Kashgar Tribal Artifacts - Life for the Modern Nomad | Handmade Jewellery, ethnic handicrafts, antique furniture

Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz (SiO₂). The name originates from Greek and means “not intoxicated", a reference to the belief held by the ancient Greeks and Romans that the stone prevented drunkenness...

I remember, as a small child, my mother doing a curious thing. She placed a pot of water on the stove to boil, then threw in a handful of lubia as she called them, black-eyed beans. As the pot boiled furiously, several of the beans jumped out, and each time one did my mother called “emshee! emshee!” (go away ! go away!) in Arabic. She was, as she explained to me later, removing the evil eye from our house...

A visitor to the smaller towns and villages of Bali would be forgiven for thinking that temples adorn every street corner and all of the spaces in between. High walls with the smallest of doorways allow only the briefest of views by passers-by, while above the walls there are tantalizing glimpses of exquisitely carved shrines, some no larger than birdcages. However, these are all in fact private residences, more properly called compounds or karangs, which may house several generations of Balinese families at one time.

And in the spirit of spooky month, Kashgar presents a guest article by photo journalist  Ruykyu Mike , who lives in Japan and specialises in photos of wildlife, festivals and travel sites. Sharing tips for travelers with a twist of humour is part of the life Mike loves on the Island of Okinawa.

No anthology of the gods and goddesses of humanity would be complete without a compendium of the major demons and fallen angels of the modern Christian Era. And just in time for Halloween too!