MY  WORK
My time with the native people was powerful, intense, even life-altering. Through my images, I hope to evoke a passion for travel, the environment and people and their customs, traditions and spirituality, sharing with the world their beauty and their importance.

MY  LOVE
I love bike and hiking adventure. I love the wilderness that's a long way from a road. And I like to challenge myself, creatively and physically, particularly on mountains and on remote corners of Asia planet.

 

THE SOUL OF TIBET
This center of heaven. This core of earth. This heart of the World. Fenced round by snowy mountains. The headland of all rivers. Where peaks are high and the land is pure. A country so good. Where men are born as sages and heroes. And act according to good laws.

HIMALAYA RANGE
LADAKH AND ZANSKAR VALLEYS:
KINGDOM IN THE SKY IN A REMOTE CORNER OF THE WORLD

TURKESTAN
JEWELS IN THE DUST
There is a part of Asia which only few people know about and which is barely possible to locate on the geographical maps. An Asia which contains landscapes that seem to have emerged from an impressionist painting, with impressive mountains, steppes without borders and bitter deserts: where cities are populated by a rich mosaic of people, where history and legend intertwine. Central Asia known as the “Turkestan” (Land of the Turks) has been a point of exchange between East and West for over 2000 years. Turkestan, Its heart was central Asia and the Great Silk Road crossed it as if it were one of its arteries.

HINDUKUSH
KALASH: THE DESCENDANTS OF ALEXANDER'S SOLDIERS
Numbering approximately 3000, they are the smallest ethnic group amongst the religious minorities of Pakistan and their origin is an enigma which has been lost between legend and history. Some traditions bind them to the Greek: infact, they themselves claim to be descendents of Alexander the Great’s brave general, who in 327 BC fascinated by rich legends of the Indian continent, with his Macedonian troop, entered the Battriata via the Lowari pass. Not forgetting the myth, during the long and exhausting journey, many tired soldiers mutinated themselves, others chose to live in these valleys. An archaic society, intact, which has stopped in time, solidly bound to roots and traditional values. Kalash people speak the ancient Dardic language a branch of the Indo-European languages and practice a very complex a politheistical religion. In fact the Kalash do not believe in God and worship only idols. Their world belongs to the divine powers: only through specific rituals are they able to obtain a permit to cultivate a plot of land, to cut a tree or to let thir cattle roam. The rich pantheon of supernatural beings consists of deities and spirits which should not be neglected or offended and can only be calmed down through prayers, offers and bloody goat sacrificies.

KARAKORUM
The land of the legendary Shangri-la
In the past few centuries the region was compared to the mythical Shangri-la place of peace and eternal youth which insipered the writer James Hilton to write his draft version of “Lost Horizons”. Its fame is attributed to a wise lama who taught people how to live in harmony with nature and the environment.

PEOPLE OF THE DRAGON
Tribal colours of South China
There are the Hmong, the Yaos, Bais and Dong, Yis and Hanis, Naxi and Gejia and dozens of others. The minorities of South China have lived the same way for more than 3000 years, maintaining their traditions. They inhabit remote plains, valleys and forests far back in the mountains, speaking a multitude of tongues and dialects, often writing only pictograms or with not language at all. Each groups have distinct costumes, dazzling silver adornments and hairstyle.

THE BOOK:
SILK ROAD BY BIKE

On her beloved mountain bike Alessandra Meniconzi has traveled along the over 2000 year-old trade route that links Orient and Occident: the Silk Road. Her sensitive, understanding nature allowed her to gain access to lives that often remain hidden to the photographer's lens. She spent time in the tents of Uzbk nomads and the kitchens of Tibetan monks. She drank tea with members of Pakistan's Kalash tribe and was invited to the wedding of Kazach couple. The photographs provide an insight into the original lives of the eople who live along the Silk Road and are fighting for their survival and traditions in modern Asia.In Switzerland the book is available from the 19. November. It will be distributed to bookshops via the swiss distribution center "OLF"

Editor: Feierabend - Author: Bertram Job
Photographer : Alesssaandra Meniconzi
295 x 270 mm, 10.6" x 11.6"
260 pages, ca. 200 photos
DEU/FRA - GBR/ESP: Autumn 03 -
USA: January 04
EURO 29,95 / GBP 19,99 /
USD 39,95 /DKK / NOK / SEK 299.-
SWITZERLANDSeidenstrasse DEU,GBR,FRA
Preis: 52.50 CHF
Verlag: Feierabend Verlag
ISBN: 3-89985-326-1 - Sprache: Deutsch
EAN13 9783899853261 - N° OLF 864427

Order online by Amazon.de

Die Seidenstraße/La Route de la Soie  
Amazon.de Link
von Alessandra Meniconzi, Bertram Job
Eine besondere Adhikara Empfehlung

Kurzbeschreibung
Mit dem Mountainbike bereiste Alessandra Meniconzi die mehr als 2000 Jahre alten Handelsrouten zwischen Orient und Okzident – die Seidenstraße. Mit ihrer einfühlsamen Art gelang es ihr, auch in Lebensbereiche vorzudringen, die anderen Fotografen oft verschlossen bleiben. So kehrte sie ein in die Zelte der kirgisischen Nomaden, in die Küchen der tibetischen Mönche und durfte an der Hochzeitsfeier eines kasachischen Brautpaares teilnehmen. Ihre Aufnahmen geben einen umfassenden und tiefen Einblick in die Lebenswelten der Menschen entlang der Seidenstraße, die jenseits des modernen Asiens um das Überleben ihrer Traditionen kämpfen.

On her beloved mountain bike Alessandra Meniconzi has traveled along the over 2000 year-old trade route that links Orient and Occident: the Silk Road. Her sensitive, understanding nature allowed her to gain access to lives that often remain hidden to the photographer's lens. She spent time in the tents of Kyrgys nomads and the kitchens of Tibetan monks. She drank tea with members of Pakistan's Kalash tribe and was invited to the wedding of Kazach couple. The photographs provide an insight into the original lives of the eople who live along the Silk Road and are fighting for their survival and traditions in modern Asia.
alessandrameniconzi.com