Langston Hughes on the steppe

The celebrated African American poet Langston Hughes journeyed through Soviet Central Asia in the early 1930s, recording and observing what he considered to be a land of great hope and promise that contrasted starkly with the segregation and racism plaguing the American South at the same time. Hughes was interested in this region because it represented, for him, what he called the USSR’s own ‘dusty, coloured, cotton-growing South’. Here, David Chioni Moore provides a fascinating insight into Hughes’ Central Asian sojourn.

Pamir Kyrgyz: On the Roof of the World

Often overlooked as a Soviet monolith, these pictures of the Arasan Public BDivided geographically into the Big Pamir and the Little Pamir, the Bam-e Dunya (Persian: ‘Roof of the World’), a series of high, lofty valleys at the eastern end of Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor, is home to a small group of Kyrgyz nomads with a complex political history. Here the Kyrgyz were forced to adapt to life in one of the most inhospitable domains imaginable. With eight months of winter, and lacking infrastructure of any kind, the beauty of the Afghan Pamir belies its ability to support life. Matthieu and Mareile Paley report. Photographs by Matthieu Paleyaths in Almaty, Kazakhstan suggest otherwise. A common feature in Central Asian cities, the public bathhouse is a practical meeting point with a communal atmosphere. The Arasan Public Baths house Central Asia's most elaborate bathing spot, blending late-Soviet architectural detail with the essential elements of the spa. Rebecca Beardmore has a look around and freshens up inside. Photographs by Philipp Meuser, Chris Herwig and Matthew Fletcher.

 

Gonur Tepe: A Lost Civilisation

Archaeologist Victor Sarianidi has turned up the remnants of a wealthy town protected by high walls and battlements. This barren place, a site called Gonur Tepe, was once the heart of a vast archipelago of settlements that stretched across 1,000 m2 of Central Asian plains. Although unknown to most Western scholars, this ancient civilisation dates back 4,000 years, to the time when the first great societies along the Nile, Tigris-Euphrates, Indus and Yellow Rivers were flourishing, and its discovery calls into question conventional ideas about ancient culture, trade and religion. Andrew Lawler reports from the Kara-Kum Desert of Turkmenistan. Photographs by Kenneth Garrett .

 

Top Ten Turkmenbashi

Turkmenbashi was the self-conferred title by which recently deceased President Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan referred to his position as the founder/president of the Association of Turkmens of the World. Often prefaced by ‘Great’, the true reading of the title was best reflected in Turkmenbashi’s desire to remodel his country around one person: himself. Turkmenbashi ruled Turkmenistan from 1985 until his death in 2006. He became increasingly erratic, closing hospitals and libraries while building an all-encompassing personality cult. Cities and names of the month were renamed after him or his family. His portrait was everywhere, from banknotes and matchboxes to theatres and train stations. Photographs by Christopher Herwig and Michael Steen.

 

Carpets from Xinjiang

Originating in the far western corner of China, the carpets on the following pages tell a story of ethnic blending between the local Muslim population and the predominant Han Chinese. The Uighurs, age-old masters of carpet weaving, have created a colourful canvas on which they have interpreted the cultural symbols of the Middle Kingdom. Brigid Keenan takes us on a journey to uncover the origin and true meaning of these enchanting textiles. Photographs by Tim Beddow .

 

Snapshot: Creative Murals

A Russian woman buys a ticket for treatment in a sanatorium in the centre of Rudny, an industrial town in northern Kazakhstan. The giant mural covering one wall of the main lobby was painted by a local artist, and with its abundant depiction of flora and fauna, it conjures up a conservationist’s dream somewhat at odds with the town’s industrial surroundings. Vast sanatoria designed as health resorts were an integral part of the USSR that existed for the benefit of workers. This sanatorium still operates today, and as you walk along its corridors you can glimpse all sorts of unidentifiable machines used for treatments. Photograph by Christopher Herwig.