This remarkable color photo was taken by a Russian photographer 100 years ago, but the little shop and its proprietor could have come from the time of Tamerlane. This is what the Old Silk Road must have looked like. English Russia has a fantastic collection of these exotic old photos (from a Library of Congress exhibit).
I was in Kashmir in the late 1980s. The picture reminds me of Srinagar.
"TEN HUNDRED RUPEES!"
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/empire/
It's one of the best things I've ever found on the Internet.
The first permanent color photo was created in 1861, and the first practical color film "Autocrome" was marketed in 1907.
Keep in mind that photographers were pretty rare; and color photographers especially so. But color photography did exist at that time.
Sorry to rain on the parade, but taking nothing away from the picture... it is well composed.