stepho&crank

We took an early flight out of Beijing and after a brief layover in Urumqi our plane made a dusty landing at the Kashgar International Airport. We were met by our local Uighur guide, Petidin Abdul Kiyum or simply “Patty,” and bussed downtown to our hotel. Although it’s thousands of kilometers east of China’s capital, the Xinjiang province, like the rest of the PRC, runs on Běijīng shíjiān (“Beijing time”) and the sun doesn’t set until well after 10 pm. With the extra daylight we got to thoroughly explore Kashgar’s deliciously-greasy, cart- and kebab-filled downtown.

In the center of town sits the Idgah Mosque, the largest in China, where the large Muslim local population comes to pray several times a day. The temple’s thick, orange walls and densely planted poplars make the mosque’s open air interior a true sanctuary from the hustle and bustle outside. We padded around in bare feet for a while before heading back out through the enormous, copper-covered front doors.

The nearby streets are cluttered with electric bicycles, hawkers offering fresh melon by the slice and the occasional livestock. Local Muslim women often wear a full veil while the recent Han Chinese immigrants are more partial to the miniskirt and heels. It was apricot season while we were there so we loaded up on the sweet little fruits and also noshed on some kebabs and salty bagels, but we steered clear of the stewed goat head being ladled up fresh and steaming.

Following a loud and constant tapping sound, we headed down the street to find several copper smiths hammering smooth some enormous bowls sold by weight. We picked up a beautiful slotted copper spoon, perfect for fishing cooked jiaozi out of boiling water.

After some fresh fruit, a new kitchen implement and one last shower, we got into our (“Chinese firm”) bed and nodded off at around 11:00 as the last streaks of sunset slipped over the horizon, right behind the gigantic statue of Mao looming across the street from our hotel.