Dunes

1905
This photograph, taken from a rail embankment, shows an expanse of sand dunes spotted with clumps of acacia in the region between Bayramaly (present-day Turkmenistan) and Chardjuy. The Russian settlement of Chardjuy (present-day Turkmenabat) was founded in 1886 near the site of an ancient town of the same name. Located on the Amu-Darya (Oxus) River, the town had become an important railroad junction by the time this photograph was taken. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including two trips in 1911. Turkestan appealed to him as a showcase for the transformation brought by Russian settlement, particularly in agriculture. Economic development of Turkestan was closely related to the construction of railroads such as the Trans-Caspian, begun in 1879 and expanded over the next three decades.

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Filename: 6504.jpg
Copyright: acku Afghanistan
Image Size: 1800x1686 / 510.7KB; 1905 Turkmenistan Dunes Sand Dunes Landscapes Photo WDL 010565
Contained in galleries: TURKMENISTAN

1905<br />
This photograph, taken from a rail embankment, shows an expanse of sand dunes spotted with clumps of acacia in the region between Bayramaly (present-day Turkmenistan) and Chardjuy. The Russian settlement of Chardjuy (present-day Turkmenabat) was founded in 1886 near the site of an ancient town of the same name. Located on the Amu-Darya (Oxus) River, the town had become an important railroad junction by the time this photograph was taken. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including two trips in 1911. Turkestan appealed to him as a showcase for the transformation brought by Russian settlement, particularly in agriculture. Economic development of Turkestan was closely related to the construction of railroads such as the Trans-Caspian, begun in 1879 and expanded over the next three decades.