carpet riding

Have you come across this book yet? It’s A Carpet Ride to Khiva by Chris Alexander and I have just finished reading it. Chris is an Englishman, although he was born in Turkey and sports the exotic middle name of Aslan, and he went to Uzbekistan with no experience in textiles. In fact, he was on a project to write a guidebook to the area. He ended up establishing a carpet workshop employing local people as weavers and dyers, and they are now producing the most glorious work. I’m really glad he did, as it is two years since I last read a good carpet book.

Everything about the carpet making process is fascinating, from the designs to the rate at which weavers are paid, and Chris describes it all in intimate detail. They started with research into historic Timurid designs which could be seen in miniature paintings of the period, but also started developing new designs based on local carvings and tile patterns. They use all natural dyes and have extraordinary adventures trying to get large quantities of mysterious white powders across the border from Afghanistan.

The book also paints a picture of the Uzbek way of life, both the day-to-day lives of Khivan families and the intricate workings of a government system which hasn’t quite made it out of the Soviet era. The gender politics are also very complex and Chris has to navigate through some interesting social encounters. There were a few details I wished I hadn’t heard about, but that’s just me.

Sadly the book ends with a government crackdown on overseas NGOs and Chris is unable to return to Khiva, although by this stage it has been his home for seven years. It might put some of us off, but not this intrepid author. He is now living in the Pamirs and working with Kyrgyz yak herders. By learning to comb and collect the down they hope to start a co-operative making luxury knitwear from hand-spun yarn. Having read the first instalment of this man’s textile ventures I am convinced that this will happen: look out for yak-wear in a boutique near you.

“carpet riding” was posted by Cally on 21 March 2010 at http://callybooker.wordpress.com