Turpan

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Turpan is hot, very hot (a little of that uk rain might even be welcome!). I am sitting under grape vines while writing this. The grape juice made from the small sweet grapes is sweet and delicious. I also tasted mulberry juice today. It is also sweet and has a slightly medicinal tang. It came from a Uighur village, Tuyoc, which is one of the tourist "scenic spots" around Turpan. Some of the houses have areas for drying the grapes. These are clearly visible because there are gaps in the brickwork for air drying. Tuyoc is a strange place. It has a saints tomb which is an important muslim pilgrimmage site. Although it is important, unusually the tomb area was not kept clean and tidy (as almost all muslim tombs are) and at least one family seemed to be living there. I was surprised by the size of Jiaohe, the ruins of an ancient city. Its location reminded me a little of Durham. It is situated on a piece of land with steep drops on either side of the city to a green valley below. The valleys are planted with vines. The last visit of the day was to a dry lake that is -154m. A notice at the site claims to be the lowest inland place in the world, but Wikipaedia disagrees, saying it is the third lowest. I think the claim of the notice is too bold. On the way we could see signs of the Karez. These are ancient underground water canals. We saw an example in the Karez museum near Jiaohe. The photos are of the Jiaohe ruins and Sophie at the dry lake.

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