The Other Hundred: Family Restaurant Holds On in Historic Tajik City
Saradedbek and his family run a local restaurant in Istaravshan, a city overlooked by hills in northern Tajikistan, serving traditional regional cuisine to customers including everyone from policemen to Lyuli, a Central Asian minority group distantly related to Roma.
He and his son serve the tables, taking orders and collecting money. His wife and daughter prepare the food in a tiny kitchen, helped by Ayna, their kitchen hand.
With a history of more than 2,500 years, Istaravshan is one of the oldest cities in the country. Like most of Tajikistan it still struggles to recover from the collapse of the Soviet Union. With average annual incomes of US$200 per person, many of its residents have left to work in Russia.
The Other Hundred is a not-for-profit photo book by the Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT) to provide a counterpoint to the mainstream media consensus about some of today's most important issues. The book introduces readers to the vast majority of people, ideas, places and cultures simply ignored by most major media publications. Through an annual series of books, each focusing on a particular subject, The Other Hundred provides an alternative and refreshing view on everything from people and their homes to performers, chefs and authors.
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