Kashgar, China, was just a quick 90 minute flight out of Urumqi. For those keeping score at home, think of flying from Kearney to Denver. Same general direction, not-so-drastic change in altitude. Kashgar (also known as Kashi) is a decently-sized city located at one of the most fascinating crossroads in the world.
You can see that it's arguably the westernmost "city" in China; it's also the most inland city in the world. The countries surrounding Kashgar are the vast majority of the "-stan" family: Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. As a consequence of its very central position in Asia, Kashgar was also one of the major hubs of the great Silk Road. Needless to say, it was an absolutely fascinating experience spending a few days there. I'll save my reflections for my final post in this series, though, and for now let my pictures do most of the explaining.
Our sleeping arrangements
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my fairy princess hotel room;
the hotel was formerly the Russian Embassy in Kashgar |
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| mini lamb skewers at the hotel restaurant |
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| "grape fish," also at hotel restaurant |
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| stocking up for our lakeside picnic |
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| starting the picnic a little early |
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| The "Tiger's Mouth" Pass, as it is known locally |
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the riverbed where we played while waiting for a new road to be bulldozed;
a recent flood had washed away the actual highway |
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| this just doesn't seem safe |
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| the natural beauty of this place is incredible |
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| yay! |
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sharing the road with sheep again;
a recurring theme of our Xinjiang trip |
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| glacier in clouds; we're getting higher |
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| we rounded a corner, and I thought we had found the prettiest place on the highway... |
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| ...but then I saw this... |
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| ...and then, this. |
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| it almost looks like a fake background |
Picnic at Karakul Lake
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| the women's restroom, which consisted of a few cardboard planks (for squatting) over a pit |
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| I'm on a horse! On top of a mountain! |
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| isn't he so cute? |
Back in Kashgar...
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| Kashgar's "shantytown," known as Old Kashgar |
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| a local and well-known mosque, which is close to... |
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| The Afaq Khoja Mausoleum - VERY important to Xinjiang Muslims |
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| a Muslim cemetery, made out of dried mud |
The Livestock Market
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| the road is shared by all kinds of vehicles |
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| man selling sheep (refused to bargain with me) |
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| the elderly shearing the sheep |
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so many watermelons!
NOTE: this picture was taken about 15 minutes before... |
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| A SANDSTORM HIT KASHGAR!!!! I could barely see Chairman Mao. |
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| the sun through the sandstorm |
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| going local to protect my ability to breathe |
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| incredible materials at Kashgar's international shopping bazaar |
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| this place was a massive maze of stalls |
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| so this... is a camel oven, as in they lower an entire camel into it |
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| boys in Old Kashgar |
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| the roof of a home in Old Kashgar (it's still sandstorming) |
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| the sheep living on the roof of a home in Old Kashgar |
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| cute baby!!! |
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making new friends :)
they took joy in saying, "Hello!" and "Good bye!" |
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| just look at the mix of languages on that sign |
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| ...and finally came time to head back to Beijing. We were lucky to have this flight at all, since ours was cancelled due to the sandstorm. Lucky, that is, because our program director was the most tenacious ticket buyer I've ever seen. |
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Good bye, Kashgar.
Mother Nature's fury could only keep us trapped with you for so long. |
On the flight back, I reflected quite a bit on what I had learned about Xinjiang, Islam, minorities in China, terrorism, and generally how we treat each other as human beings. But that is for the final post in this little saga. Hope you enjoy the pictures!
P.S. JUST BOUGHT TICKETS TO SEE LADY GAGA AND SOOOOO HAPPY!!!!!
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