Wednesday 24 October 2012

Khara-Khoto

I've been watching the NHK 70's doumentary series on the Silk Road. Pretty much every episode has tonnes of GameFuel but episode four, 'The Dark Castle' is almost a D&D module in documentary format.

We have-

-An ancient ruin whose name translates directly as 'dark castle'.
-Local peasants who warn the film crew not to go there as 'bad things happened there'
-An old Mongol guide who takes them, but refuses to go inside.
-And won't approach at night.
-And sings an ancient tribal song of the castles doom.
-The keep itself, a ruin the size of a small town.
-A freaky blair-wich camera shot when the 'Dark Castle' first appears over the dunes.
-Collapsed temples, preserved by the desiccating wind from the gobi dessert.
- A last king. The Super-strong Buddhist named 'Batir' known as 'The Black General' and his unbeaten army.
- Batirs treasure, 80 cartloads of gold and silver.
- His war with, besiegement by and death at the hands of... GHENGIS KHAN.
- Batir killed his family and hid his treasure before his death. Treasure has never been found.
- 2000 year old silk fragments, a collapsed column disgorging ancient tokens for the dead, a single building standing alone outside the castle walls (the Mosque) and some handy PR for the Peoples Republic if China (they launch missiles!)

If you have an hour free... 


 

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