Exploring Sufi shrines in Uzbekistan (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
Why do you stay in prison when the door is so wide open?
Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking.
Live in silence.
— Rumi
After encountering so many tiny doors in Morocco last month, I decided to go back through my photos to see where else in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia I’ve stepped through small doors into Sufi shrines. The photo above was taken at one of my favorite shrines in Uzbekistan–and, as you can see, I had to duck my head a bit to step through its small, white door. I had reached this shrine by crossing on foot from Turkmenistan to Uzbekistan through a truly desolate no-man’s-land. After months of living in Turkmenistan, I had begun running out of clothes–so I designed this outfit by buying some colorful fabric in the bazaar. I got the idea for this strange little hood from the fabric that was left over when the dress was finally done…
