Khiva/Xiva in the evening.

This playground in Khujand/Хуҷанд is simultaneously super cool and a likely cause of tetanus.

The beautiful mountains of Tajikistan's Sughd Province.

Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar, Merv, Türkmenistan. Seljūq architecture, fantastic.

Mausoleum of Sultan Sanjar, Merv, Türkmenistan. Shot through a gap in the walls of Sultan Kala.

My photos entirely fail to convey the mind-boggling scale of the archaeological site of Merv, Türkmenistan. These are all shots of the buildings and walls of part of Sultan Kala, one of the two adjacent walled cites on the site.

Dome Interior, Turabek-Khanum Mausoleum, Köneürgenç, Türkmenistan. 14th century.

Tessellation from Xiva.

Khiva/Xiva is beautiful at the golden hour.

Can anyone read the date on the Sasanian coin of Ḵusrō II from the London Museum Docklands mudlarking exhibit? I think it must predate ry. 13 (602/3), as later coins are better engraved. Could it plausibly be ry. 6 (štʾ) (595/96)? I'm terrible at reading dates. #LondonMuseum #SecretsoftheThames

As an aficionado of sigillography, I really appreciate that Türkmenistan still uses lead seals on carpets certified for export… #Türkmenistan

I really love this terrible selfie I took in front of the Oqsaroy/Ak Seray, the monumental gateway of Timur's Palace in Shaxrisabz, Uzbekistan. It was hot.

The Kutlug Timur Minaret at Köneürgenç, Türkmenistan is a bigun. #Türkmenistan

This carpet woven by a daughter in 1921 to commemorate her father's hajj is truly a masterpiece. In the Turkmen Carpet Museum/Türkmen Milli haly muzeýi, Ašgabat, Türkmenistan. #Türkmenistan

Sunset over the foothills of the Köpetdag mountains, from the rooftop bar/restaurant of the Sport Hotel, Ašgabat, Türkmenistan. A lovely place to relax with a local Zip beer. #Türkmenistan

Seljuq Icehouse, Merv, Türkmenistan. #Türkmenistan

Camels Grazing at Merv, with Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum in background. Taken from the walls of Sultan Kala (the Islamic-era city). #Türkmenistan

Shah-i Zinda/Shohizinda, Samarqand, Uzbekistan at night. #Uzbekistan #O‘zbekiston

Muqarnas from Gur-i Amir/Goʻri Amir, Samarqand, Uzbekistan. #uzbekistan #O‘zbekiston

If you find yourself in Samarqand, stop at the Manti place on Panzhakent Road, just south of the Registon. I love manti, and this was some of the best I've had. Don't expect anything else though. It's just beef manti, sour cream, chili sauce (optional), and bread. #Uzbekistan #O‘zbekiston

Kafir-Kala, south of Samarqand, Uzbekistan. A Sogdian-Hunnic fortress palace, probably destroyed by Arab conquerors in 712. In 2017, a spectacular carbonized wooden gate with carvings was found in the citadel. Recent excavations have also found sealings and wall paintings. #Uzbekistan #O‘zbekiston

Sherdor madrasasi, Registon, Samarqand, dusk. #uzbekistan #O‘zbekiston

Ulugʻbek madrasasi, Registon, Samarqand, dusk.

More details from my new carpet from Bukhara/Buxoro, including the pseudo-Arabic “signature” of the weavers. I really love its weirdness.

Super cute napping kitten from the Ulugʻbek madrasasi, Buxoro/Bukhara, Uzbekistan.

Curious what me and my team have been up to recently in my QurCan project? Have burning questions about Quranic manuscripts and Quranic reading traditions? Make sure to tune this Wednesday on YouTube! www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGW7...

Raboti Malik/Rabat-i Malik palace/caravansari along the M37 near Malik, Navoiy Province, between Buxoro and Samarqand, Uzbekistan. Constructed by the Qarākhānid Šams al-Mulk Naṣr, ruler of Samarqand (1068–80 CE)

Shohizinda/Shah-i Zinda Necropolis, Samarqand, Uzbekistan at dawn. Thanks to Dmitry Kostyushkin for directing me to the overlook viewpoint.

Earthenware Dish Painted Blue with Splashes of Green and Yellow https://clevelandart.org/art/1915.304

Colors and textures of the Oqsaroy/Ak Seray, the monumental gateway of Timur's Palace in Shaxrisabz, Uzbekistan.

Some photos of the beautifully restored decoration of the Oqsaroy/Ak Seray Mausoleum dating to the 1470s. If you find yourself in Samarqand, Uzbekistan, don't miss it (many tours don't bother). It's just south of the Goʻri Amir/Gur-i Amir (the mausoleum of Timur).

Vivid colors of the Дардар/Dardar mosque, Tajikistan.

This cute little chapel in Langon, Brittany is actually a repurposed Roman bathhouse thought to date to the 4th century. Inside it can be found an ancient fresco of Venus emerging from the waves (although I didn't get to see that as it was locked on the date I visited...). #RomanSiteSaturday.

Мақбараи Муҳаммади Башоро (Mausoleum of Muḥammad Bashoro), Masori Sharif, Tajikistan. 11-12th centuries CE, portal 1332. The caretaker was good enough to pose for a photo.

A few close-up details of the carpet I bought in Bukhara/Buxoro. I love the stylized animals.

Speaking of Türkmenistan, I give the highest recommendation to my guide Rustam Valiyev and Transcaspian Tours. They arranged my invitation and Rustam met me right in the border post to assist. Rustam was comprehensively knowledgable about every site we visited. I hope I will be able return soon.

Loot from my recent trip to Türkmenistan (the carpet, not the feline). Woven in Bäherden and purchased in Aşgabat (shipped to the US via South Korea for mysterious reasons).

NEW West African ancestry in #medieval England? 🏺 #Archaeology DNA analysis of two unrelated individuals from two seventh-century-AD cemeteries uncovers the first evidence for genetic connections between Britain and Africa during the Early Middle Ages. #AntiquityThread 1/10 🧵 📷 Lilian Ladle

Fancy bag, fancy digs. At the Association for the Study of Persianate Societies, 10th Biennial Convention, Tashkent State University of Oriental Studies, Tashkent, Uzbekistan. #ASPS

The murals of ancient Afrāsiyāb/Samarkand are stunning in person. Commissioned by king Varkhūmān (c. 650 CE), they show scenes of China (north), a Nowrūz procession (south), and Göktürks escorting dignitaries to a central figure (now lost), possibly Varkhūmān, the Türk Qagan, or a god. #Sogdians

This is the UK’s finest ancient mosaic…

#FrescoFriday & a fantastically human fragment from the Dorset museum a scene of 4 men gathered around a grave, from the Poundbury cemetery, around c4 AD

Views of Xiva, Xorazm, O‘zbekiston. #Uzbekistan #Khiva

I see that Sony just announced a followup to my favorite camera of all time. At $5100 I don't think I'll be getting the new RX1R3 anytime soon. So let me describe my love affair with its predecessor, the RX1R2. 1/ electronics.sony.com/imaging/comp...

Basking. #caturday

Republican Congressman Robert Bresnahan dumped a Medicaid-related stock before voting for a budget package that enacted devastating cuts to the program. While he claims not to manage his own stock portfolio, he does not appear to have set up a blind trust that would eliminate conflicts of interest.

This was fun to recreate... "Cubic" Kufi is trickier than it looks, especially when creating a wrap-around design from scratch (this one's fairly simple, from the Great Mosque in Yazd).

Susan Harvey's long-awaited book on Syriac women's choirs is up on the @ucpress.bsky.social website! and it will be Open Access!! www.ucpress.edu/books/minist...

It's almost 20 years old now, but the first (and only) edition of Bradt's Turkmenistan guidebook still has some very decent site plans.

Port scene mosaic, North Africa. c. 100–300 CE. Ferrell Collection. #MosaicMonday