Picture of the Week: Uyghur Instruments

 

I took this picture at the Uyghur Musical Instrument Factory in Kashgar. All along every inch of wall space stringed instruments were either hanging or leaning. The most famous of these is the rawap, the instrument you see with what looks like horns coming out of its neck. The owner convinced me to sit down and try to pick out a few songs with him but I ended up spending most of the time just watching him play.

It is possible to buy a souvenir Uyghur instrument for pretty cheap but it’s not quite playable. The nicer ones however, like the ones in this picture, were far too expensive for me to purchase. I’m a guitar player and I’ll probably pick one up someday, but for now I’m content listening to people who play it far better than I ever could.