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

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.

Early in 2001 Mullah Muhammad Omar, the leader of Afghanistan's Taliban movement, ordered the destruction of all non-Islamic shrines and statues in the shattered land over which he presided.  And so the wanton destruction of the two standing Buddhas of Bamiyan was brought about, amongst the oldest and greatest relics of Buddhist antiquity.  Article by Dr. Andrew Forbes.  

In this age of ascending feminism and focus on equality and human rights, it is difficult to assimilate the Hindu practice of sati, the burning to death of a widow on her husband's funeral pyre, into our modern world.  Indeed, the practice is outlawed and illegal in today's India, yet it occurs up to the present day and is still regarded by some Hindus as the ultimate form of womanly devotion and sacrifice...

We get a lot of emails here at Kashgar asking us how best to clean kilims and hand-woven pile rugs, both from customers who've bought rugs from us and also (somewhat surprisingly) from people we've never met before.  My response has always been "have it done professionally", but we've just spent a week in a lather spring-cleaning all our own stock, so while it's fresh in my mind I though it was time to share my basic rug cleaning tips with you, Gentle Reader...

Jewellery care and recommendations for wearing, cleaning and storing your jewellery.  Pictured here is a beaded necklace crafted from cultured pearls and fine sterling silver tubes strung on cotton thread.  Beaded jewellery can be difficult to clean because of the different sizes and shapes of the beads and because the stringing material cannot be immersed in water.  A necklace like this is best cleaned with a soft dry cotton cloth, by gently bending the string over the fingers and carefully wiping between individual beads...