Holiday Reading 2012: Central Asian Titles

It is that delicious time of the year: lazing around in the garden and the beach and catching up on my Central Asian reading. Here's what is in my pile.

Friendly Steppes: A Silk Road Journey

Finally my copy of Nick Rowan's  Friendly Steppes: A Silk Road Journey has arrived. It was launched at London's National Geographical Society in early December. Nick Rowan is the editor-in-chief of Open Central Asia magazine, and is passionate about the region. The book chronicles Nick's 7-month journey and adventures from Venice through Eastern Europe, Iran and the steppes of Central Asia to China along the modern "Silk Roads" of today.

Update: A Kindle version of this book is now available.

Beyond the Oxus: The Central Asians

Then there's Monica Whitlock's Beyond the Oxus: The Central Asians. Whitlock was the BBC's Central Asia correspondent for many years. Published in 2002 to outstanding reviews for its research, readability and balance, this book has been hard to track down. The focus is on the upheaval in traditional lives since the Soviets arrived in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

Pamir: Forgotten on the Roof of the World

A new publication Pamir: Forgotten on the Roof of the World by French photographer Mathieu Paley and his wife Mareile is still waiting for an English publisher, so I have the French edition. (It is also available in German).

In the furthest reaches of Afghanistan, in the Wakhan Corridor, lies an isolated, arid land from which the highest mountain ranges in the world radiate: the Pamir plateau. At over 4,300 metres some 1150 Afghan Kyrgyz live there, suspended in time, trapped by history.

In 2000 Paley encountered a caravan of these proud nomads and their great leader, the Khan. He subsequently returned three more times, in the middle of winter, walking the length of the frozen Wakhan River. The images are extraordinary, revealing a rarely photographed, disappearing world.

Tashkent

This is a marvellous 1977 book from Aurora Press, the great Leningrad arts publisher. It focuses on the architecture of Tashkent, a city that I enjoy very much. It is an excellent record of the gems of Soviet architecture, some of which have already been demolished.

 

Saima: Kyrgyz Embroidery

Kyrgyz embroidery is a design treasure house: experts say that there are about 200 design elements, the combinations of which produce breathtaking compositions.

As I will be spending about 10 weeks in Kyrgyzstan in 2013, I am interested to learn more about the history, the meaning of the patterns and the technique of Kyrgyz ornamentation. This Russian/English bilingual edition is from Bishek publisher Raritet.

 

Max and Dina Penson Photography Books

Max Penson photographed the transformation of Uzbek society from a feudal society into a modern Soviet republic from the 1920s through the 1940s. His daughter, Dina, was the first female photojournalist in Uzbekistan.

I brought back three Penson photography books this year, all of which are stunning. There is Dina's The Unknown Penson, the Archive of the Photographer's Daughter, published in 2005 in an edition of 300. I also bought the catalogue from Dina's retrospective exhibition at Moscow's Galeev Gallery in 2007. The latest Penson book is Max Penson: Photographer of the Uzbek Avant-Garde, 1920s-1940s, which was published by Arnoldsche Art Publishers, Stuttgart in 2011.

Max Penson's unparallelled photographic archive was saved by Dina and her husband, the film maker Fazulla Khodzhaev, after the 1966 Tashkent earthquake.

Suzani: Central Asian Decorative Embroidery

 

This 2011 publication by the International Institute for Central Asian Studies (IICAS) was supported by UNESCO.  It is written by 
Olga Sukhareva (1903-1983) the high-profile specialist on Central Asian ethnography. She was born in Samarkand and started gathering materials on embroidery in the early 1930s while working in the Samarkand Museum. Later, the art historian worked in the Institute of Ethnography in Moscow.

Unfortunately, Sukhareva could not publish the book in her lifetime and in the late 1980s the manuscripts were published in Moscow, in Russian.  IICAS decided to publish these materials in Uzbekistan, in English, to bring the art of Central Asian embroidery to a wider public.

The book covers the history of embroidery in Central Asia from the 19th century, preparation and dying of threads, ornament drawing and embroidery stitches, as well as the changes that have occurred such as the styles shifting, the transformation in meaning of patterns, and the dying-out of old motifs.

It is gorgeously illustrated with photographs from the Bukhara and Samarkand museums as well as detailed hand drawings of stitches. I picked up my copy in Samarkand: the 17cm x 24 cm format makes it easy to travel with.

Islamic Geometric Patterns

This title was strongly recommended by talented Canadian weaver Sharon Broadley, who travelled with Uzbek Journeys in October 2012. I am so glad I ordered it directly from the author, Eric Broug.

Travelling throughout Central Asia one is dazzled by the geometrical design on buildings, on tiles, on metals, and in metals. It is one of the most distinctive aspects of Islamic art and architecture.

This is a practical book, demonstrating how to create pentagons and hexagons with merely a ruler and compass, just as the masters did centuries ago. The book includes an interactive CD-ROM that contains all twenty designs presented as animations, printable grid paper pdfs, printable colouring designs, interactive photographs and an extensive photo gallery showing highlights of Islamic geometrical compositions.

New Year Wishes

Wishing all Uzbek Journeys clients and readers an interesting year ahead, full of adventures and some time for sipping green tea.

Related Posts: Holiday Reading 2014: Central Asian Titles
Holiday Reading 2013: Central Asian Titles
Central Asian Art & Craft Books, Holiday Reading (2011 post)
Silk Road Media: An Uzbek Entrepreneur in London  (for book orders)

Khiva's Open-Air Cinema

The setting for Khiva's open-air cinema; image courtesy John Payne

This autumn saw the revival of the open-air cinema in the ancient walled city of Khiva, western Uzbekistan.

The cinema is in Kunya Ark, the earliest palace of the Khivan Khans, the foundations of which date back to the 5th century AD. It is a spectacular setting for this initiative.

The open-air cinema was first created in the Ark during Soviet times, but fell into disuse until September 2012. Now visitors can view black and white classics of Uzbek cinema, with English subtitles, free of charge every night of the week during the tourist seasons of spring and autumn.

Movie poster for the evening's film

The cinema has been named in honour of Khudaybergen Divanov, the Khivan-born father of Uzbek photography. He also produced the first Uzbek documentary featuring Asfandiyar, the Khan of Khiva, riding in a phaeton carriage in 1910.

The features start at around 8:00pm and the entrance is from a small, magnificently carved Khivan door on the main street (not through the usual Ark entrance), more or less opposite the Orient Star hotel. There are movie posters all over Khiva advertising the films.

The films are often love stories or comedies. The sets are particularly interesting: viewing how Uzbeks dressed, cooked, and travelled during the period of the the film. Political issues are raised as well as the struggles of family obligations.

In September I saw O'tgan Kunlar (Bygone Days), made in 1969 and based on Abdulla Qodiriy's 1922 book, regarded as Uzbekistan's first novel. (Abdulla Qodiriy was repressed during Stalin’s Great Terror of the 1930s). Set in the Ferghana Valley on the eve of Russian conquest in the 19th century, the movie tells the story of a loving couple who become victims of social traditions on the one hand and political intrigues of the court of the last Khan of Kokand on the other.

Daytime view of the cinema space

Khiva itself makes a splendid film set. The Constantinople section of the 1992 film Orlando, starring Tilda Swinton, was filmed there.

Kudos to Uzbek Tourism and Khiva City government for this special evening treat.

Update May 2016: Regrettably,  it seems the Khiva cinema no longer operates.

Related posts: Khudaybergen Divanov - Father of Uzbek Cinema and Photography
The Jabborov Rope Walking Family of Khiva
Uzbekistan as Film Location

Unforgettable Rano Yakubova, Ayaz Qala Yurt Camp

Rano Yakubova, hamming it up in front of a yurt

Ayaz Qala consists of three fortresses built from the 4th century BC to the 7th century AD. They formed part of a network of fortresses on the edge of the Kyzul Kum desert and are now on the World Monuments Fund's list of the 100 most endangered sites.

A night at the Ayaz Qala yurt camp is one of the highlights of an Uzbek Journeys tour.  The steppe, the silence and the stars are remarkable.

Another highlight there is meeting Rano Yakubova, the impressive, funny and energetic woman who manages the camp. 

Her sister, Dilbar, started the yurt camp in 1998; Rano has been running it since 2006.  In Soviet times Rano studied Uzbek literature at university and was a high school teacher. Now she lives in this beautiful, though rather remote camp, 9 months of the year. And she does so with flair, good humour and a good kitchen.

The yurts are comfortable, sleeping 6 persons. There are wash basins and two flushing toilets at the camp. During conservation work on the fortresses in 2005, UNESCO was impressed with the yurt operation and kicked in funding for solar energy panels and a water filtering system.

Sunrise on the fortress, Ayaz Qala

Rano lives on site from March through November, managing her team of 6 -15 staff,  depending on the season.  Most are family members and neighbours from her village.  Her husband is the handy man. Staff bathe at a hammam (traditional bath house) 8 kms away. Supplies are sourced from the nearest bazaar 25 kms away. Rano has trained all the kitchen staff; the meals served are tasty and nourishing.

Evenings at Ayaz Qala are special: watch the sun set from a tapchan (a raised platform used for relaxing and reclining in Uzbekistan), then watch the stars decorate the black sky. Rano arranges a concert after dinner - outside if possible, or inside the very big yurt if it is too cold or windy - with musicians and a traditional dancer from the village. It is a simple and authentic performance. By now, Rano's major responsibilities are over for the day and she lets loose, making sure everyone has vodka or beer and insisting everyone dances.

Almost a movie set: camels at the yurt camp

This is when she enjoys herself most, sitting and dancing with her guests, telling stories or reciting poems.

Next morning, after a spectacular sunrise and a simple breakfast, Rano will see you off, begging you to come again, to stay longer, to keep her company and to dance again on the steppe.

Returning to Rano's warm welcome at Ayaz Qala is one of my great pleasures. I am sure you will like her very much indeed.

Images: Courtesy of Richard Marshall, who travelled with Uzbek Journeys in October 2012

Related post: 
Yurts of Central Asia Part #1 

Paolo Veronese's Lamentation of Christ *Discovered* in Tashkent

Veronese's Lamentation of Christ in the Tashkent Fine Arts Museum

Uzbekistan's State Museum of Fine Arts has been making headlines again.

Hard on the heels of its stash of Picasso ceramics, forgotten in storage for over 40 years, this week the museum revealed that it has a masterpiece by the Italian Renaissance painter, Paolo Veronese. Veronese, Titian and Tintoretto constitute the triumvirate of pre-eminent Venetian painters of the late Renaissance (16th century).

Like the Picasso treasures, the back story about this work is intriguing.

Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich Romanov, grandson of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, was a gifted military officer and a great womaniser.  He fell passionately in love with an American divorcée, Fanny Lear. They travelled through Italy and France and his personal diary records that he purchased a painting by the Italian master Paolo Veronese in 1871-1872. Following a scandal in which he allegedly stole three diamonds from one of his mother's icons to give to his mistress, Nikolai was arrested and banished from Russia to Tashkent.

In 1891 the Grand Duke, in permanent exile, constructed a palace for himself in Tashkent, today used as the Reception House of the Uzbek Foreign Affairs Ministry. This palace housed his art collection and, according to his will, on his death in 1918 the collection became the property of the Tashkent University.

The entire collection was moved to the State Art Museum in 1920 and then transferred to the newly built museum in 1974. There the painting has hung attributed as artist unknown. For decades art students have viewed and copied the piece unaware of its origins.

Restoration expert Dilshod Azizov; image RFE/RL

Fast forward to 2010 when Samarkand-born Dilshod Azizov joined the Fine Arts Museum and was assigned several older paintings to restore. Azizov, a graduate of the Tashkent Institute of Art and Design, had pursued further restoration studies at St. Petersburg's Academy of Arts under the Hermitage's famous restorer Mikhail Devyatova.

Delicate compositional, infrared and ultrasound studies, as well as analyses of palette, colour relationships, the  silk canvas and soil composition etc, were carried out. Under 19 layers of paint and laquer, the title of the work was revealed. Azizov was convinced that it was a Veronese original.

On 27 November, a media event was held at the museum to announce the authenticity of the work. The museum was transformed into a Renaissance palace. The Italian Ambassador to Uzbekistan addressed the audience as did the Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, Tashkent, and the Catholic Church's Bishop of Uzbekistan.

The announcement has generated controversy: Veronese's famous painting The Descent from the Cross, hangs in the Hermitage. The paintings are very different from each other in construction and perspective.  However, experts are convinced that Veronese engaged the same sitter to pose as Christ in both works.

Azizov explains the authentication process

According to UZ News, which covered the event, Azizov stepped the audience through the layers of the painting and the verification process. On the screen Azizov showed how Veronese corrected the initial position of Christ's arm, removing his second leg; Christ's thigh was initially uncovered, but in the final version the painter covered it, probably in line with the Church's preference for modesty. At one stage the owners cut off Christ's fingers to squeeze the painting into a frame.

Uzbek specialists suggest that it may take two or three years to restore the painting after which it will be displayed again at the museum.

The video clip below shows the museum decked in Renaissance splendour and the unveiling of the work. (If the clip does not how on your device, please go directly to http://www.youtube.com/embed/vFbIP0JxNg8).

Related post: Pablo Picasso and Nadejda Kashina Exhibition in Tashkent

Made & Told Launches its Central Asian Artisans Website

Kyrgyz hand felted and hand sewn shyrdak - cushion cover

Made & Told, the brainchild of Mary Mitchell, is a unique online concept that supports artisans across Central Asia.

Mitchell, a journalist and filmmaker who has worked in Central Asia, is committed to promoting and supporting traditional craft from the region. What makes her concept so special is that alongside the products, mainly home wares,  there is an accompanying video so you can watch the making of the item and listen to the artisan's story.

All the products are sourced directly from artisans, and 50% of the profits are donated to organisations working with artisans and entrepreneurs in Central Asia.

Mitchell's goal is to generate income for craftsmen and women and give them the opportunity to have their stories heard and their work admired worldwide.

The online Uzbek range includes plates from Rishtan, suzanis from Shakrisabz and ikat from Margilan. The Kyrgyz cushion covers are either felted or made with antique embroidery. Custom orders are possible now and the product range will expand.  International shipping rates are not yet published on the site. However, if you contact Mary Mitchell at info@madeandtold.com she will be able to quote.

Do visit the Made & Told shop to view the products and watch the artisans. This is a venture well worth supporting.

The video below [3:23 mins] features Sadagul who made the magnificent felted cushion covers above. She lives in Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan, and was taught how to make shydraks by her mother and grandmother when she was a girl, and has made them ever since. (If the video does not display in your device, please visit http://vimeo.com/53462587)

Related post: Blue Ceramics of Rishtan, Ferghana Valley

Pablo Picasso and Nadejda Kashina Exhibition in Tashkent

Plate from the Picasso ceramic exhibition, Tashkent

Until 10 January 2013, visitors to Tashkent's Fine Arts Museum have a chance to view a small, though exceptional collection of Pablo Picasso's ceramics. This exhibition has been paired with strong ink drawings of Nadeja Kashina. Her expressive graphics are reminiscent of Picasso's, whose work she greatly admired.

The back story of this exhibition is intriguing: after the death of French artist Fernand Léger in 1955, his Belarussian-born widow, Nadia Khodossevitch, donated many works from their private collection to the Soviet government. (Both Léger and Khodossevitch were communists).

The Soviet government distributed art works to museums throughout the USSR, and the 12 Picasso ceramics ended up in Tashkent, where they were exhibited in the 1960s. After that it seems they were placed in storage and, over time, forgotten. In 2004, while sorting through boxes, museum staff unearthed these priceless pieces.

Nadejda Kashina, Musicians, ink drawing

The ceramics - plates, jugs and bowls -  were all produced in the Madoura ceramic workshop in Vallauris, France. Inspired by his portfolio of sketches, Picasso collaborated with the Madoura team from 1946 - 1970 producing around 630 pieces.  The pieces on display in Tashkent were made in 1960 -1961.

Nadejda Kashina, whose drawings form part of this exhibition, was born in the Russian city of Perm in 1896 and moved to Tashkent in the late 1920s, after studying in Moscow. Kashina wrote that what attracted her in Central Asia were 'colouring, type and the huge amount of untouched topics'. Her Samarkand paintings in particular are bright and vibrant.

Nadejda Kashina, Woman with Star, ink drawing

In this Tashkent exhibition, ink drawings done in the 1970s, shortly before her death, are displayed. Picasso's influence is striking.

For travellers on Uzbek Journeys tours, you have a chance to view Kashina's avant-garde paintings at the Savitsky collection in Nukus.

As an interesting aside, the Savitksy collection includes 79 classical sculptures replicated for Léger in the Louvre, and given to Savitksy for his collection. Although not of particular interest to foreign visitors, this collection forms an important part of the Nukus museum's education program for schools.


Related posts:  Paolo Veronese's Lamentation of Christ Discovered in Tashkent
Alexander Volkov: Of Sand and Silk
Igor Savitksy, Founder of the Karakalpakstan Museum, Nukus
Desert of Forbidden Art

Autumn in Uzbekistan

Road leading to the yurts. Image courtesy Richard Marshall

Autumn is especially lovely in Uzbekistan. Not only are the poplars and fruit trees golden, it is harvest time: the fruit is bountiful and the vegetables delicious.

The sky is the same astonishing blue, though perhaps a little paler. The days milder and the evenings fresh. Even the road leading to the Ayaz Kala yurt camp is lined in autumnal splendour, while just one kilometre away the yurts stand in the desert's red sands.

The grapes in the Ferghana Valley are plump and sweet. The markets throughout the country are stacked high with succulent melons, persimmons, plums, figs, pomegranates and peaches. Strangers, enraptured by the taste of white melon, will offer you a slice as you walk by.

Grapes are an autumn treat. Image courtesy Richard Marshall

Autumn is also the time of the cotton harvest: Uzbekistan is the world's second-largest cotton exporter and fifth largest producer. Cotton is hand picked and the fields are full of villagers picking Uzbek 'white gold'.

For city dwellers, autumn is when theatres and concert halls re-open after the intense summer heat. Museums change their exhibtions. Tashkent, Samarkand and Ferghana parks are draped in gold: families picnic and play by the canals. Tashkent's Botanical Garden, now a little unkempt, is a riot of reds and yellows.

A bridal party takes to the amusement park, Nukus. Image: Richard Marshall

It is also a popular season for weddings. Very young women (usually around 20 years) and men (around 22 years), dressed in finery, parade around the towns with family and friends, visiting shrines, monuments and places of interest for countless photo sessions.

Uzbek Journeys has just added an extra autumn tour to Uzbekistan from 30 September - 15 October 2013 and a range of new tours to the Ferghana Valley. Why not consider joining?

Related post: Exploring Tashkent's Botanical Gardens with Ada Alexandrovna 

The Jabborov Rope Walking Family of Khiva

The Jabborov brothers, rope walkers

In the courtyard of the Mohammed Rakhim Khan Madrassah, inside the ancient, baked brick walls of Khiva, is the chance to see a thrilling rope walking performance.

Coming from dor, meaning 'tightened rope' and boz, meaning 'play or demonstration', dorboz have performed along the Silk Road for centuries. The word “dorboz” was first recorded in lexicographer Mahmud al-Kashgari’s Compendium of the Languages of the Turks, written in 1072, and defined as “doing tricks on top of a rope.”

Nowruz, the spring festival held on 21 March, is the stepping day to spring, and thus dorboz traditionally arrange performances at Nowruz to celebrate their glorious art and demonstrate how nimbly they step, leap and run across the rope. Sometimes blindfolded, sometimes balancing other dorboz on their head and shoulders.

In 1955, a rope walking troupe from Andijon, in the Ferghana valley, visited Khiva. Master dorboz Odiljon Khakimov invited local youths to demonstrate their skills.

Qadamboy Jabborov, then aged 13, so impressed the master that he joined the troupe's next port of call  in Dashoghuz, Turkmenistan, after which he was accepted into the company.

A musical number during the performance!

He spent the next five years honing his art and entertaining audiences with his daring feats on the rope. In 1960 Qadamboy returned to Khiva to set up his own dorboz troupe. His eldest son, Bahrom, was naturally gifted and began training in various sports to gain the endurance, strength and agility required.

Bahrom has subsequently led his sons Alimardon, Ramazon and Khuaybergan through a similar, rigorous training program to perfect what has now become the family tradition. Even four-year old Sadiana is included in the performance, though she must wait until she is six before she can perform solo.

Sadiana, 4 years old, joins the family business

And it is not simply rope walking that dorboz learn. They also play various traditional instruments such as the karnay and drums. Dorboz are usually dressed in traditional national costume, either brightly coloured or white shirts and black trousers, tucked into soft leather boots.

On an Uzbek Journeys tour you have the chance to view a dorboz performance by the Jabborov family. A show is US$35 for a minimum of 10 people. Even if you are travelling solo this would still be $35 well spent. Just drop by the Mohammed Rakhim Khan Madrassah and arrange a time.



Related posts: Uzbekistan's Circus Traditions
Khiva's Open-Air Cinema
Celebrating Nowruz - Spring New Year 
Khiva's Sunday Markets

Images in this post are courtesy of Janet Richardson, who travelled with Uzbek Journeys in May 2012.

Silk Road Media: An Uzbek Entrepreneur in London

Marat Akhmedjanov

One of my best sources for tracking down new and out-of-print publications about Central Asia is the Discovery Bookshop, part of Marat Akhmedjanov's Silk Road Media group.

Taking advantage of a vast warehouse in Uzbekistan, the choice is astounding. Over the last few years Marat has helped me track down old maps, art books and magazines. So it was such a pleasure when I finally met him in Bishkek earlier this year.

Born in 1976 in Jizzakh, an important Silk Road junction north east of Samarkand, Marat is the child of a Christian Ukrainian mother and Muslim Tatar father, both construction engineers. After Uzbekistan's independence in 1991, Marat became the chairman of Jizzakh's Youth Union, the successor to the Soviet Komosol and started learning English. Since then he hasn't looked back.

With various collaborators he started Uzbekistan's first model agency, staged the first Uzbek international fashion week show, set up an advertising agency, published a fashion/lifestyle magazine for young Uzbeks, interned at a US travel magazine, was awarded a Masters degree from London's College of Communications and later a postgraduate diploma in publishing.

Discovery cover, issue #33

Marat is committed to promoting tourism in Central Asia. He launched Silk Road media to provide global audiences new perspectives on contemporary society, art, history, landscape and peoples of the region. Discovery Central Asia magazine, the flagship publication, was launched in 2002. It is published quarterly. As well as regular columns, each edition  focuses on a specific theme, e.g. wildlife, fashion, sacred places, music, cuisine.

Pocket-sized national travel guides to Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan are available in German, French and English. In 2009 the quarterly magazine Open Central Asia, devoted to Central Asian cultural, political and economic events was launched. Its editor-in-chief is Nick Rowan, whose book, The Friendly Steppes, an account of his journey from Venice through Eastern Europe, Iran and the steppes of Central Asia to China is due out late 2012.

Pocket-size country guides

Marat's team organised the first Discovery Central Asia Travel Forum this year in Bishkek. It brought together tour operators, hoteliers, guides, government agency staff and tourism experts from the region and further afield. Next year's forum will be in Dushanbe, Tajikistan's capital, from 27 - 28 April.

Although based in London, Marat returns frequently to Central Asia, where Silk Road has bookshops in Tashkent, Almaty and Bishkek. He has organised film screenings of the award-winning documentary The Desert of Forbidden Art, about the Savitsky collection of Russian modernist art in Nukus: hundreds of people in Central Asia now know about Igor Savitsky and the story of his extraordinary collection thanks to Marat's efforts.

Silk Road Media regularly participates in travel and book fairs, promoting the uniqueness of the region, the hospitality of the people and their cultural heritage. He also gives a voice to contemporary Central Asian writers through his publications.

In a very positive way, Marat Akhmedjanov is a mover and a shaker on the Central Asian tourism and publishing scene. And even for a small-time customer like me, he goes out of his way to find whatever I am after.

Marat & co-publisher Anastacia Lee

Silk Road Media links:
Silk Road Media
Discovery Bookshop
Open Central Asia Magazine (the website is a great way to keep up-to-date with Central Asian related-events in the UK)

Turkmenistan's Carpeted Flag

Turkmenistan's national flag

Turkmenistan became an independent nation on 27 October 1991, and in February the following year proudly adopted a new flag.

It has been slightly tweaked since then, the major change being the addition of the two olive branches at the base of the vertical stripe. This was made after the United Nations accepted Turkmenistan's status of permanent neutrality in 1995.

Green and red have long been venerated by the Turkmen. The vertical red stripe contains five basic carpet gul. A gul is a medallion-like design element typical of traditional hand-woven Turkmen carpets. These guls represent the five houses or tribes of Turkmenistan, which, from top to bottom are Teke, Yomut, Arsary, Chowdur, and Saryk.

It is the only national flag that boasts carpet designs. This is unsurprising when one considers these two Turkmen proverbs: 'Water is a Turkmen's life, a horse is his wings, and a carpet is his soul' and 'Unroll your carpet and I shall see what is written in your heart.'

The crescent signifies the hopes of Turkmens for a bright future, while the five pointed white stars represent the country's five velayat, or regions: Ahal, Balkan, Dashhowuz, Lebap and Mary.

Turkmen SSR flag, adopted 1952

It is interesting to compare the new flag with the former Turkmen SSR flag, adopted in 1952. Like the other Central Asian Soviet Republics, the background is red and  the hammer and sickle represent the peasants' and workers' union, and the red star is the symbol of the proletariat.

It has been suggested that the blue lines represented the  Amu Darya (Oxus) river that runs along the northeastern border of Turkmenistan. The other blue stripe may stand for the river Atrek, which forms the border between Turkmenistan and Iran, or the Caspian Sea, the western border of Turkmenistan.

Related posts:
Uzbek Flag: Colours and Symbols
Kyrgyz Flag - Homage to Nomadic Traditions 
Turkmenistan: Tracking Down Mosaics 
Ernst Neizvestny's Last Soviet Sculpture - Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

The Greek Community of Uzbekistan

Greek family gathering, Tashkent 1972

Greeks have been in Central Asia since Alexander and his armies marched through in the 3rd century BC. Indeed many blue-eyed people you meet in the region will claim their ancestry from his soldiers.

However, it was in the 15th century, following the fall of Constantinople and the marriage of Greek Princess Sophia to Tsar Ivan III of Russia, that a steady migration of Greeks to Russia began. The religious and cultural ties were strong.

After Catherine the Great's armies reached the Black Sea and founded the city of Odessa, many Greeks settled there; before the Russian Revolution there were over 500,000 Greeks living in Tsarist Russia.

Prior to WWII about 30,000 Greeks lived in Uzbekistan, most forcibly sent there by Stalin. Another 11,000 settled in Tashkent as political refugees following the Greek Civil War (1946 - 1949). Many Greeks worked on the Golodnaya Steppe (also known as the Hungry Steppe). Begun in 1956, this was a Soviet agricultural project on a grand scale, to cultivate the naturally saline virgin lands, an area of 10,000 square kilometres in Eastern Uzbekistan, about 160 kilometres from Tashkent.

Musicians performing at the Greek Cultural Centre, Tashkent 1970s

By 1960 there were 12 Greek neighbourhoods in Tashkent and two in Chirchiq. Greek was taught in local schools and a cultural centre established to preserve traditions, customs and language. They played a significant role in Tashkent's cultural, economic and political life.

The Soviet Union actively supported the Greek Communist Party within its borders and performers such as composer and musician Mikis Theodorakis regularly visited Tashkent.

In 1982 the Greek government passed an Amnesty Law permitting the return and repatriation of the political refugees who had left Greece during the civil war. Many returned to their homeland. Others, however, had married and created a life for themselves in Uzbekistan and elected to stay. After Uzbekistan became an independent nation, further repatriations followed.

Greek guys hanging around Tashkent, 1970s

Today there are about 6,000 Greeks in Uzbekistan. The Greek Cultural Association organises Greek classes, dancing and other traditional activities. Supported by the Greek Government, each summer it sends around 30 school children to Greece for a one-month stay and a small group of Uzbek-Greek pensioners visit their homeland.

The Greek Cultural Association is located at 30 A Yusuf-Hos-Hodgib Street 100031, Tashkent. Telephone: 998 971 256-28-03. It is not far from the Applied Arts Museum.

Update May 2015: For readers who wish to learn more about this fascinating topic, Elaina Lampropoulos recently published her excellent thesis Belonging to Greece and the Soviet Union: Greeks of Tashkent 1940 - 1974. Her research and its findings are based on oral histories and Greek-language newspapers published during the period as well as on memoirs of Greeks who lived in Tashkent.

Related posts:
Alexander the Great's March from St Petersburgh to Sydney 
Tashkent: A City of Refuge 
Uzbek-Korean Connections

Images courtesy of Maria Eustathiou, Tashkent, from her family album
Materials source: Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst

White Silk Road - Snowboarding Afghanistan

Poster from White Silk Road

White Silk Road tells the story of three Australian snowboarders who travelled to Afghanistan in February 2012 to carry the sport across new frontiers.

The guys, Clint Allan, Nick Gregory and Mitch Allan, must be very brave and a little crazy. They must also have paid a huge sum for travel insurance.

From the documentary's blurb:

They travelled to the town of Bamyan, in central Afghanistan, to explore the untouched peaks of the mighty Hindu Kush. Along the way they dodged riots, landmines, bombs and kidnappers to discover a side of the country usually ignored by the western media.

The spectacular natural beauty of Bamyan has endured through centuries of violence, and a culture of hospitality and optimism in the communities has prevailed through the previous decades of conflict. The snow-capped peaks of the Hindu Kush tower above the small town. All winter, they are covered in deep, dry powder. Most of them had never been ridden. With only their two legs to get them up the mountain, the snowboarders set about changing that.

In the foothills of the mountains, the riders met a small group of locals who had recently taken to the slopes with gumboots and wooden skis: forgetting the tribulations of the past and fostering a new tourist industry that could secure a brighter future. The boarders introduced them to snowboarding and helped them learn the fundamentals of a new sport and a new life.

It opened in Australia in July and will be playing at festivals in North America and Europe later in the year. The trailer below [2 mins] is extraordinary. Just look at those mountains. The soundtrack is put together by Fake Four Inc and Circle Into Square.

Related posts:
Uzbekistan as Film Location 
Cricket in Afghanistan and Tajikistan
Afghan Art - Tradition and Continuity at the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha 
Skateistan - Empowering Afghan Youth Through Skateboarding 



White Silk Road: Snowboarding Afghanistan - Trailer from Lightbox Pictures on Vimeo.

Central Asia at the Paralympics 2012

Sharif Khalilov; image: Dennis Grombkowski/Getty Images

Athletes from Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are at London's 2012 Paralympics.

The 10-member Uzbek contingent are competing in four sports: track and field, swimming, power lifting and judo. Uzbekistan boasts a proud history of investing in sports training for both able-bodied and disabled athletes. In the  2009 Asian Youth Para Games, Uzbek athletes won four gold, three silver and one bronze medal. At the 2010 Amputee Football World Cup, held in Argentina, the team defended the champion’s title, winning gold for the second consecutive time.

Uzbek judoka Sharif Khalilov has become the first Uzbek paralympian medallist ever, winning a silver in the 73 kg category.

Seven Kazakh athletes are in three events: power lifting, swimming and track-and-field. In 1994, Kazakh Lubov Vorobieva won silver in cross-country skiing at Lillhammer's winter paralympics in 1994, which has been Kazakhstan's only paralympian medal.

Kyrgyzstan debuted in the Paralympics in 1994 and this year hopes for its first medal are pinned on its only competitor, power lifter Esen Kaliev. Afghanistan is also represented by one athlete: Mohammad Fahim Rahimi, a power lifter, who lost his right leg 18 years ago during the civil war. Fahim Rahimi competed at the Beijing Paralympics in 2008, and this time he wants to bring home a medal.

Fahim Rahimi, Afghanistan's sole athlete; image: The Guardian

Turkmenistan has fielded five athletes: Sohbet Charyyev, although not a medallist, scored his personal best in the F13 men's long jump final. Tajikistan's Parviv Odinaev, his country's sole competitor, hopes to score in the men's 75kgs powerlifting event.

Uzbek Journeys wishes all the athletes success and joy at the Games.

Related post: Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan at the 2012 Olympics.

Alexander Volkov: Of Sand and Silk, an Exhibition at Christie's, London

Alexander Volkov's Women with Peacock, 1921

If you are near London between 4 and 21 September, this is a must-see exhibition of more than 50 early works of Alexander Volkov. It is the first exhibition of his works outside Russia and Central Asia.

Born in Ferghana in 1886, Volkov spent his life in Uzbekistan, apart from studies in Kiev and St. Petersburgh.

For artists, the 1920s in the Soviet Union was a heady period of experimentation, inventiveness and colour. Volkov was one of the founders of the Masters of the New Orient group in Tashkent  and his dynamic, exuberant works from this period fuse modernism with orientalism.

It is said he used to wear Renaissance velvet pantaloons while walking the streets of old Tashkent. He was regarded with suspicion by the Soviet authorities and later, during the final years of Stalin’s rule, he was accused of “formalism”, banished from artistic circles and isolated. He died in 1957.

Thanks to Igor Savitksy, over 70 paintings and 21 graphics by Alexander Volkov are held in the Nukus Museum. On Uzbek Journeys tours you spend an entire day there: it is one of the highlights of the trip. You also have the chance to view Volkov's work at the Tashkent Fine Arts Museum.

Christie's is at 8 King Street, St James's, London. The exhibition runs from 4 through 21 September. Open daily from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm; entry is free. The works are not for sale.

View the special Christie's exhibition video below [3.5 mins] in which Evelyn Heathcoat Amory, Specialist in Russian Pictures, discusses the exhibition highlights. Ensure you watch in full screen mode to fully enjoy the preview.

Related post: Central Asia in Art: From Soviet Orientalism to the New Republics
Pablo Picasso and Nadejda Kashina Exhibition in Tashkent
Igor Savitsky, Founder of the Karakalpakstan Museum, Nukus

Feruza's Ikat Store, Bukhara

Feruza Ahrarova and her son, Komol

Meet Feruza Ahrarova, whose enticing store at the entrance to the first cupola in Bukhara, stops you in your tracks with its riot of fabrics and designs.

She specialises in gorgeous Ferghana ikats. Although there are a few ikat stalls in Bukhara, I am always drawn back to Feruza's because of the range and quality of her fabrics, and because she is such a marvellous woman.

Born in the old walled city of Bukhara, her father was a university teacher and her mother a technologist at a cotton factory. Even in Soviet times the family ran two small souvenir shops in the first cupola area, right near Lyabi Haus. Feruza spent her after-school hours and weekends hanging around listening to tourists, improving her English and noting how different groups of people liked different items.

After graduating from university, a space came up for rent near her parents' shops and she decided to open her own tiny boutique, initially selling antique goods, especially textiles. Tourists liked the traditional patterns; however, the quality of the fabric was variable and long lengths unavailable. At the same time, Ferghana ikat producers started making new ikats using the old patterns. Feruza saw an opportunity: offer beautiful silk and cotton ikats in palettes and patterns that appealed to visitors.

Feruza's parents Mavlyuda and Urunboy; her daughter Leila

Feruza studied the traditional fabrics at the Bukhara Museum of Applied Arts and poured over books on traditional ikat patterns. In Margilan, the centre of Ferghana's ikat production, she met master weaver Rasulkhodja with whom she works closely to produce her special ikats in new and old designs, based on feedback from her clients about colours and patterns.

Originally visitors bought fabric for making cushion covers and table runners. Now that ikat is a global design trend she notes that some people are buying 20 or 30 metres for major interior statements. Her direct collaboration with Rasulkhodja means that her fabrics are keenly priced: silk velvet ikat is US$30 per metre, adras (silk/cotton mix) US$15 per metre and cotton ikat US$5. Most ikat is between 35cm - 50 cm wide. She can also arrange DHL shipments.

Outside Feruza's shop

Unique to Bukhara, Feruza offers a made-to-order service usually with a 24-hour turnaround, e.g. cushion covers with zippers can be made for the fabric cost plus $2.50. Custom table cloths, place mats and tote bags are also possible. If you fancy an ikat dress or trousers, it is best to bring a sample to copy. Feruza is a genius at matching the patterns at the seams.

Her shop is always bustling with tourists and friends from the neighbourhood. Often a picnic table is installed opposite the shop and the women stall holders gather there for lunch and gossip. You will be warmly invited to join. Feruza's father taught her that "if you have soft heart, people will treat you with a soft heart". And so it is that people enjoy spending time with this big-hearted woman.

Silk velvet ikat in butterfly pattern

Her family has recently embarked on a major project: the renovation of an old Jewish merchant's house behind the nearby art museum. It belonged to a long-time friend of Feruza's, Bella, the local hairdresser, who emigrated. Feruza plans to lovingly restore it, live there with her family and offer home-cooked traditional meals for friends and visitors.

Do visit Feruza's store when you are in Bukhara. It is impossible to miss! It opens daily around 10:00 a.m. and closes late, usually around 8:30 p.m.

You can also reach Feruza via email at: feruzaikat[at]mail[dot]ru

Simple, custom-made ikat dress

Related posts:
The Story of Uzbek Silk Production: Step by Step
Uzbek Ikat as Interior Design Element
Oscar de la Renta's Love Affair with Uzbek Ikat
Basso & Brooke Meet Ikat on the New Silk Road Project

Uzbekistan for Vegetarians

Suzanna Fatyan

Suzanna Fatyan, one of Uzbekistan's finest tour guides, takes up the challenge of exploring vegetarian options in Uzbekistan - a cuisine dominated by meat. She also revisits Samarkand and Tashkent restaurants and cafés, this time checking out the vegetarian dishes.

Uzbekistan is a country travellers visit for its four seasons. But late spring, early summer and autumn are the best for coming to this beautiful land. Not only for wonderful sunny days and pleasant evenings, but also for seasonal organic fruit and vegetables.

Uzbek salads and vegetable dishes

Uzbek cuisine mostly consists of meat courses. However, vegetarian visitors will never feel deprived travelling around Uzbekistan. Every Uzbek choykhona (tea house), café, and restaurant will amaze you with a choice of fresh salads like achichuk (shakarop, or Uzbek salad), turf chakka (sliced summer radish served with traditional yoghurt), chalop (cold soup, mixture of chakka/suzma yogurt and greens, or cucumbers), carrot and walnut salad, very delicious beetroot salad (also frequently served with walnuts), excellent fried or grilled aubergines, tomatoes, potatoes, fried cauliflowers, squashes and many more. Bazaars and some restaurants also offer a good choice of Korean salads.

Chalop soup

In Samarkand, travellers may find a true speciality:  anzur, onion picked in the mountains and marinated according to a special, complicated recipe. This wonderful starter can be found in almost any osh khona (plov place), or at Siyob market (Samarkand’s bazaar).  Serving marinated or pickled vegetables is common for Uzbekistan but anzur is a *must try* for everyone visiting Samarkand!

Cereals 

Cereals are also widely used in Uzbek cuisine. For many travellers it is the first time they meet some of these cereals. For example, mosh.  When people face mosh at a bazaar they frequently associate it with black lentil, which it is not. Mosh is known in many countries as mung bean, green gram and golden gram. The cereal is common in Chinese cuisine, where it is served as a dessert. In Uzbekistan, it used for cooking substantial meals like mosh kichiri (porridge) and mosh hurda (soup), both of which contain meat. However, many places serve meat-free versions of both dishes.

Mosh - mung beans

Mosh is also part of Korean cuisine: at most bazaars you may discover germinated mung beans in the Korean salads area. Another exotic cereal one can find is guja (white corn). Used for cooking wonderful soups, it may contain meat but a meat-free version is also available in many places.

Russian buckwheat porridge is popular in our country as well. It is served in most cafés and restaurants. I recommend you combine buckwheat with traditional yoghurt (chakka/suzma), kaymok or sour cream (smetana). Rice is used not only for cooking palov osh but also osh ba jurg'ot and shir birinch (rice milk porridge). By the way, rice pumpkin porridge is also a *must try* starter. Very delicious.

Melons and pumpkins; image: Arthur Chapman

If you visit Uzbekistan in autumn, you must try local pumpkin. Pumpkin mountains attract your gaze immediately you enter the market. Pumpkin may be baked or used in home pastries, but the most delicious to my mind is manty (steamed dumplings) filled with pumpkin. In addition I would recommend manty filled with mashed potatoes and fried onion, mixed generously with black pepper.

Desserts

Desserts deserve special attention! They are found at every market of Uzbekistan: wonderful peaches, apricots, apples, plums, figs, persimmons, and grapes. Plus fabulous melons and watermelons that must be tried in every city because of the different variations. Note: never combine fresh fruits and water! It may cause discomfort in your stomach. Green tea is the best combination with fruit on hot, sunny days.

Different kinds of nuts and raisins will ensure you won’t starve during long and adventurous trips. Local bazaars are rich with excellent pistachios, almonds, walnuts, peanuts. Often they are covered with sugar glaze or sesame seeds. Yummy! Prunes, raisins, dried apricots, dried melons, Central Asian dates and figs also make a delicious conclusion to any meal or may even be a starter.

Persimmon; image Arthur Chapman

If you take famous Uzbek dried fruits and nuts home, you can make a very healthy speciality from them. All you need are ground prunes, dried apricots, walnuts and lemon rind. Just mix them together with honey and have a teaspoon every morning. It will enrich you with energy for the whole day and remind you of the warm Uzbek sun.

Samarkand restaurant choices

You are already familiar with some restaurants I described in my previous articles (see links below). I would like to add a few more to the list. I start with my native city – Samarkand. A café I discovered recently is Sharqona. It is located in a wonderful 19th century part of town at 15  A.Navoi Street, walking distance from Pokrovskaya Church. (Tel: +998 90 656 01 10, +998 66 938 72 08). Sharqona offers traditional Uzbek guja. You can enjoy it sitting outside on warm Uzbek evenings.

Another restaurant offering good choices for vegetarians is Exclusive at 92 A. Timur Street, (tel. +998 66 233 60 90). Exclusive serves excellent horovatz (grilled aubergines, tomatoes, fresh onions and vinegar), lavash with brynza and greens, potatoes with garlic (very delicious), different variations of dishes with mushrooms and homemade red wine.

Look for this sign to find Кафе, Samarkand

Zlata Praha opened a new place – Bar BQ Zlata Praha, right in front of the Korzinka supermarket, at 59 Mirzo Ulugbek St. I know with a name like Bar BQ it sounds like a meat place, and it is. But Bar BQ Zlata Praha offers a good choice of meat-free soups (onion soup, tomato soup, lentil soup), sea food and variations of cheese. Fried cheese is one of my favourites. For dessert, the restaurant offers chocolate fondant, fried pineapples, excellent apple pie and good coffee!

Walking around Samarkand city centre, in particular the A. Timur street area close to A. Navoi (formerly Lenin St ) please do not miss Кафе located in a 'communal court' between Smak shop and Copy Club office. This cosy café run, by a Korean family, offers fabulous salads, pickles and chalop (cold soup) along with refreshing homemade kompot. And they have a 'live menu': it means you chose everything from a colourful and delicious tray brought right to your table. You see,  food passion has no language barrier! I suggest you visit the spot a bit before rush hour to ensure you get a table, as It does not accept reservations. Кафе is open only until 3:00 p.m. and closed on Sundays. 
 

Typical 'live menu' platter, at Кафе, Samarkand

For a relaxed atmosphere, delicious rice and grilled vegetables, plus excellent mojitos, I recommend Rubai at A. Navoi St (formerly Lenin St). Entering Rubai from A.Navoi street you might have an impression of a fast food joint, but you should skip the fast food part, enter a 'secret' door and go upstairs. Even on a hot and sunny day you feel like you are in an Oriental marquee, protected from the heat in this little, charming place. Rubai is a mixture of local and Moroccan styles with a touch of Europe at the same time: a true melting pot!

Tashkent restaurant choices 

I would like to add two more to my list of favourite places in Tashkent. Jumanji is a long-established Tashkent restaurant. It is located at the intersection of Yunus Khos Khodjib Street and K. Jalilov, right near the Bek Hotel. Its website includes an English menu, with a separate vegetarian section.  Highly recommended are the aubergines with walnuts inside: this traditional Armenian snack is usually made at home and is quite a treat to have in a restaurant. Jumanji is good for dinners, when you are done with sightseeing and can afford to forget about time. The place is rather spacious: try to get seats near the fountain.

The cool Кафе, Tashkent

One of the highlights in Tashkent is a café known as Кафе. We have two Кафе in today's list! This café was opened recently and shot to fame by using Facebook to promote itself.

Nowadays it’s the most popular café in the city, offering not only excellent desserts and coffee but also a good choice of quiche with mushrooms, spinach or cheese.

Кафе is rather hidden, located in the Avtodorojnyi Institute neighbourhood, near the dance school of Zlotnikov at 23 Shakhrisab St. For reservations and directions phone Кафе on +998 94 661 36 37. And please do not miss the green tea coffee! It’s so helpful in the 45-degree Celsius days of peak summer.

Ordering vegetarian options in restaurants

Here are some phrases for you to learn in Russian:

Ya vegetarianka :               I am vegetarian (for a woman)
Ya vegetarianets:               I am vegetarian (for a man)
Ya ne em myaso:                I do not eat meat
Ya em tol'ko ovoshi:           I eat only vegetables. (It's important to add this as some Uzbeks think that chicken is not meat!)

Suzanna's other foodie posts: 
Tashkent Restaurants and Cafés
Bukhara Restaurants and Cafés
Samarkand Restaurant and Cafés
Celebrating Nowruz - Spring New Year in Uzbekistan
The Glory of Uzbek Bread

Contact Suzanna via email: