The Lifeblood of Central Asia. Bread.

Bread sellers in Urgut (Sunday market), Samarqand province, Uzbekistan.  (Photo by Betta27)

Whether it's called non, naan or nan, bread is the lifeblood of the Central Asian diet.  According to a report, called Cereal Worlds, published by AACC International, the per capita consumption of bread, in some rural regions, is as high as 500 grams per day.   In some areas, nearly 50% of the daily caloric intake comes from bread.

The Markets.

Photo From International Mission Board (imb).

With a legacy imbued by centuries of trade, it does not come as a surprise to me that Central Asia is famed for its markets.  Contrary to what the name implies though, the Silk Road was never a single road.  Instead, it a loose network of routes, linking together the major trading centers of East Asia with those in the Middle East, the Mediterranean and Europe.

Tajikistan. The Majesty and The Danger.

Fann Mountains (Photo from KE Adventure Travel)

Although the independent Republic of Tajikistan is just about 24 years old, Tajik civilization dates back as far as 3,000 years.  Archaeological finds identify settlements dating back even further, all the way to the upper Paleolithic period (15-20 thousand years ago!

Like many of the towns and cities of its sister nations, the other *stans*,  many of Tajikistan's towns and cities were also located on strategic points along the Silk Road and so its national identify reflects the influence of multiple civilizations through the ages as well.

The Ceramics of Uzbekistan. Rishtan.

Rishtan Ceramic Panel
(Photo from Arastan)

Ceramics is one of the oldest forms of applied decorative arts in Uzbekistan; it goes back centuries, to the days of the Silk Road.

The first glazed ceramics, using a green glaze,were made in the 8th century.  By the mid-8thcentury, the first colored ceramics, covered in transparent glaze and appearing gray, appeared. From the 9-12th centuries various glazes were developed.

Following the invasion of the Mongols in the 13th century, there was an economic decline with led to a decline in interest in ceramics.  Then came Timur in the 14th century.

Once Timur had established his empire, with Samarkand as the capital,  the best commodities from all over the world started to make their way in to the markets of the empire. The finest white Chinese porcelain, with cobalt blue painting, were among the most valued goods. But exactly how the Chinese manufactured these highly desired porcelains was a secret that they kept to themselves.

In an attempt to decode the manufacturing process, Timur supposedly sent several ceramics masters from Samarkand to Rishtan. Unfortunately, all attempts to try and recreate the Chinese porcelains failed because the secret was in the kaolin clay that the Chinese used and not in the process. Though they failed to reproduce Chinese porclains, the artisans of Rishtan soon developed their own, unique form of pottery using clay and minerals found in the region.

Rishtan's reddish-yellow clay is found in deposits 1 to 1.5 meters deep and 0.5 to 1 5/8 meters thick in pretty much all of Rishtan. The fine quality of the clay allowed it to be used without preliminary refinement and without having to add in any other types of clay, as potters from other regions needed to. Additionally, the potters of Rishtan extracted various dyes and minerals, from their surroundings, to color and paint the porcelain.  The Rishtan ceramics depicted stories and images reflecting the cultures of the region.