In advance of the broken arm

Il y aura toujours une pelle au vent dans les sables du rêve

Marcel Duchamp, André Breton

de retour, avec "les états Généraux"

in "les états Généraux", André Breton, 1943

Une des idées mendiantes qui m’inspirent le plus de compassion

C’est qu’on croie pouvoir frapper de grief l’anachronisme
Comme si sous le rapport causal à merci interchangeable
Et à plus forte raison dans la quête de la liberté
À rebours de l’opinion admise on n’était pas autorisé à tenir la mémoire
Et tout ce qui se dépose de lourd avec elle
Pour les sous-produits de l’imagination
Comme si j’étais fondé le moins du monde
À me croire moi d’une manière stable
Alors qu’il suffit d’une goutte d’oubli ce n’est pas rare
Pour qu’à l’instant où je me considère je vienne d’être tout autre et d’une autre goutte
Pour que je me succède sous un aspect hors de conjecture
Comme si même le risque avec son imposant appareil de tentations et de syncopes
En dernière analyse n’était sujet à caution

it must be heaven

Yesterday, the Geneva International Film Festival - GIFF -, screened the latest film from Elia Suleiman, It must be heaven, in the presence of Elia Suleiman himself. It's a beautiful film, mixing  irony with a somehow poetic humour. Elia assumes the role of an observer, in awe but powerless in face of the events around him. There is place for some hope, but just not now...

Baku, Azerbaijan

Baku's old city with the Shirvanshah palace mosque on the left, and the flaming towers on the back.

Shakhidlar Mosque, under the shadow of the flaming towers.

Ganja, Azerbaijan

The beautiful Juma mosque and the impressive Imamzadeh complex in Azerbaijan's second city, Ganja.

Lahic - Azerbaijan

The bucolic village of Lahic, south of the Caucasus, Azerbaijan.

Laza, Azerbaijan

On our second day in Azerbaijan's Caucasus, we hiked from the village of Kuzun to the village of Laza. A GPS device is recommended since the path, although well known to locals, is not clearly marked.

The village of Laza, west of Quba. 2h30 hike from Kuzun.

Khinaliq, Azerbaijan

The Azeri village of Khinaliq, in the Caucasus. About 1h30 drive southwest of Quba.

Xinjiang - Kashgar

Kashgar, one of the great cities of the Silk Road, home of the Uighur and ancient meeting point of cultures and empires. Before its demolition, its old city was considered the best preserved Islamic city of central Asia. With the pretext of construction safety the authorities completely demolished it and built a replica to replace it, in what was seen by many locals as an attack on Uighur's cultural identity. 

When we visited, it was the new "old city" we saw. There was a clear effort from the authorities to maintain the architectural traits and the new "old city" is still a beautiful place to visit as you can see in the picture below. However, a lot of historical and cultural elements were lost. 

Xinjiang - Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves

The beautiful valley where are located the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves, close to Kuqa.

Xinjiang - Bezelik

Bezelik caves, in the Turpan region. A small complex but in a beautiful canyon on a desert setting.

Xinjiang - Tuyuk

The village of Tuyuk in the Xinjian province in China. To get there we had to cross several checkpoints and the access to Tuyuk itself was through a checkpoint with barbed wire blocking the passage. Sadly, it felt like a place under siege. The mosque was closed by the authorities and barbed wire was installed on the walls.