Syria in 2010.
Palmyra.
Tags: syria palmyra 2010
© All Rights Reserved
Children coming from school in Lahic (Azerbaijan).
Lahic is a small village in the Ismailly Rayon, buried deep in the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus mountains. The dirt road to Lahic winds up the Girdimanchai river gorge from the vineyards outside Shemakha, crossing the torrent on a flimsy bridge and skirting the sheer walls on narrow, roughly hewn ledges. Ice and snow cut Lahic off from the valley for weeks at a time in winter. The drive up to Lahic is as stunning as dangerous, animals appear out of nowhere in winding 'roads' that hug the cliff face that plunges down into the valley below.
Isolation made Lahic a very atypical Azeri village: Tat, a Indo-European dialect of an old Persian tongue remains to this day the primary language in Lahic and a few surrounding villages. For centuries, the valley people have spoken, at various times, Azeri, Russian, Farsi and Arabic, but here in this mountain village of about 2000 people Tat resisted all invaders and remains as strong as ever.
The town was originally a copper mining hub, but that has died down. The mountain terrain above Shemakha is ill-suited to agriculture, hence Lahic's developed into a craft center. Tourism, carpet weaving, copper and brass work (pots, samovars...) sustain the village's economy. Less important in economic terms are leather goods, wood carving and (not always legal) handcrafted pistols and hunting rifles.
Due to frequent earthquakes the village developed it own building techniques, a traditional stone-and-wood cross-tie technique known in Tat as divarchu ("wood wall"). This technique has proven results - the damage provoked by quakes in places like Shemaka remains unseen in Lahic.
You can spend a few interesting hours in Lahic. Walk along the cobblestone streets, visit the History Museum and the Mosque, browse the shops, have a look the the copper workshop or try to visit the carpets cooperative.
Tags: azerbaijan caucasus lahic travel tourism photography photo
© All Rights Reserved
Red Hmong.
The Hmong (Mong) are concentrated in Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Lai Chau, Son La, Cao Bang and Nghe An provinces.
Each lineage lives within a group setting. The head of the village assumes the common affairs for the lineage. Young Hmong men and women are free to choose their partners. Marriages are absolutely forbidden between men and women of the same lineage. Matrimonial life of the Hmong is very harmonious and divorce is very rare.
Hmong language belongs to the Hmong-Dao Group.
The Traditional Tet (New Year's Day) of the Hmong is organized every December or January. They refrain from eating green vegetables during the three days of the Tet Holiday. The musical instruments of the Hmong include various kinds of "khen" (pan-pipes) and lip organs. After a hard working day and to celebrate spring, the young men and women often play "khen" and lip organs to express their feelings for their partners.
The Hmong make their clothes from linen. Women's attire consists of a skirt, a blouse that opens at the front and has embroidery on the back, an apron to cover the skirt at the front, and leggings.
The Hmong live mainly on slash-and-burn cultivation. They also grow rice and corn on terraced
fields. Their principal food plants are corn, rice, and rye. Apart from these crops, they also grow medicinal plants and linen plants to supply the fibers for cloth weaving.
Tags: hmong red hmong asia vietnam tribe tribal people ethnic minority travel photo image ngc
© All Rights Reserved
Porto Novo - Great Mosque.
Tags: benin africa porto novo
© All Rights Reserved