Burana Tower with Moon
Kyrgyzstan 2012
The Burana tower isn’t as tall as it was back in the day, but it was tall enough for Torie and me to refuse to climb to the top. I’m not keen on narrow winding stairs going up and up forever, especially carrying all my camera gear. There was a wedding party that arrived as part of their celebration and even the bride, am I imagining this?, climbed to stand on the ramparts to survey the sweeping plains.
The tower was called Jebek Jeloo, the Kyrgyz term for Silk Road. ‘Jebek Jeloo’, the words were entrancing to Torie and me. They conjured images of the caravans making their way west, laden with glittering bundles of silk, sacks of precious gems and aromatic spices.
I could almost hear the braying of camels and the shouts of the camel men because Burana Tower served as a lighthouse. A fire was set on the top of the tower and it could be seen for miles. Imagine how happy the people of the caravan would be when they spied the glow in the night sky. The light meant rest, food, water and safety from marauders.
I’m tired of photographing towers. When you go to Islamic countries you will photograph minarets by the hundreds. At first you love them. You shoot them alone, you nestle them in archways, you zoom in on the tops…and when you’ve done all that you find them rather a problem. Their height diminishes the importance of the rest of your photo. You have to use a wide angle lens, or get back so that you get the whole tower and by then the rest of the landscape is insignificant.
On this day, I noticed the moon. I wanted the moon in my tower shot. But if I shot the entire tower, the moon became invisible. Then, eureka! Show the roundness of the tower, the intricate brickwork and the moon. Would that work? I think it does.