Steppe Six

Tajikistan: Land of Wet Gold Carolyn Drake's phototgraphs on the theme of water in Tajikistan highlight the beauty of this small, landlocked country, which is home to much of Central Asia's water reserves; the story of water as a commodity in the republic is told by Zarrina Muhammadieva. Imperial Designs: Tales of a Gardening Prince Intrigued by the memoirs of an obscure but plucky sixteenth-century Central Asian prince who shared her passion for gardening, Deborah Dunham spent three years tracing his life and travels and uncovering the history of his burial garden in Kabul. Imperial Designs: Tales of a Gardening Prince Intrigued by the memoirs of an obscure but plucky sixteenth-century Central Asian prince who shared her passion for gardening, Deborah Dunham spent three years tracing his life and travels and uncovering the history of his burial garden in Kabul. Kazakhstan's Oil Rush As oil use reaches its height worldwide, photographer Yann Mingard and journalist Regis Gente portray the changing landscape on the shores of the oil-rich Caspian Sea in western Kazakhstan. Not the Ends of the Earth Reverend Junsei Terasawa, a Japanese Buddhist monk of the Nipponzan Myohoji order, and his students Sergei and Alexei believe the mountains and steppe hold the key to Western spiritual culture. Medeine Tribinevicius meets three men who are reconnecting with age-old nomadic beliefs. Photographs by Arman Umarkhojiyev. Snapshot: Bird's-Eye View A bird's-eye view of the city of Khiva takes in the west gate and the majestic fortified walls that surround the Ichon-Qala or 'Inner Fortress' - a city within a city preserved in a museum-like atmosphere. Photograph by Matthieu Paley.