Photo of the day Archives

Mosaics – 5 – and sculptures!

Soviet mosaics sometimes take on the appearance of wall sculptures through the use of three-dimensional panels, as is the case here in Bukhara. On this section of… [...]

Mosaics – 4 – Banners

A torch being carried, smiling gymnasts, a colourful composition showcasing the full range of sporting disciplines: everything suggests that this mosaic was created on the occasion of the 1980… [...]

Mosaics – 3 – Abstract landscape

Soviet mosaics are most often figurative. Designed to bring a touch of warmth to new towns built from heavy slabs of raw concrete, they also serve as a vehicle… [...]

Mosaics – 2 – A fragmented image

Karaganda is a city built from scratch from 1934 onwards, under the direction of architect and urban planner Alexander Ivanovich Kuznetsov. Like many Soviet cities shaped by large-scale construction… [...]

Mosaics – 1 – Allegory of Spring

This is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful Soviet mosaics in Tashkent. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of the city, in the Bektemir neighborhood. In… [...]

A Taste of Summer – Homemade Preserves

Jars filled with pickled vegetables, spicy adjika, and homemade specialties. In Kazakhstan, food preservation has a long tradition: the harvest from the warmer months is carefully stored to… [...]

Transhumance

Nomadism takes many forms, with different social structures and patterns of seasonal movement. In Central Asia, it is most commonly pastoral, revolving around seasonal migrations between summer and winter… [...]

Ashgabat, the white city -6-

The Indomitable Spirit of Childhood: white dominates the daily lives of Ashgabat’s residents as a symbol of purity, grandeur and stability. Yet it yields to the colourful world of… [...]

Achgabat, white city – 5- Down the block

Residential blocks line the streets of the town of Daşoguz, 455 km north of Ashgabat. Outside the Turkmen capital, the abundance of gold and marble is… [...]

Ashgabat, the white city -4-

As night falls, the white façades of Ashgabat’s monuments are transported into a colourful wonderland, an electric mirage in the middle of the Karakum Desert. Photo credit: Cornelia… [...]

Ashgabat, the white city -3-

Rising out of the ground, seemingly out of place amid the greenery, these pristine buildings dominate the landscape of the Turkmen capital. High-rise towers have proliferated since the country… [...]