It’s ancient, all right:
Kashgar[6][7][8] [...] is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. [...] Kashgar has served as a trading post and strategically important city on the Silk Road between China, the Middle East and Europe for over 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World.
en.wikipedia.org/...
Okay, this is strictly for the tourists, I know, but it’s cool anyway:
Crossroads are inherently interesting b/c so many cultures meet there.
Located at the foot of the Pamirs [sic] Mountains between a vast desert and immense mountain range, Kashgar was once an isolated oasis on the long trade route across the Asian continent. It was a major hub along the great Silk Road as the northern and southern Silk Routes crossed here and caravans departed for Central Asia, India, Pakistan and ancient Persia (current Iran). Kashgar’s livestock market named Ivan Bazaar still has the reputation to be one of the largest and most colorful markets in the region.
en.unesco.org/...
Here you can see how it’s wedged between mountains and desert:
This is a good tutorial on Uyghur food and Kashgar in particular [7:28]:
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Kashgar’s history includes a number of times when it was stomped, including by Genghis Khan and Tamerlane.
For more than a thousand years, Kashgar—where the bone-dry Taklamakan Desert meets the Tian Shan Mountains—was a key city along the Silk Road [...] In the ninth century, Uighur forebears, traders traveling from Mongolia in camel caravans, settled in oasis towns around the desert. Originally Buddhists, they began converting to Islam about 300 years later. For the past 1,000 years, Kashgar has thrived, languished—and been ruthlessly suppressed by occupiers. The Italian adventurer Marco Polo reported passing through around 1273, about 70 years after it was seized by Genghis Khan. He called it “the largest and most important” city in “a province of many towns and castles.” Tamerlane the Great, the despot from what is now Uzbekistan, sacked the city in 1390. Three imperial Chinese dynasties conquered and reconquered Kashgar and its environs.
www.smithsonianmag.com/...
Oh. My. God.:
She has a different name for it, but what Dolan Chick is making I have seen referred to as Ding Ding. It’s a chopped noodle dish — you’ll see! And I think it would be just as good made with beef. [6:40]
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Of course, Kashgar wouldn’t exist without its oasis.
The oasis is highly fertile, growing wheat, corn (maize), barley, rice, beans, and a great deal of cotton. The oasis also produces fruit and is known for its melons, grapes, peaches, apricots, and cherries. There is some fishing in the rivers of the oasis. The oasis peoples engage in a variety of handicrafts; both cotton and silk textiles are produced, together with felts, rugs, furs, leatherware, and pottery. Some copper is produced in the area, which also ships wool, hides, and a variety of animal products to other parts of China.
www.britannica.com/...
They forgot caffeine and cooking oil.
We’ve seen a version of these steamed dumplings (Manti) before. Here’s how they’re made among the Uyghurs [11:24]:
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The area is still predominately Uyghur:
Kashgar is predominantly populated by Muslim Uyghurs. Compared to Ürümqi, Xinjiang's capital and largest city, Kashgar is less industrial and has significantly fewer Han Chinese residents.
en.wikipedia.org/…
And a bit of pop culture:
The movie The Kite Runner was filmed in Kashgar. Kashgar and the surrounding countryside stood in for Kabul and Afghanistan, since filming in Afghanistan was not possible due to safety and security reasons.
en.wikipedia.org/...
The largest mosque in China, the Id Kah mosque, may or may not have been closed by the Chinese government to the Uyghurs who worshipped there, and Uyghurs may or may not have been forced to dance in front of it to “prove” how happy they are under Chinese rule. Those tweets were a few years old, however, and this series tries to avoid politics.
Polo, the King of the Uyghur Table:
Another typical Uyghur dish is polu (پولۇ, полу; 抓飯, zhuāfàn, جُوَ فًا), a Xinjiang take on Pilaf, a dish found throughout Central Asia. In a common version of the Uyghur polu, carrots and mutton (or chicken) are first fried in oil with onion, then rice and water are added, and the whole dish is steamed. Raisins and dried apricots may also be added.[7]
en.wikipedia.org/…
Recipe is linked in the description. I might just try this with chicken [6:33]:
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Oh, just to go window shopping here, so to speak:
The city has a very important Sunday market. Thousands of farmers from the surrounding fertile lands come into the city to sell a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. Kashgar's livestock market is also very lively. Silk and carpets made in Hotan are sold at bazaars, as well as local crafts, such as copper teapots and wooden jewellery boxes.
en.wikipedia.org/...
The Sunday Market & the Night Market of Kashgar [2:31]:
Dapanji, or Big Plate Chicken, is one of the hallmark dishes of the region. The recipe is linked in the description. [11:21]
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The traditional lute is called a dutar:
The dutar [...] is a traditional long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and Central Asia. Its name comes from the Persian word for "two strings" [...], although the Herati dutar of Afghanistan has fourteen strings. When played, the strings are usually plucked by the Uyghurs of Western China and strummed and plucked by the Tajiks, Turkmen, Uzbeks.
en.wikipedia.org/...
And here’s what a dutar sounds like [4:00]:
Yapmanaan, or Uyghur Lamb Stew looks delicious [11:19]:
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In case you missed it:
Ancient Silk Road Cities #1: Bukhara www.dailykos.com/...
Ancient Silk Road Cities #2: Samarkand www.dailykos.com/...
Ancient Silk Road Cities #3: Osh www.dailykos.com/...
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So c’mon into the cafe and grab a cuppa…
...and a nice nosh…
...and join us!
New Day Cafe is an open thread. What do you want to talk about today?