distinct change in the energy and I realised that there were only women in the baths - myself, my fellow companion and our bath attendants/masseuse. Apparently they had asked a male client to leave!!! So after a wonderfully relaxing Turkish bath we made our way back to the pension and now I am waiting to have my supper cooked for me by somebody else.</span></div><br />
<div align="center"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="color: purple;"><strong><em>Goreme Landscapes</em></strong></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnD4eNqGPoc4VQC91ajLN7HeIDKNJq6JV56vH3XBuOM7s_OBsr5wcri2FSv9m5d1DKUv0lTlpI6YGMveEAcCTOyIglQZ5FSJ6Qc0O4T4r9ZyQu11sz2xti2RiP5H_pnqSzZxqpCOysN8/s1600/DSCN0113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnD4eNqGPoc4VQC91ajLN7HeIDKNJq6JV56vH3XBuOM7s_OBsr5wcri2FSv9m5d1DKUv0lTlpI6YGMveEAcCTOyIglQZ5FSJ6Qc0O4T4r9ZyQu11sz2xti2RiP5H_pnqSzZxqpCOysN8/s400/DSCN0113.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK86Hv-gwQGm9wkjumy7dAVA6SfAwSe-j19qa6Jlohr3EqluIRaKaNcJUmNkcJBwk60simvizvz8uMIYTDl6WFy1iS-eo0f3VIfSyKVXUdity_NqqotvxHy3w0J9422E2UrpfZ9XVXyoU/s1600/DSCN0065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK86Hv-gwQGm9wkjumy7dAVA6SfAwSe-j19qa6Jlohr3EqluIRaKaNcJUmNkcJBwk60simvizvz8uMIYTDl6WFy1iS-eo0f3VIfSyKVXUdity_NqqotvxHy3w0J9422E2UrpfZ9XVXyoU/s400/DSCN0065.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KPh1wqbioalgtkpUqtXKImBeb6iHTc3QA0FUar6fpFKa-6tt264t-Ld20mN6f8R8A4emFSvMElQycvpieIKlGdbiQlhpwshgKYSwTLpP3KTpjBibB_WXNI7B3IB70_LqnQnHNDsHnj0/s1600/DSCN0085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KPh1wqbioalgtkpUqtXKImBeb6iHTc3QA0FUar6fpFKa-6tt264t-Ld20mN6f8R8A4emFSvMElQycvpieIKlGdbiQlhpwshgKYSwTLpP3KTpjBibB_WXNI7B3IB70_LqnQnHNDsHnj0/s400/DSCN0085.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2O5vUvMUin_5ZuLq6ZYMCbJoU8Wevr3LP0exbP7x5Zn7VoIAUgO7MOoBdQG6uagr7vm2tWQQ3yp5TWfCP9lOiNhToKnEaG3uGZh0dmpGT0Dz5_9jf4UjPEcNtnR6KjQWQ8QYXb291bD0/s1600/DSCN0094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2O5vUvMUin_5ZuLq6ZYMCbJoU8Wevr3LP0exbP7x5Zn7VoIAUgO7MOoBdQG6uagr7vm2tWQQ3yp5TWfCP9lOiNhToKnEaG3uGZh0dmpGT0Dz5_9jf4UjPEcNtnR6KjQWQ8QYXb291bD0/s400/DSCN0094.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRBQwRyvmmJuN0QqiNE0cJJy66hiKrLC9J4QhMhhXzgH5L1HBtsuImbMNoT36NECb8qWil16WQgRVNPBp-Lu6NPAc4_CJ-1zbwITRqtNfWglYo48gtKaBiIFskNO4xWsf68EhDwSbScw/s1600/DSCN0100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbRBQwRyvmmJuN0QqiNE0cJJy66hiKrLC9J4QhMhhXzgH5L1HBtsuImbMNoT36NECb8qWil16WQgRVNPBp-Lu6NPAc4_CJ-1zbwITRqtNfWglYo48gtKaBiIFskNO4xWsf68EhDwSbScw/s400/DSCN0100.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVHYNPs_u7yXVgZ0YbWtXDp5hiN2hoQaygANxjYmXzmNji_c3lOJBU5xxoEGJ-C5hPuiHw_4aIAIPgpCcMlhMiI4CxJ1rlN8osJolTYjbb8Yv_Vi1gNWvj1Bu3rmYZR2pp88R9RQ2zmw/s1600/DSCN0101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVHYNPs_u7yXVgZ0YbWtXDp5hiN2hoQaygANxjYmXzmNji_c3lOJBU5xxoEGJ-C5hPuiHw_4aIAIPgpCcMlhMiI4CxJ1rlN8osJolTYjbb8Yv_Vi1gNWvj1Bu3rmYZR2pp88R9RQ2zmw/s400/DSCN0101.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u>ROSE VALLEY WALK</u></span></em></strong></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">These are some of the images that I took of our walk.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7ItymqA19tta4jTWnJG2o60VxBLOHSArXrlErxxLiaHqhkH4HpyRONf5yOLVBajXL3zDMXUTsJKDCT3usqh4DIyNUiM1ycnSNouUrZey9sltk9TlQZFhpVYGh-SUileXT7G89hhF7l8/s1600/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7ItymqA19tta4jTWnJG2o60VxBLOHSArXrlErxxLiaHqhkH4HpyRONf5yOLVBajXL3zDMXUTsJKDCT3usqh4DIyNUiM1ycnSNouUrZey9sltk9TlQZFhpVYGh-SUileXT7G89hhF7l8/s400/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: purple;">Leaving Goreme</span></span></span></strong></em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbIjIrm6XzXtZauqaJfL0lL5TuSpk8nEepgJ1gA09QjH-yIA6VJAWjjoMPFzlvzFTnA4h_z8HfPccaDu4Bs3PscfYtz47-Qvr4J4qzzhVbuD0q9lnAUlZM9dduXVxuF1ON5DVgd-pKl64/s1600/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbIjIrm6XzXtZauqaJfL0lL5TuSpk8nEepgJ1gA09QjH-yIA6VJAWjjoMPFzlvzFTnA4h_z8HfPccaDu4Bs3PscfYtz47-Qvr4J4qzzhVbuD0q9lnAUlZM9dduXVxuF1ON5DVgd-pKl64/s400/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSt-x2BJ-XwUCd6snoSUP699nGQSGDT3JhmITJBtu1MCefBTZk8iBz7MKG9nmsAtj2VHcAVOoZFfSZIcE6eAF0sOWjSShEZ50E3fuK3vHTUuraK41daVIryCRKehVAwK6HfsnR_1xtw4Y/s1600/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSt-x2BJ-XwUCd6snoSUP699nGQSGDT3JhmITJBtu1MCefBTZk8iBz7MKG9nmsAtj2VHcAVOoZFfSZIcE6eAF0sOWjSShEZ50E3fuK3vHTUuraK41daVIryCRKehVAwK6HfsnR_1xtw4Y/s400/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBYsXzjbMN6WBp6XP0ddubjZdg_xdNMm19NzbImyoAzySmwbTbTrYEk1hBWY9NJeqvIdH35Hax8T_89sXn9C5aXXyhxkor_cc1oLVDq7O0IlzRk8cVV2oZTGAzvARrtfw7MSVWAOzD-ac/s1600/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-Iris-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBYsXzjbMN6WBp6XP0ddubjZdg_xdNMm19NzbImyoAzySmwbTbTrYEk1hBWY9NJeqvIdH35Hax8T_89sXn9C5aXXyhxkor_cc1oLVDq7O0IlzRk8cVV2oZTGAzvARrtfw7MSVWAOzD-ac/s400/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-Iris-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">Finding this little iris was a joy and delight</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8sxrxjb9YhxCm81YrwXqtUHb5jLYKOvmDHyScVTFYt-YPVIWA4ekLknDFSel6n5nOOYcZg7Iw8UGKYfkw2bQdSaJ87xju9Br0zvgrldpqtN30UrOjchEYH2zRS5BFH8EwDtNIfK6UNk/s1600/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8sxrxjb9YhxCm81YrwXqtUHb5jLYKOvmDHyScVTFYt-YPVIWA4ekLknDFSel6n5nOOYcZg7Iw8UGKYfkw2bQdSaJ87xju9Br0zvgrldpqtN30UrOjchEYH2zRS5BFH8EwDtNIfK6UNk/s400/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-6.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">More of the strange rock formations</span></strong></em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8chRkyBpU17gcyrYSWoMlqCXGO9K7u4qlasVG7aNU5iw2HLVmq4O1j1bvhPDkjxGoFK7ZpglEnJG9LfsTVHOaFaGMjBpRGluRM7CDCqPV8i_fWfOQhK-DyWEdFiKiPbtfLYA8m5nH_XQ/s1600/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8chRkyBpU17gcyrYSWoMlqCXGO9K7u4qlasVG7aNU5iw2HLVmq4O1j1bvhPDkjxGoFK7ZpglEnJG9LfsTVHOaFaGMjBpRGluRM7CDCqPV8i_fWfOQhK-DyWEdFiKiPbtfLYA8m5nH_XQ/s400/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-10.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">Entrance to one of the rock churches</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhsf8BmTsEP6SQYr5nbBwSTkA9dQBPxNTiVFs_lGnc3tvYgNhecvsY4uSMvKgKSVcacVCwrKU0MCzxE0qWSmkmEOnK_qHMouX2eTA_FNhAiL2ZG85rEtQGLvWPMYaJVRpZaRSI7Jm5ew/s1600/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhsf8BmTsEP6SQYr5nbBwSTkA9dQBPxNTiVFs_lGnc3tvYgNhecvsY4uSMvKgKSVcacVCwrKU0MCzxE0qWSmkmEOnK_qHMouX2eTA_FNhAiL2ZG85rEtQGLvWPMYaJVRpZaRSI7Jm5ew/s400/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-7.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">Rock churches </span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTiQBocB6bo7zorwGhAZnpduHY6VL9FPC09FB7MUxzpaodsChe44kYexTdSyGB7cA7htddxGx-gzoSIaa68Fe8ZFPRgDQwl-crJr3zJxi_d7P_peCgirq9ivFhOGD-ztChPcO27tU6m8/s1600/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-16.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTiQBocB6bo7zorwGhAZnpduHY6VL9FPC09FB7MUxzpaodsChe44kYexTdSyGB7cA7htddxGx-gzoSIaa68Fe8ZFPRgDQwl-crJr3zJxi_d7P_peCgirq9ivFhOGD-ztChPcO27tU6m8/s400/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-16.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">Typical landscape - the colour was pinker</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoGANCYLMAIbBh2_Pl_owg0we_uhvuzksoRrfHLcyM6UZzFgBXRrvnVKCVVlze6B9av8B7FzyyG6coKqurIEYa0M1zwqvb_d7w5dTsRkexwKNe0IRwRWhImgv4qxvNFT2s_QCa6lpKrJ4/s1600/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoGANCYLMAIbBh2_Pl_owg0we_uhvuzksoRrfHLcyM6UZzFgBXRrvnVKCVVlze6B9av8B7FzyyG6coKqurIEYa0M1zwqvb_d7w5dTsRkexwKNe0IRwRWhImgv4qxvNFT2s_QCa6lpKrJ4/s400/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-17.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Rose Valley </span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGqWezHXEo5UCVxzHlo6tb8PkZXHue7iSskrw4Uc3qllLEjPtDqJyTPGFBqfz0xZwMOajK24-gRWgv21v8kQW_1osZJKw50Y7wsdCEIbMuAnqV5MDRinuhAI0ixuP2COq1NydUrftgTBo/s1600/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGqWezHXEo5UCVxzHlo6tb8PkZXHue7iSskrw4Uc3qllLEjPtDqJyTPGFBqfz0xZwMOajK24-gRWgv21v8kQW_1osZJKw50Y7wsdCEIbMuAnqV5MDRinuhAI0ixuP2COq1NydUrftgTBo/s400/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-19.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">The castle at Uchisar on the skyline</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7onFgTGioY5mqePGtwLOW333lNvmX2W-uZXtODp25xZ817vIVapHFgrzYAEtGqmFbHhHRzTu-m9EvRf2974tU4g3jRc3R7K__NbmuKwkkbOzqMWtlspDqivbzXFXt0YIqUN3a0_4YGc/s1600/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-18.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7onFgTGioY5mqePGtwLOW333lNvmX2W-uZXtODp25xZ817vIVapHFgrzYAEtGqmFbHhHRzTu-m9EvRf2974tU4g3jRc3R7K__NbmuKwkkbOzqMWtlspDqivbzXFXt0YIqUN3a0_4YGc/s400/30.03-RoseValleyWalk-18.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><em><span style="color: purple;">Rock formations on the way back to Goreme</span></em></span></span></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4595605472845950995.post-25871699130315394472010-03-29T15:01:00.000+01:002011-01-30T01:55:09.812+00:00Goreme<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXnsXRPKTM5H4acaJ9rwHUQokKkgtl_z4VGTYqLOpa-z0UPnIyyhC8Kpbn11RajeKNIRkJEy37Kgj4qXtAZN6UeBvkdIcVwX4II_BRNzGJBplTa5ztt1V2dGiUwbvsky1gXr8HUWVMLo/s1600/Goreme1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXnsXRPKTM5H4acaJ9rwHUQokKkgtl_z4VGTYqLOpa-z0UPnIyyhC8Kpbn11RajeKNIRkJEy37Kgj4qXtAZN6UeBvkdIcVwX4II_BRNzGJBplTa5ztt1V2dGiUwbvsky1gXr8HUWVMLo/s400/Goreme1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">A double Volkswagen</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3_enrNuO2KvqiATJHEUyVZ6nMb-6MvA9KPfTHFIN06_8ykJxoPfpxMfdtUBmUkFMNFp5ZdKA0FM6ZWOjSW35FeloI4oYfIZllis_odrPWJkD9vXtp5xbxIMmHs8ttaakUn0IEVm6U3M/s1600/30.03-Goreme-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3_enrNuO2KvqiATJHEUyVZ6nMb-6MvA9KPfTHFIN06_8ykJxoPfpxMfdtUBmUkFMNFp5ZdKA0FM6ZWOjSW35FeloI4oYfIZllis_odrPWJkD9vXtp5xbxIMmHs8ttaakUn0IEVm6U3M/s400/30.03-Goreme-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>A cart to drive away in...............</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Again it is taking ages to get on to the Internet. I dread to think what will happen when we reach China - if I can use Google there by then. As I write the muezzin is calling the faithful to prayer. I usually sleep through it in the mornings now but in the hostel in Istanbul it was lovely to be woken up about 04:20 to the call and to roll back over and know there were a few more hours to go. We are a sort of international group. At Istanbul I thought that I was going to be the "token Pom" but it turns out that there are 4 of us, a Canadian, a German, and Irishman and the rest are Australians! Our drivers are Kiwis so as things go quite international. </span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The first morning our truck Archie was really not very well so we did not make the intended 05:00 start but left about an hour later. We had had a couple of meals together before leaving on Friday so I nearly knew every body's name. Then the journey started. There was a "little moment" for me when we crossed the Bosporus in the early morning sunlight. Istanbul went on for miles. I was sitting at the table seat for that part of the journey so could have taken photos but did not at that point. There seems to be a massive development programme going on in Turkey- the amount of new buildings is phenomenal. One building caught my eye as we left - a tall apartment building in a soft terracotta - the balconies were set in a circle all the way up the building surrounded by stainless steel edging. It looked so elegant and a perfect bit of design. Ankara was even more built up- all around the edge of the city there are blocks of tall apartment buildings/houses - either unfinished or empty. Going round nearly 3/4 of the way round Ankara on the orbital motorway it was incredible to see so many of these plots of either empty or unfinished buildings. They were all in the stage of development that they did not have the local Mosque nearby which is an indication that they were not inhabited. The journey took the whole day from about 14 hours including pee breaks and a lunch stop. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Goreme has to be seen to be believed. It is a town in Cappadocia which has a long history of spiritual settlement. Firstly there are outcrops of strange phallic shaped rocks and some of them are inhabited. Looking at some of them I really feel that they have been fashioned to really emphasise the shape and if they can be dug into and made into habitations there is the male/female principle in one go. What put me on to this is the extraordinary amount of very early Christian churches carved out of the rock further up the valley. Cappdocia has links with the very early church, both St. George and St. John come from here as well as numerous others. The paintings in the rock churches are magic, some of them the designs are very simple patterns and the cross in a circle in red ochre, but in others the walls are alive with brightly coloured frescoes depicting stories of saints, new testament stories and the life of Christ. The churches are not big and there are so many of them in such a small area that there must have been a significant population to come to the churches.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The first morning in Goreme we went on a balloon flight - magic was not the word. The extraordinary volcanic/larval landscape seen from above is truly awesome. The twists and turns of the valleys; the striated layers of rock in different shades of pale sand to pale pink; every so often in the neck of a valley or on top of a hill are small vineyards with low vines in sandy soil. The grass is very brownish green at the moment as it has been very dry although there was a light rain first thing this morning (Monday). </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The sun is warm and a bit like an early summer day (for UK though excluding the last 3 summers!) and pleasantly warm in the sun though it can be chilly in the shade and gets distinctly cold at night. We will be camping in a couple of days time and we are promised SNOW as well as rain. Archie is still ill and had to go to hospital this morning, though Dion our driver is a very competent mechanic as well as many other skills but if the worst comes to the worst we all get out and push! </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We had a wonderful meal last night at a carpet shop with a great deal of useful information about carpets - and guess what I have bought a carpet! I looked at one last night- loved it but needed to sleep on it to truly make up my mind. This morning I went down to say "no, I did not need it" and was with another of us buying a carpet and I fell in love with the one that he did not want. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I think that this is enough for the moment- I am sure I have left out so much but there is so much going on it is hard to remember it all to put it down and I have not got my diary with me. Best wishes to all, SuzieD</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div align="center" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><u><span style="color: purple;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><strong><em>BALLOONING ABOVE GOREME</em></strong></span></span></u></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsB4DlKNy6xMnxwkBGNN-4B8WVvSMz8AbYqfYnK8QLAgNprzFv3zH_2gqr6nx6A4t2VyZL5wUeAvHeWdUtgXIA6HaVCseAqzemun0IxMBlF9rX57OuWbNkAfhWYSb6ufXxYzDhgtm3e0/s1600/DSCN0052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; height: 219px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 290px;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsB4DlKNy6xMnxwkBGNN-4B8WVvSMz8AbYqfYnK8QLAgNprzFv3zH_2gqr6nx6A4t2VyZL5wUeAvHeWdUtgXIA6HaVCseAqzemun0IxMBlF9rX57OuWbNkAfhWYSb6ufXxYzDhgtm3e0/s400/DSCN0052.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>The "BIG PUFF"</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbE7KwGac469DZbqlkgXmQqRLwCqwFn9WhoVvZHgO2Jujzz3iejb5shYDV2DXxtQA9CATs7Jp3YTqkjOosEJRuQ-nZOoh0bMvoNNMm7d22NNaCdShdhqMtV-NUteTU8A1FlvnHR0pb6rI/s1600/DSCN0054.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbE7KwGac469DZbqlkgXmQqRLwCqwFn9WhoVvZHgO2Jujzz3iejb5shYDV2DXxtQA9CATs7Jp3YTqkjOosEJRuQ-nZOoh0bMvoNNMm7d22NNaCdShdhqMtV-NUteTU8A1FlvnHR0pb6rI/s400/DSCN0054.JPG" width="400" /></em></strong></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Getting bigger</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZc0-017A9Gm4mUKYQSOr1JrdCTJR8iN5uujIOkNgds8Fg_o6BUChcJf-EZ202Aow4CqOAC7b_JBMDwsFbyAWHvqMJNtkfyrFNLWC0983ybN2oChQvP69zlCJbQRUweJs9dezqpPpm41w/s1600/DSCN0053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZc0-017A9Gm4mUKYQSOr1JrdCTJR8iN5uujIOkNgds8Fg_o6BUChcJf-EZ202Aow4CqOAC7b_JBMDwsFbyAWHvqMJNtkfyrFNLWC0983ybN2oChQvP69zlCJbQRUweJs9dezqpPpm41w/s400/DSCN0053.JPG" width="400" /></em></strong></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Shall we dance?</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><u><span style="color: purple;"><strong><em>UP WE GO!</em></strong> </span></u></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNKGyGv-h4NTKqfqjBlZcn5d1k68bLCVzwlTYnLn0Fm5VVVwmKgUnxSWXZPuxCErCBr4b125fABWzTkdyHYPjg34D_vBpSkX5O8Mfk99vj-G-lnNIPJxpOO6nr1T_zA2FvyVQkfBEeaM/s1600/DSCN0056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNKGyGv-h4NTKqfqjBlZcn5d1k68bLCVzwlTYnLn0Fm5VVVwmKgUnxSWXZPuxCErCBr4b125fABWzTkdyHYPjg34D_vBpSkX5O8Mfk99vj-G-lnNIPJxpOO6nr1T_zA2FvyVQkfBEeaM/s400/DSCN0056.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>Some balloons get away before us</strong></em></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGcTqv3NjpMd3QNUvnzRlJ7FjRX8ZMxNZn25WEMygFosbVtV4-EuS5M0bNM0-RCHasDfKKVZTFVnbjkR3nG8HNSlgIbxhJ-qM1EFSai6lQjMU_mfdrXPvvF9GqQ883BveyCFGwp8dnAag/s1600/DSCN0060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGcTqv3NjpMd3QNUvnzRlJ7FjRX8ZMxNZn25WEMygFosbVtV4-EuS5M0bNM0-RCHasDfKKVZTFVnbjkR3nG8HNSlgIbxhJ-qM1EFSai6lQjMU_mfdrXPvvF9GqQ883BveyCFGwp8dnAag/s400/DSCN0060.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>A "basket" case</strong></span></em></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></strong></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGcTqv3NjpMd3QNUvnzRlJ7FjRX8ZMxNZn25WEMygFosbVtV4-EuS5M0bNM0-RCHasDfKKVZTFVnbjkR3nG8HNSlgIbxhJ-qM1EFSai6lQjMU_mfdrXPvvF9GqQ883BveyCFGwp8dnAag/s1600/DSCN0060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em></em></span></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDNdmcq7TEpOv6y-kD3ZXNMckjF6NKwcQ4rXs9vUN4EH99drSZGTHZgYK88R3IpWBPEP6TYDViRF_nfswAdbKk-5TjqKns4-U6wRAo8qP3QDsYVotaY_BA7gJQ1_FRQv_kB_UgkQ4WAdI/s400/DSCN0094.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Swooping over towns</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkVWHEBon2SRTx9et4CN68BT6r7TqDmDqKnTJ2ojbOHC4jUzHVPv1wxwVgIObLj69bdHrh3-jByvQKbyMPiGO36lYdtONhTmM9pmY229e6rqYq3WiDhyphenhyphenhpk867doHXLPHlVWDyDkO4cMM/s400/DSCN0068.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>Getting higher</em></strong></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gx6KP5qrVg_69PxA151_ZqaIuy-5UVjqxbbEEKW4tEdVV5-YoZCOv6z6pd19QBMpNBmGIHP-_7NDnlpaiefarYsgu4cSq3IUckvcVdIrtdALlU27CsxLsMDNdcBTV2kvBewKGHN4PSs/s1600/DSCN0079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gx6KP5qrVg_69PxA151_ZqaIuy-5UVjqxbbEEKW4tEdVV5-YoZCOv6z6pd19QBMpNBmGIHP-_7NDnlpaiefarYsgu4cSq3IUckvcVdIrtdALlU27CsxLsMDNdcBTV2kvBewKGHN4PSs/s400/DSCN0079.JPG" width="400" /></strong></em></span></a></div><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong></strong></em></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>And flying over people's vineyards</strong></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu0a2dGMElGN2gc2l3HheDo0tYDHu1iYCHIbKkwkWbJ7cgILrc5_J6ehS4fH0-OWXFhmEG4_Uzn9PPw1uC6ihsHFiPXDS6KGVBHwQL-LU17Wke7NYX1X-eprA0w9oH7kFmZFsptNWWj0o/s1600/DSCN0059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu0a2dGMElGN2gc2l3HheDo0tYDHu1iYCHIbKkwkWbJ7cgILrc5_J6ehS4fH0-OWXFhmEG4_Uzn9PPw1uC6ihsHFiPXDS6KGVBHwQL-LU17Wke7NYX1X-eprA0w9oH7kFmZFsptNWWj0o/s400/DSCN0059.JPG" width="400" /></strong></em></span></a></div><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong></strong></em></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>We are not alone</strong></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCqIHx8ysokb6ONyb6A-POEosMfMlOPaC2yzE3XYzNCOK4L0bEV-FnJ8k8fK0oTeXadIFTfSLY07EuBI7noONntywHbQx1geukQdznw9pwXAN0GZUjEAd-SsPdNlDRkyf65-ejTj0lfc/s1600/DSCN0137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;"><em></em></span></a><strong style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCqIHx8ysokb6ONyb6A-POEosMfMlOPaC2yzE3XYzNCOK4L0bEV-FnJ8k8fK0oTeXadIFTfSLY07EuBI7noONntywHbQx1geukQdznw9pwXAN0GZUjEAd-SsPdNlDRkyf65-ejTj0lfc/s400/DSCN0137.JPG" width="400" /></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>For some the flight is over...</strong></em></span><br />
<span style="color: purple;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TlzxfilpK5qQIP1vdlsGgGaDeiDD7LOz6PnmN1RwweN-bv7u31BkBPmYxpnhbvkaOZjqUhkEXzBMG7qe2tn4u3-joHuDzayNDM4hRjTJMBboBqW32L42R4l83BfI_5on0C_0XdylMwk/s1600/DSCN0109.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1TlzxfilpK5qQIP1vdlsGgGaDeiDD7LOz6PnmN1RwweN-bv7u31BkBPmYxpnhbvkaOZjqUhkEXzBMG7qe2tn4u3-joHuDzayNDM4hRjTJMBboBqW32L42R4l83BfI_5on0C_0XdylMwk/s400/DSCN0109.JPG" width="400" /></strong></em></span></a></div><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong></strong></em></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>... but for the moment we are still aloft</strong></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgRM5n0bC3HMtR63i8ZaKzp5AweENPstGTQu2mguIJqdM3LGr8HOLie8c5U0WTsShSOhqNGgQEl3eZUaMKl3DlYrNSAVYLp-kLbINCMdYbjomVUO7hVE_PALHaDGEZwmaSNRhTacLWlo/s1600/DSCN0146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpgRM5n0bC3HMtR63i8ZaKzp5AweENPstGTQu2mguIJqdM3LGr8HOLie8c5U0WTsShSOhqNGgQEl3eZUaMKl3DlYrNSAVYLp-kLbINCMdYbjomVUO7hVE_PALHaDGEZwmaSNRhTacLWlo/s400/DSCN0146.JPG" width="400" /></strong></em></span></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em><strong>Our shadow flight </strong></em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u><em>ROCK CHURCHES IN GOREME</em></u></span></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVr_94_w4wf79t9J1HOWPKKKht0HLLzPhmZO7NFEkNi-hCo6DbIiTniQ8VKmXo7Vqm6vzpsNgLQTDhmsbIhbRXbJsJXEOBdW5i3r80n5EjlkDmqPyFFa4a6Wt8gDStoazjmct1a3w0TY/s1600/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFVr_94_w4wf79t9J1HOWPKKKht0HLLzPhmZO7NFEkNi-hCo6DbIiTniQ8VKmXo7Vqm6vzpsNgLQTDhmsbIhbRXbJsJXEOBdW5i3r80n5EjlkDmqPyFFa4a6Wt8gDStoazjmct1a3w0TY/s400/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-11.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4-nS34aYCYrN7VCVyCWrq43lQotes5mLv_U0pjfOMfe9jboX3nnPpkWVMzp1GCmCI4TEPChyWiUPBBf3gDT1sNJ1FavJh20REfray9-hnKaM6e-yYQZ0vxoG7ETRYVYwZmHB2eoqSOI/s1600/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4-nS34aYCYrN7VCVyCWrq43lQotes5mLv_U0pjfOMfe9jboX3nnPpkWVMzp1GCmCI4TEPChyWiUPBBf3gDT1sNJ1FavJh20REfray9-hnKaM6e-yYQZ0vxoG7ETRYVYwZmHB2eoqSOI/s400/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-9.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjih8M3thi62adBwCBANb0F8kINwIBps9zYk5OcOs-Q48wAuK_sXJmuOLE7hFKLlzybrn7b69NngdGcI0A4cH5dMXq7WO3zIgQrJeyLd0nOuatiyAPBh1pHaXSHsI_GiZyjPvLEVcDJdyI/s1600/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjih8M3thi62adBwCBANb0F8kINwIBps9zYk5OcOs-Q48wAuK_sXJmuOLE7hFKLlzybrn7b69NngdGcI0A4cH5dMXq7WO3zIgQrJeyLd0nOuatiyAPBh1pHaXSHsI_GiZyjPvLEVcDJdyI/s400/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-5.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNgWkOPhO7rHzJf23gVa6bHKom9o0sWXkrs0ASQDH4GEdUVm4AsaLtRgbqGQaGgsxv0F67QAHI_K96wCGTzo5YoIPwZNdMPvIygqjdTpuMdldkmo3qMh2gULmgyAgaIF96YjsX1YG96Y/s1600/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNgWkOPhO7rHzJf23gVa6bHKom9o0sWXkrs0ASQDH4GEdUVm4AsaLtRgbqGQaGgsxv0F67QAHI_K96wCGTzo5YoIPwZNdMPvIygqjdTpuMdldkmo3qMh2gULmgyAgaIF96YjsX1YG96Y/s400/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-8.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDAvj51e4MYHfwoWPhqemhdLFps55iikuWICZaBrai0h_QI4GJco4Ux-5kYTZY4QVnD7EAH8yvra0YPp4iiF-N7pJkj6mRqGUDYdFXXpQPeyNDEv8sKgunUKJVpNAIwHmDz_DEtB-4sE/s1600/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLDAvj51e4MYHfwoWPhqemhdLFps55iikuWICZaBrai0h_QI4GJco4Ux-5kYTZY4QVnD7EAH8yvra0YPp4iiF-N7pJkj6mRqGUDYdFXXpQPeyNDEv8sKgunUKJVpNAIwHmDz_DEtB-4sE/s400/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxy0EWy7rDd_RtHymninIAiUYmDnJFiZHdvO04Pe5RhN0DTXWmODpvsF4vunTH1NEn1tEypXu-GVhKpKPKY2j7GWPKWJholzj0PZ4TIWVg3Y9aeCaKv58vIiePkPyzqk0_aXCD0hrXcJY/s1600/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxy0EWy7rDd_RtHymninIAiUYmDnJFiZHdvO04Pe5RhN0DTXWmODpvsF4vunTH1NEn1tEypXu-GVhKpKPKY2j7GWPKWJholzj0PZ4TIWVg3Y9aeCaKv58vIiePkPyzqk0_aXCD0hrXcJY/s400/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-6.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9awZMl-8RWz6dcnhGGtKXPv3QQAmLlVpSCxfcFErJYHkWyoqgF7pUOfboD_mWjxN2tZuWnD2HpzHR0nI9Ryo3W2oh3BtvJJ38ejG2_xLz2jS982HZMd7uba-hu8A4_GksOt1_1FK3GHI/s1600/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9awZMl-8RWz6dcnhGGtKXPv3QQAmLlVpSCxfcFErJYHkWyoqgF7pUOfboD_mWjxN2tZuWnD2HpzHR0nI9Ryo3W2oh3BtvJJ38ejG2_xLz2jS982HZMd7uba-hu8A4_GksOt1_1FK3GHI/s400/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjih8M3thi62adBwCBANb0F8kINwIBps9zYk5OcOs-Q48wAuK_sXJmuOLE7hFKLlzybrn7b69NngdGcI0A4cH5dMXq7WO3zIgQrJeyLd0nOuatiyAPBh1pHaXSHsI_GiZyjPvLEVcDJdyI/s1600/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjih8M3thi62adBwCBANb0F8kINwIBps9zYk5OcOs-Q48wAuK_sXJmuOLE7hFKLlzybrn7b69NngdGcI0A4cH5dMXq7WO3zIgQrJeyLd0nOuatiyAPBh1pHaXSHsI_GiZyjPvLEVcDJdyI/s400/27.03-GoremeRockChurches-5.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><u>BUYING A CARPET IN GOREME</u></span></em></strong></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"></div> <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XdRKDp3YocNhxq7O8v3RBQorE_HGWsawJhFH8v64tvN4IC7AReuXiSjuof1OeKubbqs2hdwXlvWhis3DUXFiCYbEOIH6nW5NOoejUNB_kTyLfZ3jnp-Y5zbfY6o67Z3q0sybhvl8hTA/s1600/28.03-AliBarbar'sCaveGoreme-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6XdRKDp3YocNhxq7O8v3RBQorE_HGWsawJhFH8v64tvN4IC7AReuXiSjuof1OeKubbqs2hdwXlvWhis3DUXFiCYbEOIH6nW5NOoejUNB_kTyLfZ3jnp-Y5zbfY6o67Z3q0sybhvl8hTA/s400/28.03-AliBarbar'sCaveGoreme-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;">Boiling up the dyes</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgjQSOvYJ9A5D8VHhLlIgvKPhyphenhypheno8faHGiX7azaPJV2r_q3mc8wWQQxgImLKsCrQu4tb5-K7u8zwickuYLMwTlM2XveGkZaeaY9ndYuDGvMivPyy2sGFeKdj57JxYar3hZrkDx6FjFViy0/s1600/28.03-AliBarbar'sCaveGoreme-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgjQSOvYJ9A5D8VHhLlIgvKPhyphenhypheno8faHGiX7azaPJV2r_q3mc8wWQQxgImLKsCrQu4tb5-K7u8zwickuYLMwTlM2XveGkZaeaY9ndYuDGvMivPyy2sGFeKdj57JxYar3hZrkDx6FjFViy0/s400/28.03-AliBarbar'sCaveGoreme-4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><strong><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">"Ali Baba" shows how to dip the wool</span></strong></em></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4GxHYNHO-z1FzMv-xugUUyB8gZ1eSaTpE8VRP2ogXGq97wA_Ofy4NeGvaVTZFekQFio3Yi0AAZzuaelJbYVtiGHNaKDD5c2xbW0jvQMnGrVJY_LlZWpYE6fV4s6jv6UVJY_2MLpujErc/s1600/28.03-AliBarbar'sCaveGoreme-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4GxHYNHO-z1FzMv-xugUUyB8gZ1eSaTpE8VRP2ogXGq97wA_Ofy4NeGvaVTZFekQFio3Yi0AAZzuaelJbYVtiGHNaKDD5c2xbW0jvQMnGrVJY_LlZWpYE6fV4s6jv6UVJY_2MLpujErc/s400/28.03-AliBarbar'sCaveGoreme-3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">"Ali Baba" shows more secrets</span></em></strong></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIL-InxrSAamLiec9BuZuokmY68PBvw78qPRjOt6TaJeV6Crc9_KqvuZCsYJmdf1xccs4DJSthq2iIZk6HRu5HeZOJgjJx7ToPnV-sIxuXNJlrVRJ_dUiP-RSgXr4Gimbf19fSbqS3Sxg/s1600/28.03-AliBarbar'sCaveGoreme-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIL-InxrSAamLiec9BuZuokmY68PBvw78qPRjOt6TaJeV6Crc9_KqvuZCsYJmdf1xccs4DJSthq2iIZk6HRu5HeZOJgjJx7ToPnV-sIxuXNJlrVRJ_dUiP-RSgXr4Gimbf19fSbqS3Sxg/s400/28.03-AliBarbar'sCaveGoreme-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong><em>We are wined and dined</em></strong></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-jJ3gujy3ZsfUPJknfWYR_SzZgnMeBYMJH79pcQOJqh8tZ6k90bRiJDF4gFf4F7y3bb91Nb4H2HyZYZrL3a9mlMqvA84ihodxStpBNja1N0jxw7gU7Q1FsuH6jK_tR18wiW906Gn3AS4/s1600/MagicCarpet2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-jJ3gujy3ZsfUPJknfWYR_SzZgnMeBYMJH79pcQOJqh8tZ6k90bRiJDF4gFf4F7y3bb91Nb4H2HyZYZrL3a9mlMqvA84ihodxStpBNja1N0jxw7gU7Q1FsuH6jK_tR18wiW906Gn3AS4/s400/MagicCarpet2.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">"In situ" and very much at home!</span></em></strong></td></tr>
</tbody></table>silkroadsuziehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11155406663070711832noreply@blogger.com2