Taklamakan Desert of water, accounts for the somewhat wide diurnal temperature variation. The Taklamakan Desert has very little water, therefore it is hazardous to cross. Merchant caravans on the Silk Road would stop for relief at the thriving oasis towns. It was in close proximity to many of the ancient civilizations — to the Northwest is the Amu Darya basin, to the southwest the Afghanistan mountain passes lead to Iran and India, to the east is China, and even to the north ancient towns such as Almaty can be found. The key oasis towns, watered by rainfall from the mountains, were Kashgar,
Christmas in the Basque Country Christmas in the Basque Country Christmas in the Basque Country starts with the of Santo Tomas on 21 December, a celebration in which most people go out onto the streets to dance and eat talo with txistorra (a type of Basque chorizo). They wear a traditional outfit called the casera dress. For girls it consists of a long skirt and a long-sleeved old-fashioned shirt with headscarves and aprons. The boys wear a long black shirt, trousers and txapela (traditional black beret). The casera outfits are normally dark blue, but can come in many colors. They wear caseras because that is