written and photographed by Mary L. Peachin
Jun 2001, Vol. 5 No. 8
Devote Moslems, many of the Sunni sect, kneel as they ascend the ancient rocky stairs of the mausoleum Shah-I-Zinda. They will recite chapters of the Koran forty times as they make three steep climbs. During the pilgrimage to this sacred site in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, men and women display their devotion to Allah by wearing colorful head coverings—for men brightly embroidered skullcaps (dupalars). Women wear elegant silk headscarves that frame their faces.