Central Asian Art

The strict prohibition on the representation of the human

form has channeled artistic creation into architecture and

architectural decoration. This book is a magical tour

through Central Asia – Khirgizia, Tadjikistan, Turkmenia,

and Uzbekistan – a cradle of Ancient civilisations and a

repository of the Oriental arts inspired by Buddhism and

Islam. There are magnificent, full-colour photographs of the

abandoned cities of Mervand Urgench, Khiva, the capital of

the Kharezm, with its mausoleum of Sheikh Seid Allahuddin,

and, the Golden Road to Samarkand, the Blue City, a

center of civilisation for 2,500 years.