China is set to destroy Kashgar
Jun. 1st, 2009 10:12 amNYTimes: To Protect an Ancient City, China Moves to Raze It
This story strikes a nerve with me. The Silk Road is a personal obsession of mine. As a pilgrim would travel to Mecca once in his lifetime, I hope one day to travel the length of the old Silk Road, from Istanbul to Beijing, passing through Damascus, Samarkand, Kashgar, and many other points between.
I'm also troubled by the political implications of destroying the Islamic heart of a city home to many ethnic Uighurs, a people whom the government in Beijing consider terrorists at best.
This story strikes a nerve with me. The Silk Road is a personal obsession of mine. As a pilgrim would travel to Mecca once in his lifetime, I hope one day to travel the length of the old Silk Road, from Istanbul to Beijing, passing through Damascus, Samarkand, Kashgar, and many other points between.
I'm also troubled by the political implications of destroying the Islamic heart of a city home to many ethnic Uighurs, a people whom the government in Beijing consider terrorists at best.