Kurks in Kashgar (Kashi)

We went to Kashgar for the famous Sunday Market. Apparently this market is known all over Central Asia. It was definitely popular.
There were thousands of men selling camels in the North. Thousands of women were buying scarves in the South. Hundreds of kids were bartering for cassettes in the West. And, to tell you the truth, there wasn’t much going on in the East.

Animal Farm

The Animal market was full of drably dressed men with big white beards. They came to sell their goats, horses, cows, and camels. A camel goes for around 800USD while a cow can go for as little as 650USD. I couldn’t figure how much a goat cost but it seemed that there were a number of things that were important.
1) Weight
Bulky peasants with bulging muscles would bear-hug goats.
2) Bum
Smaller peasants with frail arms would smack the bum or poke the anus with a stick
3) Teeth
Strange peasants with some sort of teeth fetish would open mouths and examine gums.

I can’t say that I personally wasn’t perplexed a lot of the time I was at the animal market. No one could, or they could and they wouldn't, speak Chinese. This apparent part of China is about as far from the capital as you can get, and from the recent bombings and murders of Chinese police men, we can assume they prefer it this way.

Ladies Market

The scarves, pot, and hat market was a colorful sight. I have been very impressed with the beauty and style of the XinJiang women and the market felt like a big event. Women here dressed to the 10’s with glittery dresses, exquisite silk headscarves, and make-up which I have never seen before. The people here see the uni-brow and smile.
"Oh how beautiful your babies uni-brow is."
"Oh now, Zanzibar, I notice your babies uni-brow is getting thicker and thicker by the day." (I imagine) They say to each other
Almost all babies and a lot of women have a line drawn between their eyebrows to join them. I never understood why. It was really hard getting anything out of the people. But, I did manage to talk to one.

Super Muslim
Us in multi-cultural cities may have came across the odd woman with a headscarf. Those of us who have been to a Muslim country may have seen the women who cover their faces and you can only see their eyes. And I'm not sure how many people have seen these zealous women who cover their faces completely. When I asked a man about this he told me only the best and most faithful Muslim woman practice this custom. When I asked about his wife he said she also did this. When I asked what he thought about women who didn't do this, he responded with a pinkie finger.
The pinkie finger means bad...very bad.


Old goods are good goods.

Some must think that old cassettes, vehicles, and clothing styles just go to the trash. We’ll those people are wrong. Here all these are the in things! The ancient music would blast out of ancient radios while hip kids in ancient clothes sat on the curbs and ‘chilled’.