This Wednesday, Phillips de Pury & Company will host a silent photography auction in New York City to benefit UNICEF, one of the leading international organizations working for children’s rights, their survival, development and protection. Most of the selected images were taken in regions of the world where UNICEF is active, and I personally donated a few from Tibet and Uzbekistan for the auction block. The top image of the abandoned Guge Kingdom was taken in 2007 during a traverse of Tibet. One of the most renowned kingdoms existing within Tibet, Guge was a major hub for Buddhist interchange between India and Tibet and boasts some of the most important Buddhist frescoes in the region. All of this came to a dramatic end, though, after a conquering Ladakhi army slaughtered most of the inhabitants in 1630, leaving the great fortresses city to crumble into the mountainside. The bottom two images were taken a few months later in Bukhara, one of the great ancient Silk Road cities strung across Uzbekistan. Once home to Emir Said Mir Mohammed Alim Khan, the last emir of the Manghit dynasty and the last direct descendant of Genghis Khan to serve as a national ruler, Bukhara straddles both the past and present with its UNESCO World Heritage city center and the surrounding ramshackle adobe housing peppered with satellite dishes. Truly an amazing place. Tickets should still be available so check out the website for more information.
