Download or read book A Carpet Ride to Khiva written by Chris Aslan and published by Icon Books Ltd. This book was released on 2010-07-01 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Silk Road conjures images of the exotic and the unknown. Most travellers simply pass along it. Brit Chris Alexander chose to live there. Ostensibly writing a guidebook, Alexander found life at the heart of the glittering madrassahs, mosques and minarets of the walled city of Khiva - a remote desert oasis in Uzbekistan - immensely alluring, and stayed. Immersing himself in the language and rich cultural traditions Alexander discovers a world torn between Marx and Mohammed - a place where veils and vodka, pork and polygamy freely mingle - against a backdrop of forgotten carpet designs, crumbling but magnificent Islamic architecture and scenes drawn straight from "The Arabian Nights". Accompanied by a large green parrot, a ginger cat and his adoptive Uzbek family, Alexander recounts his efforts to rediscover the lost art of traditional weaving and dyeing, and the process establishing a self-sufficient carpet workshop, employing local women and disabled people to train as apprentices. A Carpet Ride to Khiva sees Alexander being stripped naked at a former Soviet youth camp, crawling through silkworm droppings in an attempt to record their life-cycle, holed up in the British Museum discovering carpet designs dormant for half a millennia, tackling a carpet-thieving mayor, distinguishing natural dyes from sacks of opium in Northern Afghanistan, bluffing his way through an impromptu version of "My Heart Will Go On" for national Uzbek TV and seeking sanctuary as an anti-Western riot consumed the Kabul carpet bazaar. It is an unforgettable true travel story of a journey to the heart of the unknown and the unexpected friendship one man found there.

Download or read book A New Ride to Khiva written by Jefferson Robert L and published by Franklin Classics Trade Press. This book was released on 2018-11-11 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Download or read book Manacle written by Chris Aslan and published by Lion Fiction. This book was released on 2017-11-17 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Imaginative, authentic, and evocative.'- Gerard Kelly, author There is a dark presence in Phin's life. His step-father is a drunk and his malevolence poisons their home. One evening the violence gets out of control and as Phin's mother drags his broken body away, she can only think of one place to take him: to the local healer. But this healer deals in more than medicinal remedies and at her insistence he calls on the spirits to ensure Phin is never harmed again. However, his words are more than a call, they are invitation - one that the spirits welcome as a legion descend and take root within Phin. Phin awakens to discover he is no longer in control of his mind or his body, and something is certainly inhabiting his soul. He possesses super-human strength and immediately takes revenge on his step-father. This would have sated Phin, but the spirits have other ideas - they drive him into the wilderness and all who go to him quickly rue the day. As he terrorises the village, soldiers come to remove him - but how do you restrain a man who can break the strongest of manacles. And is there any hope for one who has been overcome by darkness?

Download or read book Uzbekistan written by Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2019-02-28 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Follow the Silk Road—and color! “A joy . . . a beautiful book about the arts, craft, and architecture of Uzbekistan.” —Olga Núñez Miret, author of the Angelic Business series Like the fascinating culture that comes to life between its pages, Uzbekistan: An Experience of Cultural Treasures to Color will take you on a journey of discovery from the blue and gold splendors of Samarkand to the intricacy of sacred mosaics. It’s the perfect way for you and your children to explore Uzbekistan’s rich cultural heritage, taking us along the Silk Road from fifth century architecture to modern-day artists. As we turn the pages, exquisite full-color photographs transport us to some of the world’s most magnificent architectural monuments. From palaces through mosques, madrasahs and mausoleums, we wend our way amongst masterpieces of Islamic architecture, marveling at the captivating mosaics with their complex geometric patterns or motifs inspired by the world of plants and mythological beasts. Fascinating and vibrant, they testify to the skill and craftsmanship of historic Uzbek masters. As a tribute to this rich heritage, Uzbekistan: An Experience of Cultural Treasures to Color is a celebration of the arts and pictorial traditions of this fascinating land. Photographs of architectural monuments, murals, ceramics, tapestries and ornamented textiles highlight the country’s cultural treasures. Short accompanying texts explain their historical significance. On the right-hand page, the reader is given the opportunity to color in drawings based on the beautiful photographs provided. “A gorgeous book for grownups who want to get their coloring on.” —Cayocosta 72

Download or read book Travels in central Asia written by Ármin Vámbéry and published by . This book was released on 1864 with total page 534 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Genghis Khan and the Quest for God written by Jack Weatherford and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-10-25 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A landmark biography by the New York Times bestselling author of Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World that reveals how Genghis harnessed the power of religion to rule the largest empire the world has ever known. Throughout history the world's greatest conquerors have made their mark not just on the battlefield, but in the societies they have transformed. Genghis Khan conquered by arms and bravery, but he ruled by commerce and religion. He created the world's greatest trading network and drastically lowered taxes for merchants, but he knew that if his empire was going to last, he would need something stronger and more binding than trade. He needed religion. And so, unlike the Christian, Taoist and Muslim conquerors who came before him, he gave his subjects freedom of religion. Genghis lived in the 13th century, but he struggled with many of the same problems we face today: How should one balance religious freedom with the need to reign in fanatics? Can one compel rival religions - driven by deep seated hatred--to live together in peace? A celebrated anthropologist whose bestselling Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World radically transformed our understanding of the Mongols and their legacy, Jack Weatherford has spent eighteen years exploring areas of Mongolia closed until the fall of the Soviet Union and researching The Secret History of the Mongols, an astonishing document written in code that was only recently discovered. He pored through archives and found groundbreaking evidence of Genghis's influence on the founding fathers and his essential impact on Thomas Jefferson. Genghis Khan and the Quest for God is a masterpiece of erudition and insight, his most personal and resonant work.

Download or read book Central Asia written by James Hutton and published by . This book was released on 1875 with total page 494 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Walking to Samarkand written by Bernard Ollivier and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2020-04-14 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Acclaimed journalist Bernard Ollivier continues his epic journey across Persia and Central Asia as he walks the length of the Great Silk Road. Walking to Samarkand is journalist Bernard Ollivier’s stunning account of the second leg of his 7,200-mile walk from Istanbul, Turkey, to Xi’an, China, along the Silk Road--the longest and perhaps most mythical trade route of all time. Picking up where Out of Istanbul left off, Ollivier heads out of the Middle East and into Central Asia, grappling not only with his own will to continue but with new, unforeseen dangers. After crossing the final mountain passes of Turkish Kurdistan, Ollivier sets foot in Iran, keen on locating vestiges of the silk trade as he passes through Persia’s modern cities and traditional villages, including Tabriz, Tehran, Nishapur, and the holy city of Mashhad. Beyond urban areas lie deserts: first Iran’s Great Salt Desert, then Turkmenistan’s forbidding Karakum, whose relentless sun, snakes, and scorpions pose continuous challenges to Ollivier’s goal of reaching Uzbekistan. Setting his own fears aside, he travels on, wonderstruck at every turn, borne by a childhood dream: to see for himself the golden domes and turquoise skies of Samarkand, one of Central Asia’s most ancient cities. But what Ollivier enjoys most are the people along the way: Askar, the hospitable gardener; the pilgrims of Mashhad; and his knights in shining armor, Mehdi and Monir. For, despite setting out alone, he comes to find that walking itself—through a kind of alchemy—surrounds him with friends and fosters fellowship. From the authoritarian mullahs of revolutionary Iran to the warm welcome of everyday Iranians—custodians of age-old, cordial Persian culture; from the stark realities of former Soviet republics to the region’s legendary bazaars—veritable feasts for the senses—readers discover, through the eyes of a veteran journalist, the rich history and contemporary culture of these amazing lands.

Download or read book Sabres on the Steppes written by John Ure and published by ReadHowYouWant. This book was released on 2013-10 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Back in the day when men were men and Britain ruled the world, the two great world powers went head to head over control of central Asia - from the Caucasus to Kabul. This was the stage of open warfare but also espionage, subterfuge and reckless adventure. Following on from the derring do of ''''Shooting Leave'''', John Ure tells the story of British soldiers, missionaries and mercenaries, horse traders and opportunists who travelled to make their name in the Great Game.

Download or read book Alabaster written by Chris Aslan and published by Lion Fiction. This book was released on 2017-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Maryam is stuck in an abusive marriage, living with her in-laws in a conservative, toxically religious village. A few years back, her father was given a jar of priceless perfume by a dying leper and it seemed as if their fortunes would improve, but then Maryam's father contracted leprosy and was exiled from the village. Maryam and her siblings, Eleazar and Marta, experience the shame and ostracism this brings. The precious jar that was meant to bring them freedom has only brought destruction. But rumors abound concerning a new doctor; perhaps hope is on the horizon. . . . Alabaster brings a first-century Middle Eastern village and its culture to life for modern-day readers.

Download or read book The Athenaeum written by and published by . This book was released on 1876 with total page 676 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Pilgrims on the Silk Road written by Walter R. Ratliff and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They were seeking religious freedom and the Second Coming of Christ in Central Asia. They found themselves in the care of a Muslim king. During the 1880s, Mennonites from Russia made a treacherous journey to the Silk Road kingdom of Khiva. Both Uzbek and Mennonite history seemed to set the stage for ongoing religious and ethnic discord. Yet their story became an example of friendship and cooperation between Muslims and Christians. Pilgrims on the Silk Road challenges conventional wisdom about the trek to Central Asia and the settlement of Ak Metchet. It shows how the story, long associated with failed End Times prophecies, is being a recast in light of new evidence. Pilgrims highlights the role of Ak Metchet as a refuge for those fleeing Soviet oppression, and the continuing influence of the episode more than twelve decades later.

Download or read book One More Croissant for the Road written by Felicity Cloake and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2019-06-13 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘Joyful, life-affirming, greedy. I loved it’ – DIANA HENRY ‘Whether you are an avid cyclist, a Francophile, a greedy gut, or simply an appreciator of impeccable writing – this book will get you hooked’ – YOTAM OTTOLENGHI

Download or read book In Praise of the Bicycle written by Marc Augé and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2019-11-15 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Witness the French anthropologist as we have never seen him before. Marc Augé coined the term “non-place” to describe the ubiquitous airports, hotels, and motorways filled with anonymous individuals. In this new book, he casts his anthropologist’s eye on a subject close to his heart: cycling. With In Praise of the Bicycle, Augé takes us on a two-wheeled ride around our cities and on a personal journey into ourselves. We all remember the thrill of riding a bike for the first time and the joys of cycling. Here he reminds us that these memories are not just personal, but rooted in a time and a place, in a history that is shared with millions of others. Part memoir, part manifesto, Augé’s book celebrates cycling as a way of reconnecting with the places in which we live, and, ultimately, as a necessary alternative to our disconnected world.

Download or read book Armageddon Averted written by Stephen Kotkin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-12-23 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Featuring extensive revisions to the text as well as a new introduction and epilogue--bringing the book completely up to date on the tumultuous politics of the previous decade and the long-term implications of the Soviet collapse--this compact, original, and engaging book offers the definitive account of one of the great historical events of the last fifty years. Combining historical and geopolitical analysis with an absorbing narrative, Kotkin draws upon extensive research, including memoirs by dozens of insiders and senior figures, to illuminate the factors that led to the demise of Communism and the USSR. The new edition puts the collapse in the context of the global economic and political changes from the 1970s to the present day. Kotkin creates a compelling profile of post Soviet Russia and he reminds us, with chilling immediacy, of what could not have been predicted--that the world's largest police state, with several million troops, a doomsday arsenal, and an appalling record of violence, would liquidate itself with barely a whimper. Throughout the book, Kotkin also paints vivid portraits of key personalities. Using recently released archive materials, for example, he offers a fascinating picture of Gorbachev, describing this virtuoso tactician and resolutely committed reformer as "flabbergasted by the fact that his socialist renewal was leading to the system's liquidation"--and more or less going along with it. At once authoritative and provocative, Armageddon Averted illuminates the collapse of the Soviet Union, revealing how "principled restraint and scheming self-interest brought a deadly system to meek dissolution." Acclaim for the First Edition: "The clearest picture we have to date of the post-Soviet landscape." --The New Yorker "A triumph of the art of contemporary history. In fewer than 200 pagesKotkin elucidates the implosion of the Soviet empire--the most important and startling series of international events of the past fifty years--and clearly spells out why, thanks almost entirely to the 'principal restraint' of the Soviet leadership, that collapse didn't result in a cataclysmic war, as all experts had long forecasted." -The Atlantic Monthly "Concise and persuasive The mystery, for Kotkin, is not so much why the Soviet Union collapsed as why it did so with so little collateral damage." --The New York Review of Books

Download or read book Gossamer Webs written by Galina Khmeleva and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Readers are led step-by-step through the history and techniques of creating beautiful and rare Russian heirloom shawls with this detailed guide.

Download or read book A Bloody Storm written by Richard Castle and published by Disney Electronic Content. This book was released on 2012-08-07 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The final piece of the Derrick Storm trilogy from #1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Castle, available exclusively as an eBook short. Derrick Storm is back—this time, with a crack team of ghost CIA operatives. These former agents have all faked their own deaths and now work for the CIA on a strictly secret basis, taking on dangerous and illegal jobs the agency may not officially carry out. They're headed to the Molguzar mountains to look for sixty-billion dollars worth of gold hidden by the KGB before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and taking a perilous detour to rescue FBI agent April Showers from a sociopath torturer. But Storm's loyalties are put to the test as the mission begins to unravel into a bloody mountaintop showdown, and he and Showers must find out the hard way that their assignment may not be what they thought it was...