Some more photos from my time in Almaty.
With Jane, Kiki and Lorna. Clearly only Lorna paying any attention to what i’m pointing at.
Despite that it looks like we need one another to stay upright, we were sober.
Kiki and Lorna having the thrill of their life on the summer toboggan ride on the slopes of Kok Tobe Mountain.
Will, Kiki and Lorna in the cable car.
Jane in the cable car.
And finally, who else but me in the cable car.
From Almaty to China.
Including our first proper Chinese – it was gorgeous.
The sleeper coach on the way to the border. Very comfy.
Two rows of bunk beds with a centre aisle on wheels = sleeper coach.
From roads to rails, now on a train.
The sleeping arrangements on the train.
Bit of an assault course whether you are trying to get into your bunk, which are three beds high, or pass people simply sitting down in the carriage.
This looks promising. Waiting with anticipation to see what delights await.
Stir fried tofu with vegetables.
Stir fried tomatoes and eggs, with green vegetables.
Mapo tofu.
Turpan.
Ancient remains found in the middle of the desert, preserved and on display in Turpan Museum.
This statue was used as a tomb guardian. Turpan Museum.
This statue was used as a tomb guardian. Turpan Museum.
Buddha Shakyamuni. Turpan Museum.
Leather boots with embroidery. Turpan Museum.
Human mummy – adult. Turpan Museum.
Human mummy – small infant. Turpan Museum.
Pedestrianised Qingnian Lu Street in Turpan, cooled and sheltered by grapevines.
This is Jiaohe, a ruined city in the Yamaz Valley 10 kilometres from Turpan.
Jiaohe was the capital of the Jushi Kingdom.
Jiaohe is a natural fortress located atop a steep cliff on a leaf shaped plateau between two deep river valleys.
The Jiaohe ruins became part of the Silk Road UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2014.
The Jiaohe ruins are about 300 metres wide at the widest point
……………… and stretch over 1.6 kilometres in length.
With the layout of the room at the back and the light shinning in from the sky above, this room possibly had an open fire for cooking or heating.
An underground tunnel below the ruins.
Pathways have been laid for visitor access to reduce ground errosion.
Most of the ruins are individually unidentifiable.
Eroded steps lead up to what could possible an old entrance to a building.
This is one of the very few ruins remaining which is still substantially standing.
This was a Buddhist Temple.
The Jiaohe ruins are what’s left of the world’s ‘largest, oldest, and best-preserved city of raw-earth buildings’.
The city of Jiaohe is gradually disappearing as it was dug out from desert siltstone.
The siltstone excavated was then used to build rooms above ground.
The rooms above ground were used as living rooms and kitchens.
The underground rooms were cool, providing shelter from the strong sunlight in summer and the strong wind in winter.
Ruins of a large house.
Despite the baron landscape, some greenery.
As long as all the bricks fill the gap and there are none left over, whats the problem ?
Water flowing through the Turpan Karez underground water system, under illuminated glass panels.
The markings that have been added to the water system floor, appear to indicate the formation and positioning of the well above the surface.
Light shinning through the opening of a well on the surface.
Steps leading down to the ancient Turpan Karez underground water system.
A grape arbor.
Grapevine and root, surrounded by water.
Granite Feng Shui rotating ball water fountain.
These photos are pre-China and were taken at the Tamgaly Petroglyphs in Kazakhstan.
First up, and I do not have a clue what the petroglyph is of in this image.
Goat.
Camel.
One of the easiest to indentify, human on horseback.
A few of the animals I could indentify, the large images in the centre are a horse (left) and bull (right). Above the horse and bull from left to right, there is a goat, then three dogs followed by a small bull.
Human holding on to a horse.
A small watering hole.
Elephant.
Goat.
Sun God in the centre of the photo.
This petroglyph has worn over time and the image on the rock has nearly disappeared.
