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142nd out of 435 books
—
271 voters
A Carpet Ride to Khiva: Seven Years on the Silk Road
"Most travelogues chart a journey, but in this case it is the author's decision to stay put that lifts his book out of the ordinary." — Lonely Planet Magazine
Accompanied by a large parrot, a ginger cat, and his adoptive Uzbek family, Christopher Aslan Alexander recounts the sheer magic of Uzbek culture alongside his efforts to rediscover the lost arts of traditional carpet...more
Accompanied by a large parrot, a ginger cat, and his adoptive Uzbek family, Christopher Aslan Alexander recounts the sheer magic of Uzbek culture alongside his efforts to rediscover the lost arts of traditional carpet...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
October 19th 2010
by Icon Books
(first published July 1st 2010)
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Chris Alexander originally travelled to Khiva, a remote walled city in Uzbekistan on the route of the ancient Silk Road, to write a guidebook. But he stayed, mesmerized by a world of silk and forgotten 15th-century carpet designs – discovering indigo blue, madder red, pomegranate gold and the subtle shades of life in a desert oasis.
Alexander’s entrancing travelogue sees him stripped naked at a former Soviet youth camp, crawling through silkworm droppings, tackling a carpet-thieving mayor, disti...more
Alexander’s entrancing travelogue sees him stripped naked at a former Soviet youth camp, crawling through silkworm droppings, tackling a carpet-thieving mayor, disti...more
Wow. There are no words. You just have to go ahead and read it.
Not only is Chris a talented author (though believe it or not this is his first book!), but he takes you along with him on the journey as he studies the art of carpet making and then proceeds to set up a carpet weaving factory that provides employment for those unable to work due to social or cultural barriers.
Chris is able to describe places, people and events with amazing clarity; painting a picture with his words so that you can s...more
Not only is Chris a talented author (though believe it or not this is his first book!), but he takes you along with him on the journey as he studies the art of carpet making and then proceeds to set up a carpet weaving factory that provides employment for those unable to work due to social or cultural barriers.
Chris is able to describe places, people and events with amazing clarity; painting a picture with his words so that you can s...more
Alexander's book is hard to define - it details his seven years in Uzbekistan, where he helped set up a carpet factory. He explains the difficulties facing ordinary Uzbeki people in their day-to-day lives, the culture, the socio-political environment, and its history, which gives a fascinating insight into a country few really know about.
I found it very interesting, and there are some amusing incidents along the way - I have two personal favourites. The first is when Alexander is at the Afghan...more
I found it very interesting, and there are some amusing incidents along the way - I have two personal favourites. The first is when Alexander is at the Afghan...more
It's complicated when you dearly love a screwed-up and beautiful country that rejects you or who you are forced to leave. I understood this before reading this book based on my time in Vietnam. Though I chose to leave, part of me is still there. Well, Aslan's book perfectly captures the complexity of just this situation, and though I picked it up to prepare for a trip to Uzbekistan, this book has evoked a remarkable number of connections to the people I have known, the places I have been as an e...more
Läste den på svenska, den gavs ut helt nyligen på Narin förlag. ISBN för den svenska versionen: 978-91-978909-3-9.
Chris Alexander berättar på ett levande sätt om sin upplevelse i Chiva, en stad belägen vid sidenvägen i Uzbekistan. Han åkte dit för att skriva en guidebok men blev kvar i sju år som biståndsarbetare för biståndsorganisationen Operation Mercy (www.mercy.se) för att starta ett mattväveri, ett biståndsprojekt
tillsammans med FN-organet UNESCO.
En välskriven bok som ger en inblick i en...more
Chris Alexander berättar på ett levande sätt om sin upplevelse i Chiva, en stad belägen vid sidenvägen i Uzbekistan. Han åkte dit för att skriva en guidebok men blev kvar i sju år som biståndsarbetare för biståndsorganisationen Operation Mercy (www.mercy.se) för att starta ett mattväveri, ett biståndsprojekt
tillsammans med FN-organet UNESCO.
En välskriven bok som ger en inblick i en...more
Read this for research on an upcoming trip to Uzbekistan. Very enjoyable and easy to get into.
My one quibble was that the author consistently calls women girls. Putting feminist reasons for this quibble aside, can I appeal to the author in the name of clarity instead? For example, at one part, he says that there were girls in the street. Without context (what were they doing in the street? playing? going home with groceries), I was not sure whether he meant girls as in little kids or women. Up...more
My one quibble was that the author consistently calls women girls. Putting feminist reasons for this quibble aside, can I appeal to the author in the name of clarity instead? For example, at one part, he says that there were girls in the street. Without context (what were they doing in the street? playing? going home with groceries), I was not sure whether he meant girls as in little kids or women. Up...more
This wonderful book tracks the experiences of Chris Aslan Alexander in his charitable work setting up a carpet weaving factory in Uzbekistan in Central Asia. I knew Chris in the early 1990's and so this book was a bit of a catch up for me. But far more, it is a fascinating insight into the everyday lives of a broken country.
Chris initially went to Uzbekistan with Operation Mercy to help write a travel manual. He documents his experiences of culture shock, suffering through bitter winters and sc...more
Chris initially went to Uzbekistan with Operation Mercy to help write a travel manual. He documents his experiences of culture shock, suffering through bitter winters and sc...more
This was written by someone I met as I was living in Khiva as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He arrived around the same time I did, and stayed for 7 years. I was hesitant to read this book, as my memories of Khiva are very personally ingrained, and I didn't agree with some of the activities of the organization that brought the author to Khiva. That being said, I found myself enjoying the book - the trials and tribulations of working on projects in Uzbekistan and the depictions of Khiva itself.
I read this book on a long drive day from Bukhara to Khiva and loved it. It felt a little bit awkward and self conscious at the beginning, but it was a fascinating look into a different world.
It was amazing to read it and then get to see the place. I got so sucked in to the book that I felt like I had lived in Khiva for seven years when we arrived. I got to meet the women in the carpet weaving shop and it was quite magical.
It was amazing to read it and then get to see the place. I got so sucked in to the book that I felt like I had lived in Khiva for seven years when we arrived. I got to meet the women in the carpet weaving shop and it was quite magical.
Good overview of the author's time in Uzbekistan (around 9/11 and after) setting up and running a handmade carpet factory on behalf of a charity, although I did find it frustrating that he was obviously avoiding details of his personal life to such an extent.
This one makes a good follow up to Sheila Paine's trilogy of searching the globe in search of the history of a specific embroidery design.
This one makes a good follow up to Sheila Paine's trilogy of searching the globe in search of the history of a specific embroidery design.
Moving, exciting, educational, thought provoking. Overall a book well worth reading. It requires no effort as you are drawn forward page by page by a well written and at times heart wrenching saga of a man's foray into a foreign and at times brutal culture. I found this book to be enchanting but at times quite difficult reading, well worth the hours I spent reading it.
I read this in preparation for an upcoming trip to Uzbekistan and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. It's filled with information about the culture and cautionary tales about how the power structure works. Brilliant.
I thoroughly enjoyed this peek into the author's life and experiences as he sets up and runs a carpet workshop, and deals with the quirks and charms of Khiva.
Nov 30, 2011
Gary
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
travel bugs; those interested in Central Asia or carpet weaving/dyeing
A fun read for anyone who would like to learn more about Khiva and/or silk carpet weaving and dyeing.
interesting insights into a culture I knew little about. Scores 3.5
book on central asia, reviewed 2 April 2010 - TLS
A surprisingly interesting read!
Great! Really gave me a good feel for a country I've always wanted to know more about (and visit). A sad ending, unfortunately, but gives us an idea of how rare political freedom really is.
Mar 17, 2013
Val
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
global-extra,
world-tour-2013
Uzbekistan
WANT WANT WANT!
Great
Nov 07, 2010
Marissa
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nonfiction,
words-with-writers-interview
An incredible and truly inspiring tale. Alexander's vivid, direct prose is full of details that will educate readers about Khiva, Uzbekistan and the carpet-weaving craft without posing a distraction from his personal story.
Read an interview with Christopher Aslan Alexander from Words With Writers: http://wordswithwriters.com/2010/10/2...
Read an interview with Christopher Aslan Alexander from Words With Writers: http://wordswithwriters.com/2010/10/2...
A fascinating insight into one of the post-Soviet Stans. You'll never look upon a donkey in the same way again!
A truly inspiring book of how a man who travels to a strange land can make a difference in the society. In anticipation of my trip to Central Asia, now that I have read this book, I can't wait to go visit Uzbekistan.
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