Armchair Traveler: Tales from Uzbekistan

SALISBURY — The Silk Road is alive and well in Uzbekistan, according to Wendy Summer.

Summer spoke at the Scoville Memorial Library on Saturday, April 1, as part of the Armchair Traveler series of talks.

She had a slide show of images from a recent trip to Uzbekistan, which included vats of simmering silkworm cocoons and bolts of brightly colored fabrics for sale.

She also had examples from her personal collection, including a couple of housecoats she said probably dated to the 1930s or 1940s, when the country was part of the Soviet Union.

The reason she can make a good guess at the age of the coats is because of the cotton lining.

“It’s called Russian cotton,” she said of the simple lining with a pattern of flowers. The Russians produced tons of the material, and the Uzbeks used it for lining their colorful silk garments.

Summer, who runs a business that makes fine scarves and sweaters in India and Nepal and uses the funds to send Afghan children to school, said the markets in fabled cities like Samarkand are bustling.

She showed photographs from an embroidery co-op that employs 600 women.

Modernization and automation have made inroads, even in Central Asia, she said, and to some extent “the livelihood of traditional artisans is coming under threat.”

Asked which items shown in the photos were for sale and which were for domestic use, Summer replied, “Everything is for sale.

“If you stay long enough you can have something made into a caftan.”