The fascinating city of Kashgar, China
Entering the border of China I felt relieved. I was going to meet the last group of Central Asian people – the Uyghur, a Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Xinjiang region of China, whom I have not met before.
For the first 100 km after crossing the border from Kyrgyzstan, we were not allowed to leave the bus. What I saw was very similar to the tribal areas east of Peshawar in Pakistan, but as our Uyghur guide told me, unlike other countries, you can see our women on the street.
And yes, we saw the women, beautifully dressed in bright ikat clothes and embroidered hats. The smell of charcoal and kebabs reminded me of the good days in Peshawar before 2001. In those days, we could walk around in the city at our leisure, selecting carpets and textiles. Why are these specific cultures disappearing?
Entering Kashgar, the shock was to be expected. Staying in the beautiful former Russian consulate, we could pretend we were living in the old days in Uyghur land. But as soon as we ventured out by taxi, we found a different world.
Kashgar Medicine!
