Uyghur girl cuts cloth at fabric shop in Turpan's market - Xinjiang, China

This photograph was taken in the market at Turpan in China’s Xinjiang province. I’d wondered back and forth past this same fabric seller two or three times in the days that I was there trying to get this shot. It was a popular shop and it opened out onto the street and the fabrics were everywhere. It was interesting to watch the women inspecting the silks and to see the young Uyghur girl measure out and cut the material with her mother for the customers.

I’d taken quite a few shots and each time I thought I’d got the shot I was after, but when I checked later I’d find that they were blurred. It was a difficult subject as the shop front was in shadow and hard to shoot without hand-shake problems. Eventually I got this shot – not technically perfect, but just the moment I was trying to capture.

Ulugbek's Observatory near Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Ulugbek was a 15th century Timurid ruler living in the ‘silk road’ city of Samarkand – the grandson of the conqueror of Asia, Timur (Tamerlane). Being the descendant of Timur is in itself quite interesting, but an even more interesting is the fact that he was an astronomer and mathematician who was able to predict eclipses and accurately calculate the stellar year to within a minute of modern electronic calculations.

He also excelled in mathematics and wrote “accurate trigonometric tables of sine and tangent values correct to at least eight decimal places” – that sounds pretty amazing for the 15th century. If only I knew what that meant!

Entrance to covered remains of Ulugbek's observatory, Samarkand

Covered remains of Ulugbek's sextant - the walls were originally lined with polished marble

The remains of Ulugbek’s observatory are just a couple of kilometers from Samarkand.

The observatory was built by Ulugbek in 1424. It would have stood about three storeys high, circular in plan with a 46m diameter and a height of just a little over 30m. The remains of the huge sextant are now covered over.

Lower entrance to the museum at Ulugbek's observatory, Samarkand

Close the remains of Ulugbek’s observatory there is a museum building which was built the 1970s to commemorate the great man. The museum contains copies of Ulugbek’s star charts.

Unfortunately Ulugbek ended up being beheaded by the order of his own eldest son. However, a few years later he got the recognition he deserved when another relative placed Ulugbek’s remains in the tomb of Timur in Samarkand.

In a strange way you could say that Ulugbek ended up amongst the stars that he was fascinated about his whole life as there is a crater on the moon that is named after him.

Ulugbek's memorial museum and his observatory, Samarkand

Baker boy stops selling pastries to watch the foreigners in Kokand, Uzbekistan

This weeks photograph is of a young baker boy from Uzbekistan.

After visiting the regional studies museum inside the beautiful Khudayar Khan Palace in Kokand I was in the park and spotted this baker boy. He caught my eye partly because he looked so smart in his baker’s outfit and partly because he had stopped what he was doing to watch the ‘strangers in town’.

One of my favourite photographs from Uzbekistan.

Uzbek pigeon fancier inspects an Uzbek Crack Tumbler pigeon, Bukhara

It’s funny how sometimes you can take a photograph and not really realise what you’re looking at until sometime later. In this case years later…

This morning I was looking through old photographs trying to choose one for my ‘photo of the week‘ series. I came across some images from an early morning walk around the markets of the Uzbek city of Bukhara. This particular shot caught my eye – an Uzbek ‘pigeon fancier’ inspecting a pigeon before making purchase. I love the concentration on the men’s faces. The men were inspecting the condition of the pigeons, opening their wings and generally giving them a good look over. This wasn’t actually at the market – they were just on the roadside on the way to the market.

The photograph got me thinking – I was with a lad from my hotel who had agreed to get up early that morning and walk me down to the livestock market and I could vaguely recall him saying something about the pigeons. I couldn’t really remember though, so I Google’d it and it turns out that Bukhara is famous for it’s pigeons!

The Uzbek Crack Tumbler

The name ‘Uzbek Crack Tumbler’ apparently comes from the fact that they originate from Uzbekistan (well obviously), but also because of the way they fly.

When flying they sometimes begin to rise up vertically and begin tumbling and clap their wings together making an audible clap or crack sound. They are apparently trained to do these acrobatics. These pigeons are highly valued and were once shown off in organised flight demonstrations.

Each breed is identified by it’s color and physical appearance and each variety has a particular name in the Uzbek language. It looks like, and I’m no expert, that I photographed the buying and selling of
the ‘sochi’ variety judging by the ‘white feathers with black flecks’.

Pigeon fanciers in Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Pigeon fanciers buying and selling Uzbek Crack Tumblers, Bukhara, Uzbekistan

The Uzbek Crack Tumbler breeds originated in the Uzbek city of Bukhara. The Emirs of Bukhara imported several different breeds from Persia and cross bred them with the local breeds. This resulted in a great variety of ‘decorative’ pigeons. For centuries other breeders from across Uzbekistan would acquire these breeds from the Emirs of Bukhara.

Isn’t it amazing what you can get from just one photograph!

Sweet shop - Turkmen style at Ashgabat market, Turkmenistan

This weeks photograph is from a market place in the centre of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

I love markets and one reason is the colour and this scene has pretty much every colour imaginable running all the way through it. The amazing sweet stall in the foreground, the fruits through to the wall of plastic bags in background.

And I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many sweets!

Suryakund where pilgrims bathed - Sun Temple at Modhera, Gujarat

The Sun Temple at Modhera (Surya Mandir) was built in the year 1026AD by King Bhimdev I of the Solanki dynasty prominent during that period Gujarat’s history.

The temple consists of three parts: Suryakund, Sabha Mandap (assembly hall) and Garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum).

Sabha Mandap (assembly hall) and steps up from the Suryakund - Sun Temple at Modhera

The Suryakund at Modhera is a huge stepped tank in front of the temple which would have held pure water (a little less than pure today from what I could tell – green!). Pilgrims would bathe in the kund before entering the temple. The tank has a number of terraces that allowed pilgrims to descend to the water using pyramid shaped steps. The architecture combines to create some impressively complex geometric forms. Amongst the steps are 108 shrines – an auspicious number in Hinduism.

View of Suryakund through 'Toran' pillars - Sun Temple, Modhera

Carved pillar - Sabha Mandap (assembly hall) at Surya Mandir, Modhera

A series of steps would have led pilgrims out of the Suryakund into a hall called the ‘Sabha Mandap’. They would have entered through two beautifully carved pillars which belong to a ‘Toran’ – a sacred gateway in Hindu architecture – this has long since disappeared.

Rear view of the Sabha Mandap at Modhera

The Sabha Mandap is a kind of assembly hall and has many intricately carved pillars which depict stories from the Hindu epics and the life of Krishna.

As you move towards the next part of the temple complex (Garbhagriha) you’ll pass some amazing wall carvings which show the twelve different aspects of the sun. The main temple was once capped with a dome, but this is now gone.

The Garbhagriha is the interior of the sanctum sanctorum which is the innermost sanctum of a Hindu temple and contains the idol. Sadly the idol of the Surya Mandir at Modhera was plundered centuries ago – nowadays you’re more likely to find bats inside the temple.

Bats in the Garbhagriha - Sun Temple, Modhera, Gujarat

The Sun Temple at Modhera was built facing east. This meant that something magical would happen at the equinox. The first rays of the sun would cross the Suryakund, pass through the pillars of the Sabha Mandap and penetrate the main chamber illuminating the idol.

Sun Temple (Surya Mandir) at Modhera in Gujarat, India

Here are some more pictures of the Sun Temple at Modhera:

This weeks photograph is from Gujarat in India.

I love this photograph as it is a great memory of the friendliness of the people in the villages of rural India. Travelling around the villages of Gujarat you can still find places where the locals clearly don’t see ‘foreigners’ very often. This was particularly clear when you met the kids who, refreshingly, didn’t instantly ask for sweets or money, but instead were inquisitive and curious.

Of course most clamored for a photo and to see their face on your camera screen. The kids in this particular village seemed to have a particular way of asking for a photo – making a round shape with their finger and thumb and holding it up to their eye. This gave me an idea for having a little fun by trying to teach the girl on the right something I did as a kid.

It is a bit hard to explain in words, but here goes…

You’re making a mask with your hands. You put your first finger and thumb together on each hand to form a circle – imagine you might look through the hole with one eye. Do this on both hands and touch them together at the finger tips to form two circles – like a pair of glasses – your remaining fingers fanning out above.

Then you kind of twist the hands back over themselves, tucking the loose fingers under your chin, then twist up over your face so the two holes go over your eyes like spectacles. It is quite difficult… hopefully you understand what I mean…

Anyway the little girl interpreted this as a game of “Who can pull the funniest face?” which was great fun, but meant that every time I took a photo she pushed her nose up!

So enjoy this Photo of the week as it was certainly fun making it… and these another two faces I’ll never forget!

Beautiful ceiling in the Shah Mosque (Masjed-e Shah), Naghsh-i Jahan square, Isfahan, Iran

This weeks photograph is from Iran and is a shot of one of the stunningly beautiful ceilings in the Shah Mosque (Masjed-e Shah)… and this isn’t even the main dome. The Shah Mosque can be found in the corner of Naqsh-e Jahan Square square in Isfahan.

As with many of the mosques of Iran this is a stunning example of Islamic / Persian architecture and was built during the Safavid period.

More post from Iran

Overland travel is a great way to see the world and really experience off the beaten path places and also means you get to stay in some pretty unique locations. Whether you do your overland travel independently or in a group this type of travel requires an open mind and a great degree of flexibility.

Your overland journey may be one where you live off of a truck for weeks or even months, and there will be long, (some very long) drive days, plus you’ll be with people from different countries who you’ve never met before. It can and will be challenging, but rewarding as you get to go to places the ‘fly-in, fly-out’ tourist will never see or experience.

One aspect of overland travel is where and how you stay over night – you won’t always get to stay in a luxury hotel – on the occasion you do – make the most of it!

Instead you’ll experience a mixture of accommodation.

There will of course be the usual budget hotels and hostels and perhaps B&B’s depending on the part of the world your visiting. If you’re lucky there will be opportunities for a ‘home stay’ with a local family. These are usually a wonderful experience and you get a real insight into the people of the country you’re visiting this way.

Then there is camping…

My tent at sunset in the Taklamakan desert (Xinjiang, China)

Camping can mean staying in an organised camp like you might do at home, but I’m talking about the type of camping where you go off road where ever you like (usually away from people and the road), make camp, pitch your tent, make a fire (or use your gas cookers) and spend the night under the stars – sometimes just in a sleeping bag or on a blanket!

A few years ago I’d never been camping – I didn’t even know how to put up a tent!

Then I spent 5 months travelling overland on a truck from Xian, China to Khartoum in Sudan. I was in charge of the tent locker for that whole journey and boy do I miss camping now.

So, I thought I’d share a few photographs of my most memorable, most picturesque, most random, most disastrous, and scariest camping experiences. Plus the thing I love most about camping…

MOST MEMORABLE:
White Desert (Sahara el Beyda – Farafra), Egypt

I’ve camped in a few memorable spots, so it is hard to choose just one – high on my list are; camping at Krak des Chavaliers in Syria, spending nights in the desert whilst crossing the Taklamakan Desert in China’s Xinjiang province, a night camping at the Roman ruins of Palmyra or sleeping on the western end of the Great Wall of China in Jaiyuguan.

However, if I had to choose one I’d say a night in the beautiful and surreal landscape of the White Desert (Sahara el Beyda) in Egypt.

The White Desert is near Farafra in the Western Desert between the oases of Dakhla and Bahariya. The desert is full of wonderfully shaped chalk rock formations formed by erosion and is a place I’ll never forget!

Wild camping in the White Desert (Sahara el Beyda - Farafra), Egypt

MOST RANDOM:
Impromptu roadside camp site (China – Kyrgyzstan border crossing via Torugart Pass)

Crossing the border from China into Kyrgyzstan via the Torugart Pass in the Tian Shan mountain range can be time consuming and a bit of a chore as most of the time the crossing is closed to everyone except people from Kyrgyzstan or China. It was the middle of the night when we crossed and we couldn’t make camp until we’d got through all the border posts. This meant making camp at the first flat ground we could find that looked suitable to pitch our tents.

Pitching a tent in the dark is a bit of a struggle – isn’t the head torch a wonderful invention!

We didn’t really know where we’d pitched our tents until first light and it turned out to be a sort of truck stop for the long distance lorry drivers to get a bit of sleep after the border crossing. It was difficult to sleep as it was cold and there was the odd truck rattling by in the early hours.

There were a couple of shacks – presumably people making a bit of money off the lorry drivers… the family in one of them looked pretty surprised to have woken up to find us camping right next to the road outside there shack!

Roadside camp site - Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyz family outside their roadside home - Kyrgyzstan

View from long-drop toilet of roadside camp at truck stop

MOST PICTURESQUE:
Jeti-Ögüz, Kyrgyzstan

One of the most beautiful and picturesque places I’ve camped was in Kyrgyzstan again, this time at a place called Jeti-Ögüz in the Issyk-Kul region of Kygyzstan.

This beautiful valley is part of the Terskei Ala-Too mountain range not far from the southern shore of Issyk-Kul lake – like much of Kyrgyzstan it is an area of outstanding natural beauty. We had tried to drive the truck up to came on a high plateau, but were unable to cross a bridge further up from where we made came by the river. It was too dangerous for the heavy truck.

Our camp was in a lovely spot by the river with the red rock formation known as the “7 bulls” in the distance.

Beautiful camp site by river - Jeti-Oguz, kyrgyzstan

MOST DISASTROUS:
Jeti-Ögüz, Kyrgyzstan

Strangely the most picturesque also became the most disastrous on the second night. The weather changed during the second day at Jeti-Ögüz and heavy rain fell all afternoon and during the night. Our tents were soaked through to the point where we had to leave and go back to a hotel in Karakol and dry out.

Tents put out to dry infront of hotel in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

MOST SCARY:
Unknown location, eastern Turkey

There was one other camping experience worth mentioning here… not really disastrous, but a little scary.

After crossing the border from Iran into Turkey we had spent one night in Doğubayazıt, then we were on the road again. The next night we had to camp and we found a beautiful place away from the main road, set up camp, built a fire and began to cook up a curry. Whilst setting up an empty minibus drove past, then some time later it returned, but this time headed straight for us and it was full. When it pulled up the side slid open and a bout 10 men jumped out with rifles and machine guns!!

There was a moment there where I think a few of us were thinking “this isn’t going to go well”, but it turns out they were local Kurdish farmers and we were on their land. They simply wanted to find out who we were and why we we there… phew!

Later in the early hours I was woken up by someone banging on the truck and the sound of tents being unzipped… no one seemed to be getting up and the noises were coming closer to my tent. I was sharing and remember laying there thinking… “if I just ignore it, Neil will deal with it” bearing in mind the guns from earlier. Then our zipper was unzipped and a hand came in grabbing at our feet!

Eventually Niel had the balls to go outside. It turned out that they just wanted to say hello and give use some walnuts and apples!!!

THING I LOVE MOST ABOUT CAMPING

For me it is the camaraderie and the friendships you make – you become almost like a family and the one thing that brings everyone together is the camp fire.

It is fun to create and maintain, it gives you warmth when it is cold, you can cook and have hot tea or coffee with breakfast on those cold mornings. It gives light where there is none and it brings everyone together to share stories and to bond.

The camp fire - people chatting around camp fire in the Gobi Desert

Oh, one last thing…

I’ll leave you with a little tip (though it’s only in jest).

If you end up sharing a tent and your buddy is notorious for not getting up when they should and you need to move on… take the tent down with them still in it – they soon learn!

Here are some more camping pictures:

Photo of the week – every picture tells a story…

This week my ‘photo of the week’ is from Kyrgyzstan and was taken whilst wandering around the town of Karakol. I stumbled upon these girls dancing – I think they were cleaners judging by the way they were dressed, but I’m not really sure… what were they doing?

Well it was August and the day before Kyrgyz Independence Day when the country celebrates the anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union. They were practicing a routine – you can see flags on the ground in front of them.