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Well people.Thank you so much for all the messages.I was in Western China (XinJiang Province) for two weeks and that is Uygur China so because of the Urumchi riots telephone calls and internet were banned there.I'm now updating my blog from the capital of Kyrgzstan.After my last blog (DunHuang) we headed into the west and for the Turpan Basin which is one of 3 lowest points in the world.The average temperature there during summer is between about 35 degrees celcius and 46 degrees celcius.The highest recorded temperature is 48 degrees.It was a long drive there and we did a bush camp along the way.Theres not much to say about that.I realised we were truly in desert land when we drove up into the mountains and had lunch between the sand dunes.At the same place we went to see the Bezeklik caves (old Buddhist caves) but they were not much to rave about especially after seeing the stunning Mogao Grottoes.They were very damaged and the colours had all but faded from the paintings.However there was where I had my first encounter with the Uygur Turks.As we went in some of the staff attending the site were playing Uygur music and I understood the lyrics so I spoke to them in Turkish and asked if they could understand me.They said they could,but not everything so we ahd a little chat.Then outside one of the caves was a sweet little Uygur grandad playing a traditional Uygur instrument which is kind of like a cross between a mini Ud and a banjo.lol.I cant remember the name of it.He also had a drum.He got me to sit with him and put his hat on.And as I strummed away to no articular tune on his instrument he banged the drum.lol.I got talking to him and a younger guy and girl.They were all very interested in Turkey.All the Uygurs are.I tell them my name is Zahide (my other name) because they can relate to that more than Tijen, which is more uncommon.The girl was 24 and a teacher and the grandad was 65.He said I had a lovely face : ) We managed to communicate pretty well.Especially myself and the younger guy.Its crazy how Turkish they all look here.Some of them are more Mongolian looking, but on the whole they just look really Turkish.Its like entering a different world.You wouldnt think you're still in China.After the caves we went to the GaoChang ruins.The ruined city dates back to the 1st century BC (Western Han Dynasty).It was a former wealthy centre of power in Western China.We were driven into the heart of the ruins by donkey cart.lol.It was baking hot that day.Unfortunately the ruins were not very well preserved.You could make out some doorways or building features, but mainly it was just lumps of rock.If it wasnt for the signing we wouldnt have been able to tell what anything was.However the sheer magnitude of the place (I think it was 2 million square metres)was something in itself.Outside the ruins were stalls and shops and lots of cute little Uygur children running around.I talked to one Uygur guy who didnt understand me very well but when he learnt I was from Turkey (it was too difficult to explain my dual heritage and the fact I lived in London) and am Muslim he went around telling all the other men.lol.And they were all saing 'Yasasin Turkiye' which menas 'Long Live Turkey'.The little girls must only have been between the ages of 6 and 11 but they were hassling us constantly, trying to get us to buy little keyrings and trinkets.Arriving in the Oasis town of Turpan was like arriving in a middle Eastern/Turkish town.The architecture was distinctly Islamic and there were loads og grapevines growing over long walkways and providing shade from the hot sun.Many of the Uygur women were Turkish style yemeni scarves, which is like a kind of village headscarf. and the men all dress like in Turkey.They wear either ill firring suits everywhere or formal trousers pulled together tightly with belts and t-shirts or fake D & G jumpers in the sweltering heat.They all wear the formal black suit shoes that men in Turkish men in London,Cyprus and Turkey wear too.Also, like Turkish men they all walk around with their hands clasped behind their backs looking very serious as they survey their surroundings.We had dinner at the nightmarket.We had to wait longer because the local time here is 2 hours behind Beijing time, but it was worth it.I was in heacven as I tucked into lamb shish kebabs, spicey flat bread and pilav with cooked carrots in it.The sweet flavours of home washed away two and a half weeks of greasy noodles and even greasier stir-fried veg (ok, the Chinese food wasnt that bad!) The guy running the stall we ate at was great.When we wanted rice he ran and got rice from another stall.We wanted drinks he went and got them from the drinks man. It was great. After that we went to Ihlas Supermarket which was a pretty standard Middle Eastern style supermarket.They stocked lots of Turkish brands in there.I could understand three boys in ether that were trying to guess my age.They thought I was 18!lol.The Turpan Hotel was lovely.It was cool and airy.There was a massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling and a big curved widing staircase.It was very different to the Chinese style hotels.Although it was only 3 stars it was luxury after 2 nights of bush camping and for once Lynne and I got a room without any problems.The shower,the tv, the air con, it all worked and the shower even had a shower curtain!!!The arched walkway to the hotelwas covered in grape vines as was the hotel cafe.
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