THROUGH DESERTS AND OASES
OF CENTRAL ASIA
Strike me dead, the track has vanished.
Well, what now? We’ve lost the way,
Demons have bewitched our horses,
Led us in the wilds astray.
Pushkin.
A YA-YIEH OR YAMEN RUNNER.
Frontispiece.
THROUGH DESERTS AND
OASES OF CENTRAL ASIA
BY
Miss ELLA SYKES
F.R.G.S.
AUTHOR OF
“THROUGH PERSIA ON A SIDE-SADDLE” AND “A HOME HELP IN CANADA”
AND
Brigadier-General Sir PERCY SYKES
K.C.I.E., C.B., C.M.G.
GOLD MEDALLIST OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY
AUTHOR OF
“A HISTORY OF PERSIA” AND “THE GLORY OF THE SHIA WORLD”
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON
1920
MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited
LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA · MADRAS
MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO
DALLAS · SAN FRANCISCO
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd.
TORONTO
COPYRIGHT
PREFACE
Few works dealing with Chinese Turkestan and the Pamirs have been published of late years, although the Heart of Asia, where the empires of Great Britain, Russia and China meet, can never fail to excite our interest. Furthermore, the great trade route which ran from China to the Roman Empire lay across Chinese Turkestan, from which remote land silk was introduced into Europe.
The present book has been written in two parts. The chapters composing Part I., which describe the nine months’ journey in deserts and oases, in mountains and plains, have been written by my sister, while I am responsible for those dealing with the geography, history, customs and other subjects.
We are indebted to Mr. Bohlin of the Swedish Mission in Chinese Turkestan, and to Khan Sahib, Iftikhar Ahmad of the British Consulate-General, Kashgar, for much assistance; and also to Dr. F. W. Thomas, of the India Office, who has read through the historical sketch.
A good deal of new material will be found in the various chapters, and as far as possible the subjects so ably and exhaustively dealt with by Sir Aurel Stein have been avoided.
To my sister belongs the honour of being the first Englishwoman to cross the dangerous passes leading to and from the Pamirs and, with the exception of Mrs. Littledale, to visit Khotan.
We greatly enjoyed the nine months we spent in Chinese Turkestan and on the “Roof of the World,” and if we succeed in arousing the interest of our readers in this old-world backwater of Asia, and at the same time convey something of its distinctive charm, our ambitions will be fulfilled.
P. M. SYKES.
CONTENTS
| PART I | |
| [CHAPTER I] | |
| PAGE | |
| Across the Russian Empire in War Time | 3 |
| [CHAPTER II] | |
| Beyond the Tian Shan to Kashgar | 18 |
| [CHAPTER III] | |
| Life at Kashgar | 39 |
| [CHAPTER IV] | |
| Round about Kashgar | 66 |
| [CHAPTER V] | |
| Olla Podrida | 86 |
| [CHAPTER VI] | |
| On the Way to the Russian Pamirs | 103 |
| [CHAPTER VII] | |
| The Roof of the World | 129 |
| [CHAPTER VIII] | |
| The Aryans of Sarikol | 148 |
| [CHAPTER IX] | |
| The Ancient City of Yarkand | 175 |
| [CHAPTER X] | |
| Through the Desert to Khotan | 191 |
| [CHAPTER XI] | |
| Khotan the Kingdom of Jade | 209 |
| PART II | |
| [CHAPTER XII] | |
| The Geography, Government and Commerce of Chinese Turkestan | 235 |
| [CHAPTER XIII] | |
| An Historical Sketch of Chinese Turkestan: The Early Period | 248 |
| [CHAPTER XIV] | |
| An Historical Sketch of Chinese Turkestan: The Mediaeval and Later Periods | 263 |
| [CHAPTER XV] | |
| An Historical Sketch of Chinese Turkestan: The Modern Period | 275 |
| [CHAPTER XVI] | |
| A Kashgar Farmer | 300 |
| [CHAPTER XVII] | |
| Manners and Customs in Chinese Turkestan | 308 |
| [CHAPTER XVIII] | |
| Stalking the Great Sheep of Marco Polo | 324 |
| [INDEX] | 333 |
ILLUSTRATIONS
Note.—The illustrations, with one exception, are from reproductions of
photographs taken by the authors.
| FACE PAGE | |
| A Ya-Yieh or Yamen Runner | [Frontispiece] |
| Cart used in the Osh District | [26] |
| Daoud and Sattur | [41] |
| Watering Horses in the Tuman Su | [56] |
| Kashgar Women and Children | [58] |
| Water-Carriers at Kashgar | [60] |
| Shoeing in the Kashgar Bazar | [62] |
| A Kashgar Grandmother | [64] |
| Priest at the Temple of Pan Chao | [67] |
| Kashgar City (showing the city wall and Tuman Su) | [68] |
| Women at the Shrine of Hazrat Apak | [69] |
| Chinese Soldiers at the Kashgar Yamen | [74] |
| Jafar Bai displaying the Visiting Card | [77] |
| Study of Kashgar Women | [82] |
| Ruins of the Buddhist Tim, Kashgar | [85] |
| The Shrine of Bibi Anna | [93] |
| Fording the Gez River | [109] |
| Kirghiz Women in Gala Dress | [118] |
| Loading up the Yaks | [124] |
| Bringing in an Ovis Poli (Nadir with rifle) | [146] |
| (a) The Game of Baigu—the Mêlée | [150] |
| (b) The Game of Baigu—the Pick-up | [150] |
| (c) The Game of Baigu—the Victor | [150] |
| Nasir Ali Khan, a Muki of Sarikol | [156] |
| Sarikoli Dancers | [158] |
| Muztagh Ata—The Snout of a Glacier | [162] |
| A Kirghiz and his Daughter | [164] |
| Kashgar Musicians | [170] |
| Our Arabas on the Yarkand Road | [176] |
| A Hunting Eagle | [182] |
| Ferry on the Yarkand River | [192] |
| The Pigeon Shrine | [206] |
| Beggars at the Gate | [212] |
| A Dulani Shaykh | [222] |
| Dulani Musicians | [224] |
| A Dulani Woman and her Son | [226] |
| The Tian Shan or Celestial Mountains | [236] |
| The Tungani Commander of the Troops at Khotan | [242] |
| Tamerlane | [268] |
| A Load of Clover from Isa Haji’s Farm | [302] |
| The Sons of Isa Haji ploughing | [304] |
| A Magician and his Disciple | [314] |
| A Kashgar School | [316] |
| A Woman throwing Mud to effect a Cure | [320] |
| Ovis Poli—the 51-inch head | [328] |
| Hunting-Dogs with Kirghiz owner | [330] |
| MAPS | |
| Supplementary Sketch Map showing Country to the East ofRoute Map | [275] |
| Map to illustrate Authors’ Routes | [(In pocket at end of volume)] |
ERRATUM
Page 134, line 22, for “there was no sign of a division” read
“it was broken up into islands.”
PART I