A Carpet Ride to Khiva

The author is British, but was born in Turkey, which explains his middle name. In 1998 he joined a NGO/Charity called Operation Mercy in Khiva (Uzbekistan) with the goal of writing a guidebook.
Known as Aslan in Uzbekistan, purely because it was easier to pronounce than Chris, he soon became interested in silk and carpets. Aware that that traditional weaving and traditional dyeing were becoming lost arts he then set about to establish a workshop employing local people to learn the trades and produce the dyes and weave carpets.

The designs were key, not mimicking the modern designs but returning to the 15th century Timurid designs (ie from the time of Timur, also known as Tamerlane, whose empire ruled over modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia) which were resurrected from miniatures that depicted the carpets as a part of the artwork. During the initial time in the workshop there was a lot of experimenting and working out of processes, but eventually carpets were produced and able to be sold. For the most part the workshop was able to avoid the corruption that requires bribes to be paid,including to guides who expected a 10% fee for bringing tourists to them. The workshop operated by paying the workers a fair wage (ie more than teachers or doctors, who need to supplement their salary with bribes) and making only a modest return, they operated a fixed price system.

As a part of his work, Aslan was welcomed into the community. Learning the language, respecting the customs and living with a local family, mixing in the bazaar, engaging with the local community while employing young people to apprentice in the workshop were all a part of this acceptance. 9/11 occurred during his time, although it became a propaganda tool for the government to seek out followers of ‘militant Islam'.

As those in the workshop became more and more skilled Aslan turned his thoughts to a second workshop, this time making suzani or embroideries. These could be made into smaller items such as cushion covers or table runners, therefore able to be produced and purchased cheaper, as not all visitors were able to afford to purchase a carpet.

Included in the book are explanations of the authors side trips to Afghanistan to purchase raw materials for dyes and briefly his holidays in nearby countries, but more importantly are his explanations of everyday life in Khiva. Governmental control and human rights are a key factor to this, and as he explains in his Prologue, life becomes unravelled for him when he is refused re-entry to Uzbekistan after seven years of life there. This comes out of the blue, having left on a short holiday in Azerbaijan. This was not a personal affront, but the government was refusing to renew any NGO or charity worker visa's due to international pressure on civil rights, freedom of religion and corruption issues, but clearly had a huge effect on the author and his life.

In 2016 President Karimov died, and this apparently brought about reform, so hopefully this has brought with it improvements from the situations described in the book where literally any activity required bribes.

Enjoyable and interesting.
4.5 stars, rounded up.