A Darkness Visible

For fourteen years photographer Seamus Murphy has captured Afghanistan in its many guises. The results, evoking both great sadness and great joy, are humbling and illustrative, offering a remarkable portrait of this war-torn country. In their entirety (and there are more - see the book review on page 22), these images capture a country struggling to continue with daily life under non-stop conflict. They depict everything from Sufi ceremonies to quail fighting, war widows and the wheat harvest.

A Secret Agent on the Silk Road

Exactly one hundred years ago, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, later commander-in-chief of Finland during World War II and President of the Finnish Republic, spent two years travelling across Central Asia. Ostensibly leading a scientific expedition, Mannerheim went on to write a comprehensive report of his journey for the Russian General Staff. Eric Enno Tamm uncovers a shadowy figure in the Great Game.

steppe Guide: Chingiz Aitmatov

Chingiz Aitmatov's iconic status as Central Asia's most famous modern author was achieved through his mythical prose, set mainly in the mountains of his homeland, Kyrgyzstan. Here, Sian Glaessner writes an obituary of this great man and provides an introduction to and synopses of some of his better-known works, while Ravil Bukharaev pens a personal tribute to a friend and fellow intellectual. Author photographs by Janarbek Amankulov. Landscape photographs by Carolyn Drake and Mark Grigorian.

Istalif: Return to Form

Situated high in the mountains but accessible from Kabul, Istalif has a reputation for the beauty of its surroundings and for its pottery. Partially destroyed by the Taliban in 1998, the village is back on its feet, yet its traditions still hang in the balance. Report by Thomas Wide. Photographs courtesy of Turquoise Mountain and Thierry Kelaart.

 

Snapshot: Wash Day

Men come to wash their cars, bicycles and themselves on a hot day in midsummer in the Syr Darya River in Kazakhstan. The river, which the ancient Greeks knew as the Jaxartes, has always been immensely important for the Kazakhs. Prior to their incorporation into the USSR, the nomadic Kazakhs were split between three hordes, with the Middle Horde wintering along the Syr Darya's middle reaches and the Small Horde wintering along its lower reaches, adjacent to the Aral Sea. Photograph by Tim MacPherson.

Cookery: Yoghurt

Yoghurt is a Central Asian Staple, used everywhere from yurts to high-rise Soviet apartment blocks. American scholar Charles Perry looks into the white stuff. Photographs by Janarbek Amankulov.