It’s been a while since we talked about the Silk Road, and I sort of miss my old obsession. So here’s a snippet from Frances Wood’s beautiful book, The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia.
This was almost a decade before Lady Macartney turned the Kashgar Residency into what Peter Fleming affectionately called Kashgar-le-Bains, but that did not mean you could not enjoy a Christmas dinner, evidently… and what’s Christmas without the Christmas Pudding?
Karavansara 
23 December 2017 at 16:19
Kashgar does not exist anymore. I know, I was there some months ago. Only the magic of the name remains. Han Chinese are finishing to tear over the last remains of the Old Town (not even one hundred mud-walled houses remain), and they have built a Theme Park recreation of an invented city, instead…. It’s sad. Moreover, this has been also the fate of the Silk Road, replaced by tar roads that criss-cross the desert.
Oasis cities are now all alike, with multistorey buildings and bazaars full of manufactured goods.
But, the desert is still there. And the memories of travellers like errand ghosts in the haze.
It is a shame that I cannot add photos to the comment :), but should you be interested, you may find some there: http://www.takla-makan.com
LikeLike
23 December 2017 at 17:45
The theme park detail broke my heart.
We are turning the world into a cheap Disneyland.
Thanks for your comment, and for the link at the photos.
LikeLike