History lessons

In July 751 the armies of the Abbasid caliphate and the Tang empire met on the Talas. The Chinese were defeated, and China did not come west again. Islam was cemented in the towns. Tradition says the Chinese prisoners taught the Arabs how to make paper (this is disputed; tell the pupils it is disputed, it is good for them to know that historians argue).

Exercise: draw the Talas valley, mark the river, the mountains and where you think the armies stood. Nobody knows exactly where. That is the beauty of it.

These days it is difficult to talk about wars with the children. Many families from Aulie-Ata and the villages went to Talas in February. I heard that School No. 31 in Talas took in many of them. Thank you, colleagues.