Here, 100 miles north of K2, among the world's highest mountains, hospitality rules. Salty milk tea and nan bread are a minimal display of hospitality among the Sarikoli and Wahki of the Pamir, Karakoram and Hindu Kush. Divided among the geopolitical hot bed of Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and Tajikistan the Sarikoli depend on hospitality as much as they enjoy it. Meals are often cooked for guests upon arriving, because within the culture is a belief that a traveler has a story to tell. A Sarikoli friend said it best when he told me, " "My people are like their houses. Plain on the outside but beautiful on the inside." comparing their hearts and appearance to that of their mud homes and yurts where decorative rugs hang from the walls and colorful blankets and pillows provide seating and beds.
Sandwiched between the borders of China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, among the world’s tallest mountains are the Sarikoli, A remote mountain people of Central Asia. Here two girls play peacefully outside their home during Nowruz, the celebration of New Years based based on the Persian calendar and the spring equinox. Despite the turbulence and geopolitics of the countries surrounding the Sarikoli life goes on in the shadows of the snow capped peaks surrounding them.
Sarikoli