Kashgar is by far one of the most magical cities I have ever seen. It is a very old city, located at the juncture of the north and south routes of the Silk Road (The Silk Road was actually a series of trade routes. The southern routes went through what is now Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan [areas such as Bukhara, Samarkand, and Merv], while the northern routes went through current-day Kyrgyzstan and the southernmost portion of Kazakhstan. These routes joined in Kashgar and then extended eastward. When Islam was introduced into Central Asia, it first took hold in cities, and today there are still a large number of Muslims (mostly Uyghurs) in Kashgar. The Id Kah mosque in the heart of the old city is considered to be one of the most sacred sites by Muslims in China.
The downtown area of the city is divided into two distinct sections. The southern half is clearly non-Uyghur (and probably mostly Han Chinese). There are stores that sell alcohol, restaurants, and shops that follow a more western style. It is even possible to order pork in restaurants (We had one dish that actually had bacon. Sheer bliss! It was the first bacon I’d had since August, since it is not readily available in Almaty). The northern half of downtown Kashgar is the original city center. Everything is centered around the Id Kah mosque (pictured in a previous blog). There is a large square in front of the mosque, with a covered bazaar opposite. Small stores and vendors line the streets, and it is not uncommon to see a man leading a donkey cart laden with goods down the street. There is a large square in front of the mosque that can accommodate upwards of 100,000 men for services on holy days. Men in green uniforms patrol the entire area, ensuring that people adhere to the strict code of behavior. No smoking or drinking alcohol, no gambling, no spitting, no littering. Even animals are affected by these rules. There are several places along the side of the square for tourists to pose with a camel, a donkey, or a pony. All of these animals stand on some sort of carpeting to keep any effluents from falling directly on the square. The poor pony even had a bucket tied around its girth to catch any urine.
When we first arrived at the mosque, it was shortly before the muezzin (call to prayer). Within minutes of hearing the call, the square was full of men dressed in black. I don’t think there was any religious reason for the prevalence of black clothing, though. It is a common choice for clothes in this region, where washing machines are scarce and dust is plentiful. Sarah, Amelia, and I definitely stood out in our brightly colored, western-style winter coats.
We spent a fair amount of time exploring the narrow alleys and warrens behind the mosque. It was absolutely fascinating. Many of the buildings have complex geometric patterns, and some of the buildings were clearly once mosques. Vendors sell all sorts of ‘street food’. My favorite? A bar made of walnuts and some sort of honey/sugar coating. Absolutely delicious-but expensive. It cost all of 30 cents for the walnut bar! The ones made of cashews or assorted nuts were only 15 cents.
Walking around for a while, we came across a street full of artisans creating their wares. Metalsmiths making copper ornaments, woodworkers carving dishes, other artisans making/playing traditional Uyghur musical instruments. It was possible to stop at stalls along the street and buy loose tea, nan (bread), just-picked tangerines, and many other items. Restaurants dotted the street—recognizable by the mutton hanging outside the door, as well as by steaming trays of manti and braziers with grilling meat out front.
English is not a very common language in Kashgar, and the city also appears to be divided by language. Uyghur is spoken in the Muslim area, and Chinese (probably Mandarin) is spoken in the remainder of the city. Unfortunately, we did not speak any Uyghur—but that did not prevent us from trying to communicate with store owners and waiters in restaurants. One restaurant we went into had a food that we couldn’t wait to try—pumpkin manti. Usually, manti is meat (m’yasa) without vegetables. To order our meal, I had to take the waiter out to the street and point to the manti, then show him 3 fingers (one order for each of us). They were nearly out of pumpkin manti, so we augmented our order with regular manti. The cost for this delicious lunch? 7.2 quai—just under $1 for three meals.
Shopping in the stores was definitely a unique experience! Bargaining is expected—but how do you bargain when you don’t speak the language?? Our technique was quite simple. We knew three phrases in Chinese (‘hello’, ‘thank you’, and ‘how much does it cost’), so we would ask the cost and then give the shopkeeper a piece of paper and pen. They would either write the price down for us, or would punch the numbers into a calculator (or cell phone) and show it to us. We would counter by writing a lower number down—if they shook their head to indicate no, we would start to walk away. Usually, the shopkeeper would follow us and agree to the lower price. It didn’t always work, but often had the desired result.
There was one store where we all agreed not to bargain. There are about five or six stores selling traditional musical instruments on this particular street. In the first store we went into, we were surprised to be greeted in English by a young man tuning an instrument. Amelia was interested in several of the different instruments, and I wanted to find something for my nephews. The young man (Kurbanjan Ablimat) spent substantial time explaining the different instruments to us, and ensuring that quality of the gifts for Ryan and Campbell (he wasn’t happy with one of the instruments, and found a better one to replace it). He also gave us directions to a store where we could buy CDs of traditional music.
We went into some of the other music stores afterwards, but the prices were all higher, the instruments weren’t as nice, and the storekeepers were not particularly friendly. We really had no intention of buying anything in the other stores, though—our plan was to go back to the original store for any other purchases. Before doing so, we went back to the hotel to drop off our bags and to make arrangements for a camel ride in the Taklamakan Desert the following day. [Thanks to Amelia’s sister, Sybil, who lives in China and speaks the language, we were able to communicate with the front desk at the hotel. Amelia called her sister, told her what we wanted, and than gave the phone to the receptionist. It took a little while, but it worked!].
By the time we returned to downtown Kashgar, it was getting late—about 5:30pm Beijing time. We weren’t sure how late the stores would be open, and needed to finish shopping for gifts that afternoon. There wouldn’t be time after camel riding, and we were returning to Urumqi the following day. Fortunately, the first music store we went into was still open. Kurbanjan greeted us and immediately began telling us more about the instruments. Amelia wanted to look at a qushtar (a stringed instrument played with a bow), and Sarah was interested in a rawab (another stringed instrument, but which is more similar to a banjo). The qushtar that Amelia selected did not have a bridge, so Kurbanjan constructed the bridge while he told us more about the store and his interest in the instruments. His family has handmade traditional Uyghur instruments for five generations. Each instrument is carefully inlaid with different types of wood, and elaborately decorated. Even the small models of these instruments are handmade. He spent time showing us how each instrument is played, and demonstrated several traditional Uyghur songs and also played some Mozart for us. It was truly a fantastic experience. We were in the store for nearly two hours, listening to music and learning about each instrument. When it eventually came time to pay for our purchases (and I am not saying what I bought, since they include several gifts), none of us even thought of bargaining. It wasn’t just a shopping trip, but an amazing cultural experience—by spending the time to explain the instruments and music to us, Kurbanjan gave us a gift that won’t soon be forgotten. Before we left, he also presented me with a CD of traditional music—which is simply beautiful.
Our day in Kashgar ended at a Chinese restaurant. It was my turn to order dinner from the menu—ordering consisted of turning several pages and pointing to items in a different range of prices. And, yes, I did manage to order hot and spicy intestines (a picture of which is in a previous post). Fortunately, the prices were very reasonable—if we didn’t like a dish, we looked around the restaurant and indicated to the waitress that we would like what another table had ordered (this is considered normal behavior in China). The total bill for the five dinner entrees? 97 quai—or about $13. When we returned to the hotel, we calculated how much we had spent on food for the entire day—the total for each of us was about $5.25, including that pricy dinner.
As enjoyable as Kashgar was, we were all excited about the next day and camel riding. We had no idea just what an adventure it would be!
Friday, January 18, 2008
China-Taxi Ride from Hell-Pictures
1. Road to nowhere
2. "Fixing" the car--we put the blocks on the tires, not our taxi driver
3. Directing traffic around the car
4. Waiting for the car to be fixed
5. Area right by the 'garage'--note the repairs made to the broken telephone pole. Just stick two concrete posts into the ground, and tie the pole to them. Yikes!
China--Urumqi to Khorgos--Pictures
1)Lake Sayran
2-4)Herding on the highway around Lake Sayran
5)Amelia at an overpriced "Starbucks" in Khorgos
China-train ride from Kashgar to Urumqi-Pictures
A few pictures from the train ride from Kashgar to Urumqi. 1)Highway in the Taklamakan Desert near the Flaming Mountains 2)Settlement near the Flaming Mountains 3)sunrise from a plateau above the Turpan Depression 4)largest windfarm in China, near Turpan
Thursday, January 17, 2008
China-Train Rides and Love Hotels
Having become accustomed to the chaos of transportation systems in Kazakhstan, the experience of taking the train from Urumqi to Kashgar was quite a surprise. We left for the station rather early, as we anticipated that there might be some problems finding the appropriate platform. Fortunately, we knew which bus went to the train station (having made a careful note the previous day so that we could get to the station without our guide). En route, we stopped at a small grocery store to buy food for the trip and also found an open street stall selling fresh Uyghur-style bread (flat bread encrusted with sesame seeds or onions—delicious and addictive). It was definitely better than the hotel breakfast!
Arriving at the station, we were required to show our tickets in order to enter the departure hall. However, tickets were clearly not necessary. The woman in line in front of me blatantly slipped the security guard a few banknotes and had no problem entering. The departure hall was quite large and very well organized. Most of the signs were in Uyghur and Chinese, but the train numbers were clearly marked. Each train had a specific waiting area, and it took just a few minutes to find the correct place for the train to Kashgar. As we waited for the train to begin boarding, we could not help but notice a large number of Chinese soldiers. Some were apparently receiving awards—they were the ones wearing large red flowers pinned to the front of their uniform. As it turned out, they were traveling back to Kashgar on the same train as us. However, they were in what is called “hard seat”, or standard train seats without the option of lying down and sleeping. Not too much fun on a train ride that is over 24 hours long!
We soon boarded the train, and through a combination of smiles and showing train tickets, we found the correct carriage and berths. We all had upper berths, in 2 adjoining coupes. Each coupe has four berths—two upper and two lower. The people with the lower berths also have a table to share, and a little more room. However, there are seats in the hallway that can be used by those in the upper berths. This was to be where we spent much of our waking time on the train. The train was scheduled to leave at 12:09pm (Beijing time, of course). Imagine our surprise when we pulled out of the station at exactly 12:09pm! That would NEVER happen in Kazakhstan.
I should note that the presence of three foreign women (especially when one has curly red hair, and another is 5’10”) is extremely noticeable in Xinjiang. The other people in our carriage were rather amused by us. People would peer around the side of their coupe to look at where we were sitting, and they would smile and laugh. Western tourists are apparently a novelty—and we provided entertainment for quite a few people. Except for the times when we were trying to eat, it was rather charming. I don’t recommend trying to eat a bowl of ramen noodles as people stare at you, though.
The scenery on the train ride was fascinating. The train first headed further east, to the city of Turpan. We were able to see the largest windfarm in China before the train turned south towards Kashgar. For several hours, we traveled through increasingly desolate landscapes. Periodically we would see the remnants of what looked to be either military outposts or detention camps that had clearly been torn down by human agency. It was not unusual to see camels, horses, sheep, and cows grazing near the train tracks. There were few signs of human habitation, though. Occasionally we would see smoke coming from the chimney of what looked (by western standards) to be an abandoned building. The route between Turpan and Kashgar also skirted the edges of the Taklamakan Desert (the 2nd largest shifting sand desert in the world) as well as the lower reaches of the Pamir Mountains (the “Roof of the World”). Unfortunately, we traveled through these areas after nightfall—but hoped to see them during daylight on the return trip.
The train ride was also enlivened by a constant barrage of music. This music was mostly classical and Chinese pop music, with periodic bouts of communist anthems. However, it was turned off promptly at 10:30pm—when the lights were turned off. Clearly, it was bedtime. So…we all climbed into our berths and did as directed. At 8am the next morning, the music was turned on again—a soft classical piece this time. Then, at 8:05, when we had had sufficient time to wake up (?), the lights were turned back on.
We arrived in Kashgar just after 1pm—and then had to navigate to a hotel and check in. All without speaking the language. Using Russian as a backup language would not be an option, either (as it could be in Urumqi). We were fortunate, though. One of the passengers on the train spoke some English, and had given us the names of several hotels with approximations of their rates. Armed with this information, we found a taxi driver to take us to one of these hotels. It was surprisingly easy to arrange for a room—which cost $25 per night for a triple (including breakfast). However, the first room that we entered was already occupied—so we were shown to another room to wait until they had a room ready for us.
Eventually, we got settled into our (correct) room and were ready to leave to find someplace to eat. Just a short walk from the hotel, we came across the Id Kah mosque (more on that in the next post…). The mosque is surrounded by a myriad of narrow streets, all with small shops and artisans crafting their wares. We found a “Uyghur fast food” restaurant (yes, that is what the signs in front of many of these restaurants say!) for lunch. The shashlik grilling out front looked fairly appetizing, and the sheep carcass hanging by the front door looked rather fresh—clearly a good choice! The restaurant did not have a menu (which turned out to be the case with all of the Uyghur restaurants we went to), so we used a combination of hand gestures and smiles to order. At least we could point at the shashlik and hold up three fingers!
When our food arrived, it was the usual langhman (noodles with some sort of meat). But…the waiter brought out something that we hadn’t seen before. It looked like some sort of spicy pepper sauce—so exciting after the lack of seasoning common to Kazakh food. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very spicy after all. The shashlik looked (and smelled) delicious when it arrived. It turned out to be a very special type of shashlik, too. This restaurant was clearly a step above most other Uyghur restaurants, since each skewer of shashlik contained a piece of organ meat.
After several hours of walking around the city (which I will describe in more detail later—there is so much to include that it really deserves its own post. Kashgar really is a magical city), we returned to the hotel. Earlier, we had seen a sign in the lobby for a foot massage, and we were all ready to relax and indulge ourselves for a little while. So…we went back to the hotel room, put on our tapotchki, and headed up to the 7th floor (where the sign said we could find a foot massage). When we got to the 7th floor, we were unable to find any type of spa, though. So we went to the 2nd floor—the sign had a misprint and actually said “foot massage—7nd floor”. Maybe the spa was on the 2nd floor, instead? But there was no access to the 2nd floor. Clearly, it was time to try to ask at the desk.
Fortunately, the hotel had one employee who spoke a modicum of English. Just picture the following conversation.
US: There is a sign for foot massages on the 7th floor, but we couldn’t find the spa.
ATTENDANT: Foot massage?
US: Yes, foot massage. We’ve been walking quite a bit and are tired. We’d really like a foot massage.
ATTENDANT: Oh, foot massage. That is a specialty service.
US: Okay, so do we need to make a reservation? Do they come to our room? What do we need to do?
ATTENDANT: Um…that is a specialty service, ONLY for men.
US: (turning bright red). Oh. (run to the elevator).
Clearly, we were at another love hotel. And after being in Kashgar for less than 6 hours, we once again tried to hire prostitutes. Who knew “foot massage” was code for…something else??? Judging from how our trip started, the next few days would be quite interesting!
Arriving at the station, we were required to show our tickets in order to enter the departure hall. However, tickets were clearly not necessary. The woman in line in front of me blatantly slipped the security guard a few banknotes and had no problem entering. The departure hall was quite large and very well organized. Most of the signs were in Uyghur and Chinese, but the train numbers were clearly marked. Each train had a specific waiting area, and it took just a few minutes to find the correct place for the train to Kashgar. As we waited for the train to begin boarding, we could not help but notice a large number of Chinese soldiers. Some were apparently receiving awards—they were the ones wearing large red flowers pinned to the front of their uniform. As it turned out, they were traveling back to Kashgar on the same train as us. However, they were in what is called “hard seat”, or standard train seats without the option of lying down and sleeping. Not too much fun on a train ride that is over 24 hours long!
We soon boarded the train, and through a combination of smiles and showing train tickets, we found the correct carriage and berths. We all had upper berths, in 2 adjoining coupes. Each coupe has four berths—two upper and two lower. The people with the lower berths also have a table to share, and a little more room. However, there are seats in the hallway that can be used by those in the upper berths. This was to be where we spent much of our waking time on the train. The train was scheduled to leave at 12:09pm (Beijing time, of course). Imagine our surprise when we pulled out of the station at exactly 12:09pm! That would NEVER happen in Kazakhstan.
I should note that the presence of three foreign women (especially when one has curly red hair, and another is 5’10”) is extremely noticeable in Xinjiang. The other people in our carriage were rather amused by us. People would peer around the side of their coupe to look at where we were sitting, and they would smile and laugh. Western tourists are apparently a novelty—and we provided entertainment for quite a few people. Except for the times when we were trying to eat, it was rather charming. I don’t recommend trying to eat a bowl of ramen noodles as people stare at you, though.
The scenery on the train ride was fascinating. The train first headed further east, to the city of Turpan. We were able to see the largest windfarm in China before the train turned south towards Kashgar. For several hours, we traveled through increasingly desolate landscapes. Periodically we would see the remnants of what looked to be either military outposts or detention camps that had clearly been torn down by human agency. It was not unusual to see camels, horses, sheep, and cows grazing near the train tracks. There were few signs of human habitation, though. Occasionally we would see smoke coming from the chimney of what looked (by western standards) to be an abandoned building. The route between Turpan and Kashgar also skirted the edges of the Taklamakan Desert (the 2nd largest shifting sand desert in the world) as well as the lower reaches of the Pamir Mountains (the “Roof of the World”). Unfortunately, we traveled through these areas after nightfall—but hoped to see them during daylight on the return trip.
The train ride was also enlivened by a constant barrage of music. This music was mostly classical and Chinese pop music, with periodic bouts of communist anthems. However, it was turned off promptly at 10:30pm—when the lights were turned off. Clearly, it was bedtime. So…we all climbed into our berths and did as directed. At 8am the next morning, the music was turned on again—a soft classical piece this time. Then, at 8:05, when we had had sufficient time to wake up (?), the lights were turned back on.
We arrived in Kashgar just after 1pm—and then had to navigate to a hotel and check in. All without speaking the language. Using Russian as a backup language would not be an option, either (as it could be in Urumqi). We were fortunate, though. One of the passengers on the train spoke some English, and had given us the names of several hotels with approximations of their rates. Armed with this information, we found a taxi driver to take us to one of these hotels. It was surprisingly easy to arrange for a room—which cost $25 per night for a triple (including breakfast). However, the first room that we entered was already occupied—so we were shown to another room to wait until they had a room ready for us.
Eventually, we got settled into our (correct) room and were ready to leave to find someplace to eat. Just a short walk from the hotel, we came across the Id Kah mosque (more on that in the next post…). The mosque is surrounded by a myriad of narrow streets, all with small shops and artisans crafting their wares. We found a “Uyghur fast food” restaurant (yes, that is what the signs in front of many of these restaurants say!) for lunch. The shashlik grilling out front looked fairly appetizing, and the sheep carcass hanging by the front door looked rather fresh—clearly a good choice! The restaurant did not have a menu (which turned out to be the case with all of the Uyghur restaurants we went to), so we used a combination of hand gestures and smiles to order. At least we could point at the shashlik and hold up three fingers!
When our food arrived, it was the usual langhman (noodles with some sort of meat). But…the waiter brought out something that we hadn’t seen before. It looked like some sort of spicy pepper sauce—so exciting after the lack of seasoning common to Kazakh food. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very spicy after all. The shashlik looked (and smelled) delicious when it arrived. It turned out to be a very special type of shashlik, too. This restaurant was clearly a step above most other Uyghur restaurants, since each skewer of shashlik contained a piece of organ meat.
After several hours of walking around the city (which I will describe in more detail later—there is so much to include that it really deserves its own post. Kashgar really is a magical city), we returned to the hotel. Earlier, we had seen a sign in the lobby for a foot massage, and we were all ready to relax and indulge ourselves for a little while. So…we went back to the hotel room, put on our tapotchki, and headed up to the 7th floor (where the sign said we could find a foot massage). When we got to the 7th floor, we were unable to find any type of spa, though. So we went to the 2nd floor—the sign had a misprint and actually said “foot massage—7nd floor”. Maybe the spa was on the 2nd floor, instead? But there was no access to the 2nd floor. Clearly, it was time to try to ask at the desk.
Fortunately, the hotel had one employee who spoke a modicum of English. Just picture the following conversation.
US: There is a sign for foot massages on the 7th floor, but we couldn’t find the spa.
ATTENDANT: Foot massage?
US: Yes, foot massage. We’ve been walking quite a bit and are tired. We’d really like a foot massage.
ATTENDANT: Oh, foot massage. That is a specialty service.
US: Okay, so do we need to make a reservation? Do they come to our room? What do we need to do?
ATTENDANT: Um…that is a specialty service, ONLY for men.
US: (turning bright red). Oh. (run to the elevator).
Clearly, we were at another love hotel. And after being in Kashgar for less than 6 hours, we once again tried to hire prostitutes. Who knew “foot massage” was code for…something else??? Judging from how our trip started, the next few days would be quite interesting!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Reminder about viewing pictures
Just a reminder--if you can't see the pictures in your email, you can:
1)click on the link at the bottom of the email to change your settings to include pictures
2)go to the blog itself at www.cristinburke.blogspot.com to see the pictures.
1)click on the link at the bottom of the email to change your settings to include pictures
2)go to the blog itself at www.cristinburke.blogspot.com to see the pictures.
Daily Life for Rural Uyghurs-pictures
1) carrying water to the house (notice veil that woman is wearing, and also donkey cart in background)
2)waking up the baby (and untying him from the cradle!)
3)mother and son
4)living room (note musical instrument)
5)livestock
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)