Chris Aslan

Biography

Chris was born in Turkey and spent his childhood there and in Beirut before studying Media and Journalism at Leicester University. He then moved to Khiva, a desert oasis in Uzbekistan, to establish a UNESCO workshop reviving 15th century carpet designs and embroideries and became the largest non-government employer in town. Following this, he moved to the Pamirs in Tajikistan, training yak herders to comb their yaks for their cashmere-like down, before spending two years in Kyrgyzstan establishing a wood-carving workshop. After further studies and rowing in Oxford, Chris now lives in his mountainous home overlooking the sea in the northern part of Cyprus, where he focuses on his writing, with fiction works, including Alabaster, Manacle, Mosaic, and his latest non-fiction book, Unravelling the Silk Road. He also lectures for the Art Society and leads tours to Central Asia whenever he can.