Turpan

A flight from Kashgar to Urumqi and then a 2.5 hour bus ride east into the Death Valley of China, Turpan.  Expecting a hot desert, we were surprised to see so much green.  Turns out Turpan is known for its grapes!!  We arrived just as the harvest was ending, but grapes were being sold everywhere.

We rented some bikes and toured around Turpan at our leisure. 

A Uyghur Mosque (built in 1777) with the Emin Minaret, the tallest minaret in all of China.

On our bike ride, we saw so many murals.  I love the themes and messages.

A bike ride out to the Jiaohe Ruins.

A combination of the ruins and on this clear day, the Tian Shan's in the background.....fantastic.

What are these mystery buildings?

They are for drying grapes into raisins.  Trust me, these raisins make Sunmaid raisins taste like cardboard.  The intensity of flavor........wow.  I brought home two kilograms!

The afternoon of the second day, Sam and I met an American on the street and the three of us grabbed a cab and took a drive to the Flaming Mountains.  Those were a dud, but we then asked to be driven up to the Bezelik Caves and this was the drive up.

The wall paintings of the caves were taken by German archeologists in the early 1900's and so there wasn't anything to see.  The desert scenery was worth it alone.

Waiting for the bus back to Urumqi.