MetaFilter posts tagged with SilkRoad

"Untamed Humans" on the Roof of the World

Eyebrows McGee — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 17:39:32 -0800

"Moving is what nomads do. For the Kyrgyz of Afghanistan, it’s from two to four times a year, depending on the weather and the availability of grass for the animals. They call their homeland Bam-e Dunya, which means “roof of the world.” This might sound poetic and beautiful—it is undeniably beautiful—but it’s also an environment at the very cusp of human survivability. Their land consists of two long, glacier-carved valleys, called pamirs, stashed deep within the great mountains of Central Asia. Much of it is above 14,000 feet. The wind is furious; crops are impossible to grow. The temperature can drop below freezing 340 days a year. Many Kyrgyz have never seen a tree." Welcome to life at the upper altitudes of the Wakhan Corridor, above the tree line and on the roof of the world. Some 1100 Kyrgyz nomads (related to the Kyrgyz in Kyrgyzstan) live in this forbidding landscape (photo gallery), nominally governed by Afghanistan but in reality very little governed at all (NYT 2010). The Wakhan Corridor, the funny little strip of land jutting off the northeast corner of Afghanistan, is among the most rugged inhabited territory in the world and once formed a part of the Silk Road (Marco Polo probably passed this way). These nomads ranged over a wider area until the "Great Game" and its great empires began closing borders and limiting movement; by 1950 the Kyrgyz nomads had become full-time residents of the harsh high altitudes of the Wakhan Corridor. For more photos, maps, information, and even links to academic articles, check out this Guide to Trekking in Pamir. "Documents, Books & Links" has some great PDFs to check out. Previously on MetaFilter: More of the same photographer's work in the area.

"Look 'round thee now on Samarcand, is she not queen of earth?"

Kattullus — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 19:10:13 -0800

In the first years of the Fifteenth Century Henry III of Castile sent Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo as his ambassador to Samarkand. His journey introduced him to giraffes and many other sights unknown to Europeans of the time. Samarkand was then the center of the largest empire in the world, that of Tamerlane the Great (a.k.a Timur), the last of the nomad conquerors. His capital began as a city of the Sogdians, which became an important center of culture and trade, as is recorded in these 7th Century wall paintings. Samarkand was refashioned by Timur and his descendants, the most famous being the astronomer Ulugh Beg, and the Timurid legacy is still visible in Samarkand. After Timur's death, his empire disintegrated, and soon fell into decline, but left enough of a mark to inspire both Christopher Marlowe and Edgar Allan Poe. The Russian Empire conquered Samarkand in 1868, and the city was documented in the early 20th Century in color photograhs by Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii (this one's a favorite) and remained an out of the way place in the Soviet era.

Monetarists Anonymous

the man of twists and turns — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 04:42:37 -0800

Three Years In, Bitcoin Gains Momentum Bitcoin, a digital-only currency, has made a comeback since the major crash. But Bitcoin lives in a legal gray area, combining the anonymity of cash with the anonymity of the 'Net. Formerly only readily available for online transactions, debit cards and better public awareness are planned. But there are still security issues - last month, $250,000 was stolen from a trading site. Matthew Feeney at Reason credits the rise of Bitcoin and alternative currencies to fears of a currency collapse. Previously: Bitcoin with Multi-Signature Transactions

No longer do you need to go to the corner for a fix...

handbanana — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:57:46 -0800

The Silk Road, an anonymous way to buy and sell drugs With conversation previously of bitcoin you can now order anything under the sun.

A Minute and 100 Metres Down the Road

KokuRyu — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 21:31:41 -0800

A Minute and 100 Metres Down the Road. The soldier outside the station had one hand on the barrel and the other on the butt of his shotgun. There were two military trucks by the bus stop and two soldiers in the back-right seats of every bus leaving Urumqi station... I arrived via long-haul train, 40 hours and just under 4000km in a hard-seat, from Beijing, where rumours were circulating about the extent of the military presence, needle attacks, Uighur and Han street gangs, and the validity of the reports coming out of Xinjiang. After four days I left with more doubts about why ethnic tensions in Urumqi arose and how they could be resolved. Kyoto Journal's Silk Road-themed issue is now available with selected excerpts available online. The guest editor for this issue is Leanne Ogasawara, a talented translator whose incredible blog, Tang Dynasty Times, was the catalyst for this issue. Selected Contents

10,000 Miles Away: Chang'an and Nara
The Road to Oxiana
The Great Kashgar Bus Convoy
Along the Silk Road Today

Choosing Central Asia for a bride

Abiezer — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:45:19 -0800

Fascinated by the Orient An exhibition of the letters, photographs and maps bequeathed to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences by the great explorer, archaeologist, geographer and Sanskritist Sir Marc Aurel Stein. Journeyer in the footsteps of Alexander, explorer of Central Asia and West China, surveyor of the antiquities of India and Iran; after a long life of journeying through and studying central Asia, Aurel Stein found his final rest in Kabul. He is also remembered for rediscovering the oldest dated printed book still in existence, a copy of the Diamond Sutra in the caves at Mogao. That the latter and many thousands of other manuscripts collected by Stein now reside in the British Library is of course, like his other 'treasure hunting', not without controversy.

Axis of ChiRan

adamvasco — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:47:44 -0800

Multi - polarity in Eurasia. Pepe Escobar on Iran, China and the New Silk Road 1 & 2
Iran and China just signed a $3 bn. deal for China to help develop Iran's refinery capacity in Abadan and the Gulf. ( previous )

The lotus-cross

homunculus — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:20:47 -0800

When Jesus met Buddha. "Something remarkable happened when evangelists for two great religions crossed paths more than 1,000 years ago: they got along." [Via]

The Caves of Dunhuang

homunculus — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 20:15:47 -0800

Buddha’s Caves: The Caves of Dunhuang.

The Door to Hell

homunculus — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:00:12 -0800

The Burning Crater of Darvaza. [Via.]

Silk Road: "West of Yang Gate there'll be no old friends."

Kattullus — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 15:35:07 -0800

Silk Road links: Silk Road Seattle, The Silkroad Foundation, The British Library's Silk Road site, The Ancient Way of Trading, Lost Cities of the Silk Road and some pictures

Multiplicity along the Silk Road

nickyskye — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 16:28:12 -0800

Chinese Jews and the Silk Road. Maps. [more inside]

The International Dunhuang Project,

homunculus — Tue, 12 Nov 2002 13:40:19 -0800

The International Dunhuang Project, developed jointly by the British Library and the National Library of China, makes thousands manuscripts and paintings from ancient caves and temples along the Silk Road viewable to the public. The artifacts were found in the Dunhuang cave in China in 1900 and dispersed to museums around the world, but now they have been brought together on the web. And if you want some appropriate music to go with it, check out Yo Yo Ma's Silk Road Project.

Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project

homunculus — Sun, 28 Apr 2002 10:46:24 -0800

Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project sets out to explore the heritage of the cultures of the Silk Road through artistic performances, cultural festivals and educational programs. The Silk Road Ensemble, led by Ma, performs new and traditional musical compositions from the various cultures of the Silk Road and have recently released their first CD. There is an article about it all in today's NYT.