Oct 26, 2005 - Life in the Mountains

Thousands of stars light up the night sky. The Milky Way stretches its hand across the Hunza Valley as if to protect this sacred area from the outside world - keeping it safe and peaceful - away from the fighting in Gilgit or the tragedy of the earthquake miles to the south. The sounds of the Ramadan prayers emanate from the Mosque in the village of Ganesh. The united voices of the faithful echo through the valley and up the farming terraces to the hilltops of Karimibad. I look down from my terrace garden onto the rooftops of Ganesh, and...