< Previous120 ES C A P E / F la s h b a ck “It implies that Pouillon felt it was important that social housing off ers dignity,” observes Fabrizio. “He was building for the community of men.” The architect later became a more permanent part of the fabric of the city himself after Algeria gained Independence: in 1967, he moved to the 18th-century Arab Villa des Arcades, in the El Madania district of Algiers, where he also housed his agency. Pouillon also publicly con- demned colonialism and the advent of the International Style, championing the value of local landscapes. This time, the scale of his commission no longer just concerned the capital, but rather, the whole country – specifi cally developing tourist infrastructure in a country fi ve times as large as France. Along 1,200km of coastline, Pouillon designed a host of hotels and holiday villages, as well as a few university towns. In all, no less than fi fty projects, many of which were sympathetic to the topology of the sites and their climate. Pouillon was inspired by what he called “manual architecture” – made using raw clay and traditional materials – as evidenced by the El Marsa, El-Riad, El-Manar and Les Sables d'or hotels in Zeralda, or the tourist complex in Tipasa. One of the fi nest examples is the El-Mountazah hotel, in Seraïdi: “A jewel,” says Fabrizio. “At fi rst glance, you think that you will get lost in a maze, but it is so cleverly designed that it is easy to navigate. Pouillon created a grandiose setting with a long staircase which follows the slope down to the swimming pool, which overlooks two superb coves.” Fabrizio is known for his long and detailed photographic investigations focused on atypical architectural land- scapes. His research on Pouillon is no exception. “In a society that wants to go fast, working on the lifetime’s work of a man requires time,” says the photographer, who, in order to locate the numerous housing complexes and urban plans created by the French architect, had to talk to specialists and people who knew him directly. “With Fernand Pouillon, nothing is easy”, the photographer continues. “His lack of interest in his own FROM TOP: Cave-like niches at the Hotel El-Riad in Sidi Fredj; the Golden Horn theatre in Tipaza. Pouillon was inspired by Roman ruins on the site. OPPOSITE PAGE: The restaurant in Sidi Fredj port. At night, light shines through the mashrabiya, illuminating the facade. AD_033_118-121_Escape_Pouillon Algeria_11285429.indd 12024/06/2020 10:52:35 PMarchive means many places remain unknown, especially in Africa. It is a shame because Pouillon is perhaps the architect who built the most in the twentieth century.” Between 2014 and 2018, Fabrizio made several trips to Algeria to research, meet people and take photographs, which have been brought together in a book, Fernand Pouillon and Algeria, building at the height of men. As Pouillon’s body of architecture came together over a long period, Fabrizio opted for a ‘slow’ photographic technique to refl ect this passing of time. The result: more than 600 large format negatives, from which the selection in the book is taken. The disadvantage of this was that it made it hard to capture people. And so, in 2017 he invited Daphne Bengoa, who explores social issues in her photographic and fi lm work to join the project and document the lives of the people who experience Pouillon’s architecture every day. Despite modifi cations, satellite dishes, air conditioning units and decay, there is still undeni- able power in the buildings he created, which the patina of time has only sublimated. Fernand Pouillon and Algeria, building at the height of men, by Daphne Bengoa and Leo Fabrizio is published by Editions Macula. “Pouillon condemned colonialism and the advent of the International Style” AD_033_118-121_Escape_Pouillon Algeria_11285429.indd 12124/06/2020 10:52:50 PM125122 ES C A P E / D re a m ti ck e t ABOVE AND BEYOND Long a melting pot of cultures on the ancient Silk Road, Uzbekistan’s lushly vibrant landscapes, Soviet-era cities and push for modernity make it a must-visit destination, as a new Assouline book reveals Words Yaffa Assouline Phtography Laziz Hamani AD_033_122-129_Escape_Uzbekistan_11310137.indd 12224/06/2020 10:55:14 PM125 AD_033_122-129_Escape_Uzbekistan_11310137.indd 12324/06/2020 10:55:25 PM124 created a formidable empire stretching from Central Asia to Turkey, and his name resonates from the Bos- phorus to the Indus. He was such an extraordinary fi g- ure that tales of his exploits eventually caught the fasci- nation of playwrights and opera composers – with the likes of Edgar Allan Poe, Christopher Marlowe and Frederick Handel all creating works about him. Uzbekistan has also served as a critical crossroads of cultures. Turkish, Persian, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Kazakh, Ukrainian, Tajik and Kyrgyz infl uences can all still be seen and felt today. The archaeological riches of the region are testaments to a mix of Hellenistic, Bud- dhist and Scythian infl uences, and conquerors like Alex- ander the Great, Genghis Khan and the formidable Amir Timur, A.K.A. Tamerlane, who carried them there. Some of the world’s oldest religions and their texts can be found in the country, from Zoroastrianism to Buddhism, and Christianity to Judaism. The arrival of Islam in the eighth century, with its new synthesis of re- ligious infl uences, successfully transformed the soul of Central Asia forever. Today, all of these faiths now come together here in very unique ways. One of the oldest copies of the Quran is housed in Uz- bekistan, as are the ancient Karatepe and Fayaz Tepe Buddhist temples, and Bukhara has had a large Jewish community residing in it for a thousand years. The tomb of the prophet Job in Bukhara, as well as the tomb of magine a land with valleys and moun- tains so lush and green that they seem to be alive themselves; a place where em- pires were birthed, great warriors such as Alexander the Great did battle, and cities were razed to the ground by the likes of Genghis Khan. Envision a nation where soldiers took refuge in high fortresses, and where enemies laid lengthy, grueling sieges. Picture an ancient place with palaces and towers with blue-and-gold walls so rich and detailed that it’s as if they were designed by the deities themselves – a land of myths and legends, where persimmon trees bathe in sunlight and yield fruit so ripe they burst in your mouth. Now imagine entering a city whose ancient monu- ments and traditions are so well preserved, you feel as if you have travelled back in time. Uzbekistan may possess all the romantic traits of a fantastical land, but it is a fan- tastic reality. Much of the nation’s rich past is deeply in- tertwined with the history of the world as we know it. The legendary Asian conqueror Amir Timur made Sa- markand his capital. A patron of the arts and aesthete, he built grandiose “trophy” monuments and ordered their splendour to exceed all that had been created in other conquered countries. He made it his mission to make Samarkand the most beautiful city in the world. As one of the last of the great nomadic warriors, Timur I ABOVE: The 17th-century Sher-Dor Madrassah, Registan square, Samarkand. OPPOSITE PAGE: Shah-i-Zindah, octahedral mausoleum with arrow-shaped arcs, 9th–14th and 19th centuries, Samarkand. AD_033_122-129_Escape_Uzbekistan_11310137.indd 12424/06/2020 10:55:35 PM125 ESCA P E /G o u rm e t AD_033_122-129_Escape_Uzbekistan_11310137.indd 12524/06/2020 10:55:52 PM125000 AD_033_122-129_Escape_Uzbekistan_11310137.indd 12624/06/2020 10:56:01 PM127 ABOVE: Charvak Reservoir, northern Tashkent region OPPOSITE PAGE CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Karakalpak bride, early 20th-century, collection of the Karakalpakstan State Museum of Art; Lemons at Oloy bazaar, Tashkent; velvet-and-gold kitoba panel, Bukhara, 1956, collection of the State Museum of Applied Arts of Uzbekistan, Tashkent; bakhmal weaving process in Margilan, Fergana valley. Saint Daniel in Samarkand, are some of the only places in the world where Muslims, Christians and Jews all come together to pray. No place in Central Asia resembles the city of Khiva, with its impressive monuments, wood carvings and eye- catching mosaic tiles. Painstakingly intricate and de- tailed works of tile-on-tile and pattern-on-pattern (inte- rior and exterior) cover walls, ceilings and columns mosques, fortresses and mausoleums. These jewel-like structures are unique to this part of the world; an old Arab proverb is written on one of the walls of the Reg- istan, which stands at the heart of the city of Samarkand: “If you want to know about us, examine our buildings”. Only in Bukhara, Samarkand (and Iranian city of Isfa- han), can one fi nd Islamic architecture adorned in such rich colours and hues, designed to represent paradise on earth. The blue tones are meant to give the impression that the earth is joining the sky; the geometric and fl oral motifs are there to symbolise the perpetual rebirth of nature. Green mountains, turquoise-blue lakes, snow- white salt plains, rust-coloured valleys and golden de- serts are all sources of inspiration for the asthetic. But such intricacy is not confi ned to the architecture. To this day, the skilled craftsmen of Uzbekistan contin- ue the traditions of silk weaving (for which it is globally renowned); pottery; jewellery making; woodcarving; painting; embossing; carpet-weaving; leatherwork; book miniatures; embroidery; and blacksmithery. The country was also a pioneer in paper production, and a historical birthplace for the production of books. This development came as a direct result of ancient bat- tles with the Chinese, where Samarkand military forces captured Chinese paper production masters and forced them to disclose their secrets. Poets, astronomers, scientists, army leaders, great thinkers and warriors have all sprung from Uzbekistan’s rich landscape. Scientists such as Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, the mathematician who founded algebra, and Akhmad Fargoni, who created the fundamentals of astronomy – including information about the structure of the Earth – all emerged from its people. The Uzbek polymath Abu Ali Ibn Sino, also known as Avicenna, is considered one of the most signifi cant phy- sicians, astronomers and writers of the Islamic Golden Age, and a pioneer for modern medicine. Timur’s grand- son, Ulugh Beg, was a groundbreaking astronomer and poet, mentioned alongside the likes of Copernicus and Galileo. He built the Ulugh Beg Observatory – one of the fi nest observatories in the entire Islamic world in its era. Despite this vast history of greatness, the Uzbeks re- main a humble people, known throughout the world for their hospitality and generosity. Uzbekistan’s rich and long history offers a fantastic tale, but as this book re- veals, it exceeds even your wildest imagination. Extracted from Uzbekistan: The Road to Samarkand ($95, Assouline) by Yaff a Assouline and Laziz Hamani. ES C A P E / D re a n ti ck e t AD_033_122-129_Escape_Uzbekistan_11310137.indd 12724/06/2020 10:56:22 PMABOVE: The breathtakingly ornate ceiling of the mid-15th-century Ak-Saray Mausoleum, Samarkand. AD_033_122-129_Escape_Uzbekistan_11310137.indd 12824/06/2020 10:56:39 PM129 WHAT TO SEE Uzbekistan has four major destinations: from east to west, Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva. Each urban centre helps tell the 5,000-year-old tale of the crossroads between East Asia, Arabia, and Europe, from ancient dynasties to more modern Russian infl uences. You can adequately visit all four destinations in a week. At the three Ms – mosques, madrassas, and mausolea – you’ll see where the region’s mightiest rulers prayed, studied, and were laid to rest. The capital Tashkent is more workaday than the other cities, but the nods to its Soviet infl uence (like the hypnotising brutalist Hotel Uzbekistan) make for an intruiging pit stop. WHERE TO STAY Foreign investment has poured into Uzbekistan since 2016 and a fl urry of small inns have opened in the old, centrally located Jewish Quarters of both Bukhara and Samarkand in old merchant mansions now getting a second life with the help of eager entrepreneurs seeing newly buoying eff ects of the almighty tourism dollar. Expect to spend no more than $50 on accommodations everywhere besides Tashkent for prim digs and a generous breakfast. GETTING AROUND While the distances are far, private transfers and comfortable train travel are a cinch to organise. Travel overland one way from Tashkent to Khiva, but take a domestic fl ight back to your origin in the other direction to save a signifi cant amount of time. As one of the world’s oldest trading posts, the bazaars in Uzbekistan are enthralling but it’s best to pre-organize a local guide in each city. – Brandon Presser ES C A P E / D re a n ti ck e t AD_033_122-129_Escape_Uzbekistan_11310137.indd 12924/06/2020 10:56:52 PMNext >