The Silk road

Hezz700

Hi all,

I'm planning to travel along one of the silk routes next year. heading off in June and taking as long as it takes. i will fly to Bejing and work back from there through Mongolia, Kazakhistan, Uzberistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and on to Ankara in Turkey.

Visas are not a real problem and accomadation and transport is all straight forward, but i would like to heard of other folks experiences in these countries.

I like travelling alone because i find it makes you more likely to see the real people and their culture This can leave you vunerable, so i really need to have my s#@* together on this one.

All comments welcome;)

Hezz.

Riamfada

thats a fantastic idea. how much and what have you done to prepare?

davros

How important is the "Silk Road" aspect of the trip? Being somewhat obsessed with that route (or routes as you rightly say) myself I'd be inclined to start in Xi'an and make my way to Kashgar via Dunhuang and Turfan, all of which are spectacular.

Of course you would then be striking a more southerly route, away from Mongolia and Kazakhstan but they would be a bit off the Silk Road anyway.

I wouldn't want to miss Turkmenistan either, to see Merv. From Turkmenbashi you could take a ferry across the Caspian to Baku and continue your journey.

I've been wanting to do all this for years, having already travelled that portion that lies within China.

While the mailing list has been relatively quiet lately, there is excellent material in the archive of the Oxiana discussion group. There is a similar group for the Caucasus.

useeme

davros wrote:

I wouldn't want to miss Turkmenistan either, to see Merv. From Turkmenbashi you could take a ferry across the Caspian to Baku and continue your journey.

I travelled to Turkmenistan earlier this year. It's a very singular country.
Merv, Konye Urgench and Ashgabat are amazing places.

Hezz700

Grimes wrote:

thats a fantastic idea. how much and what have you done to prepare?

I Have'nt done too much as of yet apart from basic gathering of info regarding flights, incountry transport, local currencies, exchange rate/ cost of living and so on......

i'm already excited

Hezz.:D

Hezz700

davros wrote:

How important is the "Silk Road" aspect of the trip? Being somewhat obsessed with that route (or routes as you rightly say) myself I'd be inclined to start in Xi'an and make my way to Kashgar via Dunhuang and Turfan, all of which are spectacular.

Of course you would then be striking a more southerly route, away from Mongolia and Kazakhstan but they would be a bit off the Silk Road anyway.

I wouldn't want to miss Turkmenistan either, to see Merv. From Turkmenbashi you could take a ferry across the Caspian to Baku and continue your journey.

I've been wanting to do all this for years, having already travelled that portion that lies within China.

While the mailing list has been relatively quiet lately, there is excellent material in the archive of the Oxiana discussion group. There is a similar group for the Caucasus.

Well, The Route is the main reason for this trip. I have always harboured a desire to do it, but nothing is set in stone. iI think that my journey will be a sort of a zig zag affair rather then a straight line between China and turkey.

How did you find China??? it would be interesting to hear your take on things.

Thanks for the links BTW, Excellent!

Hezz:)

davros

Hezz700 wrote:

How did you find China??? it would be interesting to hear your take on things.

The book that originally inspired my interest was Foreign Devils on the Silk Road, by Peter Hopkirk. It describes the rediscovery of the Silk Road oasis towns around the end of the 19th century. The stories of the various tough-as-nails explorers who risked their lives in the Taklamakan desert are just as fascinating as the history of the trade route itself. It was also a time of great rivalry and suspicion between the British and Russian empires, separated only by a fiercely independent Afghanistan. The area was rife with spies and both powers maintained consulates in Kashgar (the buildings are still there) and vied for local influence (Hopkirk's The Great Game is the classic work on this period, and it's a great read).

At the time I visited the Silk Road oasis towns, I had been living in China for a couple of years. I was very struck by the differences. The local people, the Uyghurs, are Muslim, speak a Turkic language (of which some words are recognisable, like 'bilet' for 'ticket'), play the familiar form of chess (rather than the Chinese version), use the arabic script, and so on.

There is so much to see there. Ancient cities from the time of the Silk Road and Mongol invasions; painted buddhist caves; the scenery of the China/Pakistan border (some of the highest mountains in the world, including K2)... One of the most memorable experiences was in the old city of Kashgar. I remember being in a street lined with clay buildings and populated with bakers, blacksmiths, hat-makers and other ancient trades - it could have been any century. I hope it's still like that today - that was 7 years ago and the pace of change in China is relentless. The railway finally came to Kashgar after I was there. I believe the famous Sunday market has since been moved to a modern building.

Oh, if you remember Monkey, following the route from Xi'an to Kashgar you are following the same path that the real monk behind the story, Xuanzang, took to fetch Buddhist scriptures from India