EP 135 Shocking Islamic Street Experience in Kashgar | Silk Road Town in Xinjiang ചൈനാക്കാരുടെ കാശി
Look at his hands go. Looks like he is a born dancer Isn't this fig? Can I take a photo with you? You are a Muslim. To pray here, what do you have to do? This is sad. I never had such a situation buying an iPhone before The Ancient City of Kashi Or the Ancient City of Kashgar. We are at Xinjiang, the corner of China It is at Xinjiang Province We have reached Kashgar in Xinjiang Province We can see the place Ancient City of Kashi Like Jaisalmer fort, you can see an ancient city in the heart of the city That is Ancient City of Kashi I am taking you to that now.
Like everywhere, we have to cross security check and enter these streets Let me finish that. Done with the security check and got inside. You see an ancient city in here We are seeing an old city in Kashgar This has a history behind it Everybody knows about Silk Route From that time onwards, Mongolians, Tibetians, Turks and Chinese have ruled here Than dynasty, Chin dynasty etc have all ruled Kashgar Now it is under China Though you can see how people lived here those days, 90% of the buildings here were rebuilt by the Chinese government again The old buildings were not safe for people to stay is what they said They were demolished and recreated here. That is what we see as Old Town You can call it New Town or New Old Town We have come to that old town now.
It is a pedestrian street with lot of shops for tourists. There are hotel also in here You have airbnb and homestays also here You may be having hotels on top of these shops here You can stay in here or even outside if you want. You can stay anywhere. But it is a must visit place if you come to Kashgar Today we shall explore Uyghur community life, foodstyle etc Kashgar is in the western side of China The soul of Kashgar city is the ancient town You see lot of tea houses here We shall go to one of them. Though you see most of them that attract tourists, 10000 people stay here too You have houses and homestays on top You have lot of residential complexes also here There is a mosque close by. Shall see that too
Like I said, all these were rebuilt This is a place where lot of earthquakes take place So the government was keen that the people here should stay safe So they did the buildings using steel and renovated the whole thing Isn't that a bag? You see lot of passages on the way A photoshoot is happening there We can walk through these passages. You can enter some houses and see them. You see Kashmir shawls kept for sale here You see lot of similarities with Kashmir in their dressing and traditions We had seen many areas like this when we went to visit Morocco All these are such areas Lot of photo spots here You can see people dressed in costumes and taking pictures Women here are very pretty The passages here weren't so wide in those days They were narrow ones.
During renovation, they may the passages wider. You can see big and small minarets at many places here All are taking photos here This is just like how we say Pink City All these are residential areas. The main streets are for tourists. People who stayed here were shifted to another place and then it was renovated They were then allowed to come back here and buy land too Though all these are new buildings, they built it in such a way it isnt felt so Everything we see here are newly renovated The whole place is renovated. It has a history of 2000 years.
It has a 2000 year history from Silk Route time onwards A carpenter here is doing carvings He is making such shapes with all these There are guest houses and hotels in here You can stay in here if you want. They have stuck tiles there They have kept some doors as it is As I said, this place was a part of Silk Route Silk and other products were transported to Middle East, Europe etc from China Kashgar was an important city in those days for that It had many names Chinese call this place in short as Kashi now a days We had seen it in the railway station and many places as Kashi It has an international airport. You have flights from Hong Kong and other places Those paintings on those buildings look beautiful People here speak Uyghur more than Chinese language I think we have reached near the mosque Can see a camel here It is called Bactrian Camel I forgot that there was a horse here We had gone to a desert in Ladakh During INB trip, we had gone for a ride This camel has 2 humps and not like the ones we usually see That is why it is called Bactrian camel It is mostly seen in cold countries He is a strong one. Not liking me shooting I guess. He looks very good.
People used to transport good through Silk Route on these camels those days That is what is displayed here Traders used to carry things from China and Central Asian countries, And transported them on these camels One person would be there to lead and the others would follow him But what did China do today? China has freight trains from Yiwu to London Goods trains go that route. That is the infrastructure development China did We will be going to a border at China Now a days, good cross Khorgos border to come and go to China You will see that when we go there This is Xinjiang's biggest mosque, Id Kah Mosque They say that it was built in 1442 After that, they had to renovate it many times It is a beautiful mosque It is written that visitors are not allowed during prayer time. Let me check out if it is prayer time now. It is prayer time now. They asked us to come at 4pm Look at this robotic vehicle Can we ride this? Where can this be taken to? Can two go on it? Let me find out about it It is an e-bike. 100 Yuan for an hour You can take it and go around here We shall walk Let us go through this passage You find shops with these dresses at many places here This is what I have seen the most.
All these are for women. I haven't seen anything for men You see lot of photography here People are dressing up and straightening their hair inside there The select the dress they want, stand wherever they want and take pictures We have walked through such narrow passages at Varanasi I have posted videos of that These would also be the same. Everything is neat and clean.
It is neat and clean everywhere The specialty of China is that they don't keep anything old here They demolish and develop everything to new buildings Places like these are demolished but built in such a way it gives the old look From all the countries I have visited so far, I would say the most developed country is China What you see in Europe, UK and Gulf countries are not development compared to this You will understand that when you come here and go around anywhere in China One of it is that you can go to any place in China using public transport You have fast trains from one end to the other end of China Many things to mention in infrastructure development Stunning and absolutely amazing This is the map of the historic town I got in from here and came this way We crossed this mosque and now we are here We will need a full day to walk around and see the whole place Can see trunk boxes like we used to see long back A huge earthen pot to fill water You can see lot of tea houses and tea pots big and small at many places here You can see many standing in front of most of the buildings and taking pictures All are busy taking pictures They are taking pictures with professional photographers He is telling them how to stand People are sitting , standing and taking pictures in different poses I am looking at them taking pictures You can see how different the people here are It is seen in their appearance They are entirely different Can I take a photo with you? They cannot understand what I am saying They cannot understand what I am saying. I may have to translate and ask them can I take a picture with all of you This is a huge area. It looked small when I saw in the map This is huge Ancient city What we saw in Urumqi is nothing That was a city This is the real ancient city You can see how beautifully they have given the look of an ancient city here Look at this queue here. It is a photographers area People are standing in a queue to take pictures There is a beautiful place inside and people are standing in a queue to take photos We had seen the Blue City at Morocco Shouldn't I boast in between sometimes? Let me see what is it there and go. I dont want to take photos. Looks beautiful. So many standing in a queue to take pictures All are here to take pictures Whichever side you try to enter old city, the access to it is under control You have to cross the security check and only then can get inside here This is another photography team People are waiting to stand under the name Kashi seen here to take pictures I think they hire professional photographers to take pictures from here We are at Kashgar, Xinjiang They would be aged They are going around and taking pictures.
This is a school here. Can see children inside. What is this? All I see is photography all over So many people here to take photos Only I am shooting videos here It is 3.45pm. The mosque will open soon for visitors
You can see tourists standing outside the mosque We too shall stand here. We have to pay 15 Yuan to get inside the mosque 15 Yuan is the ticket to get inside here We shall take 2 tickets and go inside Only if you show your passport, they will issue you tickets Not only this mosque, but anywhere you need to take tickets, you have to show your passport In China, your passport is scanned at many places To enter a train, you have to scan it 3 times To get in, before entering the train and to get out. Yesterday they scanned it twice inside the train Not 15, but 30 Yuan per head. That is 350 INR Is this how a mosque looks like? You have to walk to reach the mosque I dont know what trees these are Beautiful trees. Id Kah Mosque means places of festivities This mosque is called Id Kah Mosque We had seen a mosque at Guangzhou This is also like that with Chinese architecture and pagodas. You find such mosques in China and borders of Kazakhastan We entered the main gate and now another gate We are going to enter the main building now This is a huge mosque. 20000 people can pray at a time here
Though this mosque was built in 1400s, They have rebuilt it many times That is what history tells us. Wooden pillars in green colour. The outside is decorated with yellow bricks The dont used stones here It is done with bricks and plastered with quick lime You can see wooden roofs here They have done it in different designs Colourful tiles are also used Shall remove our shoes here and go inside It is an outdoor area It think when it is very crowded, people use this area to pray You can see carpets put all over here This is a huge mosque A prayer session just got over. We are allowed to get inside after 4pm Nice red carpet inside. Wow!
Beautiful Small chandeliers hung here The hall is less in width but long in size They have a heating system inside the mosque Why have they put a carpet on the wall? No idea Beautiful. Like I said, the mosques here are all in a Chinese pagoda style That is how they have done the outside look Inside would be like the normal mosques we have in our place The chandelier looks beautiful People coming to the mosque should be properly dressed. No other restrictions Nobody should be wearing short or vulgar dresses No other restrictions here Isn't 30 RNB too much to come to this mosque? A doubt. You are a Muslim. If you want to come to pray, what should you do? Making them understand that itself is a big task True This is a touristic place too They have to maintain it well We had been to Haya Sophia mosque Turkey Fazilbro and myself had gone inside during prayer time It was Jumuah day. I had gone inside and shot videos. We had told them and gone inside Here you get in from there, see inside and out here and go that way You cannot go anywhere else Dont we get surprised seeing monasteries when we go to Ladakh You say Wow when you see them for the first time It might be the same for people coming to China and seeing a mosque China has nearly 40000 mosques Nearly 90% of those mosques are in Xinjiang province.
You can see a long halls around the mosque It is a border too You dont see tall minarets here All we saw was a small pillar like minaret Prayers are heard only inside the mosque We couldnt hear anything from outside I think that is how it is here There is a small dome in front You have a big flag post here You can see a Chinese flag on top of it Even when you come to a mosque, you see only China flag and nothing else Not only mosque, but anywhere in this country, you find only China's flag A different flag you would see here is what guides carry as tourist flag We have come to see Afaq Khoja's Mausoleum This tomb is a big tourist attraction here You can see the rush in this street just like you saw at the other places This is the entry to the Mausoleum Shall go through the security check and go inside I shall tell you about this tomb after that You have to take tickets to go see mosques and tombs here The entrance is on the other side You have a tourist service center here Shall take tickets from here and go inside These are put to avoid cold wind getting inside at cold countries A video is presented here Xinjiang and Kashgar videos are shown here This is the ticket counter We have to show our passport to get tickets Paid 30 RNB here too for the ticket. That is around 350 INR Can see pigeons here Lot of pigeons here. Can see people feeding and taking pictures here Lot of games here Which is the way to get inside? They have some performances happening here You can see them here This is the way inside. You can get an audio guide. It is a huge place. Lots to walk
Lot of things happening here You have flowers here You can see rose flowers also here. Lots to walk like you walk at the Taj Mahal Reminds me of walking at Chowki Dhani at Rajasthan Looks like a cart of olden days Lots to walk here. You will get tired walking I think people have taken package tours. Can see guides with them. Let us see what building this is.
Can see people going through this side This is done using stones and not wood. They have yellow bricks and have done this using that They have done all this using that You see so much of tourism here They say it is a scenic area It is a museum. Programs showing the history and lifestyle are shown here I have come to see the Mausoleum. I want to see that
That is far there. You have to see all these and then reach there Saheerbhai has lot of work to do. So he is sat outside He has to work. He cannot just travel always In Tibet, you can go around only with a guide. But no such restrictions in Xinjiang
But can hear the rumors that Xinjiang will also make guides mandatory Can see a stupa here Here the worship places are all commercialized Even in our country, temples and churches are all becoming commercialized Same here too There is a water body just like you see in front of Taj Mahal All these are always done like this. You find a water body in the front. We had gone to see mosques and tombs at Lucknow We had seen those also in this same kind of style We have reached in front of the mausoleum This is not in a Chinese style but done in a Central Asian construction This was built here first in 1640 Mausoleum is where you have a group of tombs There was a person called Mohammad Yousuf He was born in Samarkand which is in Uzbekistan today He was a Sufi master Xinjiang province was known by another name that time He used to travel spreading Islam and Sufism What you see here is Mohammad Yousuf's tomb His son Afat Khoja was also buried here in 1694 More than 60 members of their family were also buried here They have done the walls using beautiful blue green tiles You can see minarets in the front and at the back You can see the shape of the moon and some ventilations here and there too Let us enter through the main door They have done the outside beautifully You can see the tombs inside here Only the tombs and nothing else in here.
Nearly 50 or so tombs can be seen That is what you basically see here It is a holy place for people here But I didnt get that feel here Even when I try to take photos, the phone gets stuck I have been struggling with this since long No idea when will I get an update This is sad I never had such a bad experience earlier buying iPhone Looks beautiful from outside Very coulourful and beautiful You can see green, yellow and blue tiles We shall see and experience places as we travel to different areas You can see a hall outside here They are using a mic and so the sound is high here I think this was the main entrance to the tomb But we are going out through here This is a madrassa. There is a school and a small mosque also here But we cannot go inside there now Though we can go inside many mosques in Central Asian countries, You cannot go inside all the mosques in China There are very few mosques that let in tourists You can go inside only those mosques. When we got out of the tomb, everything again looked touristic You might think all these are just to take photos and reels But all these are a part of their culture too. They have hung things like this for people to understand It is completely touristic here Everything is commercial Is this a restaurant? Yes. A place where they make Nang bread You find souvenir shops, juices and other products also sold here Same as everywhere Can see 2 performers here I think they perform using these He is smoking now. All these are places to take photos All these are places for people to sit and take photos This is all you see here. Photos are seen here
You can take photos like that. Pay and take photos from here It is not for free. All these are done to take photos. Lot of shops here Can see a cycle here We got in one way and came out another way You feel like you got in and out of ISKCON temple Can see an old house here I think this is his house. It is written it is a 300 year old house We have to pay to go inside that house is what I think Most of the places here are calm and quiet Some places would have music and it would be noisy. But here it isn't Which one is better? Both are good. Thank you He is speaking Urdu I used google translate and asked him where the famous tea house is He asked me if I know Urdu. Am I a Pakistani
I said yes Urdu. Urdu is basically Hindi only. Though I dont understand much. But I can speak and understand Hindi He asked us to go this side. I bought a Xinjiang style dress for Rishi 55 Yuan for this They have different colours. I took blue. Can make him wear for any program
Rishi, get ready for your gift Tea house is somewhere here Looks like it is this We have reached here Can see somebody dancing and welcoming from there What did she say? Should we pay? She is so pretty She is saying some amount 30/head Performance going on here We shall sit here This is said to be a 1000 year old tea house It is a famous tea house here People pay an entrance fee and get in They give us tea and food You can have that and sit here All these are included in the entrance fee Superb Look at that little boy dancing He is also dancing from there Nice The couple is saying a story Some comedy kind of show Look at that boy dancing Look at his face expressions He is moving accordingly Even he is dancing like them He liked that Smart kid. No idea if it's a boy or girl Look at the child's hands go I think he is a born dancer This is something like our rice crackers Tastes like murukku That boy has come again He comes when they begin to play music to dance Look at the way he is placing his legs I liked this child Cute baby He is trying to imitate them That is her child She made him sit there No wonder he is so talented That is her kid After having tea, we got out and can see the vibe out here now All lit up Nice at night What you see far there is the TV tower of Kashgar You see that at all places in China. Can see some artists performing outside restaurants You see all that here Beautiful This looks beautiful when it is fully lit up with lights The beauty of the traditional buildings are seen at night Beautiful They have given such projection lights here Different colours at different places I loved those lights Looks so beautiful from down It looks amazing from everywhere Going back to our room.
You may be wondering what our plans for tomorrow are All of you would be knowing Karakoram pass It is the world's highest pass from China to Pakistan China built this road from Kashgar to Islamabad We can go 200km that route We have to take a permit for that. Everything is under process If we get it, we will go that side for a drive We have booked a cab You cannot go as you like. We have to go with the help of a travel agent We will be going in the morning and coming back at night If all goes well, see you tomorrow with Karakoram pass video Until then bye bye.
2024-11-12 00:28
