Back alley, Barkhor
November 1993

The area around the Jokhang, known as the barkhor, is filled with traditional Tibetan homes, like these, among the oldest in Lhasa. The area is changing rapidly. Older buildings are being razed and families relocated to make room for new, often characterless and cultureless stores and stalls not owned by Tibetans, and poorly built apartments ill-suited to the extreme climate of the Tibetan plateau. With this, Tibetan heritage and a way of life are disappearing.