Craftsmen in Samarkand, an ancient Silk Road city in Uzbekistan, are resurrecting an age-old art of making mulberry paper, with the traditional methods of yesteryears.

In the quaint Konigil village near the city, paper is being made from mulberry bark, in the ancient way that it was one thousand years ago -- scraped, boiled, smashed and sieved.
According to local craftsmen, their ancestors learned the paper production techniques from Chinese people in the eighth century, as paper is one of the epoch-making inventions in ancient China, along with gunpowder, the compass and printing.
Craftsmen's final product is a smooth and durable paper, with a distinctive yellowish color and a silky texture. As the process is labor-intensive and time-consuming, a cheaper white paper became more popular in the 17th century.
"We created an organization backed by UNESCO's emphasis on preserving ancient handicrafts. Our main goals were to revive lost art forms. For years we've been experimenting with the recipe. In the Memoirs of Zahiriddin Babur living in the 16th century, the paper was made in this village of Konigil. Now our history is back, as paper production has resumed," said Zarif Muxtorov, Director of Koniguil-Meros Workshop.
Today, Samarkand mulberry paper represents not simply old relics of the past, but can be used in various ways, including in clothing, decorations, souvenirs, as well as restoration of ancient books.
"Because it can be stored for 2,000 years, our calligraphers, painters and historical manuscripts need it. 'Can we join this program?' Many guests were interested and asked us," said Muxtorov.
While the paper-making skills shine as a beacon of cultural renaissance, other traditional local skills like pottery and oil-making are also breathing new life into this time-honored Silk Road city.
"Uzbekistan is called the crossroads of civilizations, which lies on the Silk Road. Thanks to these exchanges, we enrich our culture and enrich our handicrafts and our trade and production. And still, we have great production potential, which is going from handicrafts, shifting to manufacturing, big manufacturing. It's a centuries-old, proven partnership which benefits every country," said Feruz Dodiev, head of International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.