Kharghilik

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July 12th 2013

Published: July 13th 2013

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rasdavid

Karghilik (12)

Hi All

We decided to split up our journey to Hotan with a stop over in Karghilik, in Uyghur, YeCheng, in Chinese.

If anyone is going to stay here the only hotel we could stay in was the QiaoGeLi, K2 hotel. The traffic hotel at the bus station wouldn't take foreigners.

I probably need to explain who the Uyghers are to some people. They are the ethnic group that live predominately in XinJiang province. They are a real mix of people Chinese, Kazaks, Uzbeki, Tajiki, Mongolian, Russian and even Europeans who travelled up the silk road. They traditionally don't speak Chinese but Uyghur,which is also spoken in quite a few of the other central Asian countries, it is also written in an Arabic script.

They were originally Buddhist as Buddhism came from India to China through XinJiang but the area converted to Islam between the 10^th and 12^th centuries.

Since the Chinese 'liberated' the region in 1949 the government has been trying to keep a lid on separatism in the region. The Uyghurs once comprised of 90%!o(MISSING)f the regions population but this is now down to below 50%! (MISSING)The Uyghurs go to Uyghur

Karghilik (2)

speaking schools and have to learn Mandarin Chinese but Chinese children do not have to learn Uyghur. Their religion is also under pressure and the Imam is not allowed to preach from the Koran in the mosques. When the US declared it's war on terror the Chinese government used this as a green light to imprison and execute thousands of suspected 'Islamic Fundamentalists'. There have been attacks and suicide bombings on police stations in Kashgar and Kuqa. Understandably this had lead to tensions in the region with Uyghurs complaining that their culture is being diluted and destroyed. Anyway that's the end of the history lesson.

What a great place. We spent a really fun afternoon walking around the old town. These oasis towns are really strange. They are split almost in two with the Uyghurs living in one part of the city and the Chinese in the other part. The old town behind the splendid Friday mosque was great. We walked through the graveyard to another mosque where there was a man calling the people to prayer. The people here, especially the children, were really friendly and curious. They really can't make me out at all.

Enjoy the