Echoes of Asia

By Marina Tolmacheva

I chose this title because my photographs are echoes and reminiscences of my travels in Asia, rather than the bright and bold pictures of the obvious, important, and famous. Some images are echoes of remote or ancient cultures; others have become echoes of a fairly recent past in the years since they were taken. The dates of these photos range from 1966 when I first went to Mongolia to 1996 when I crossed China westbound from Beijing through Gansu and Xinjiang, traveling along the Silk Route all the way to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In Mongolia I am particularly fascinated by the mix of shamanistic, Tibetan Buddhist (Lamaist), and Chinese cultural influences, in Central Asia by a symbiosis of Russian and Soviet features with Islamic and local traditions, while western China represents a crossroads of Inner Asian peoples and history.

Dr. Tolmacheva has donated prints of these and many other photos from her travels to WSU's Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections. To view more of her images of Asia, visit the World Civilizations Image Repository.

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