Hiking the Glenn Highway through Alaska. Published in Asphalt Pilgrims.
Paul Salopek
Every hundred miles Salopek pauses to record the landscape and a person he meets, assembling a global snapshot of humankind. Milestones reflect straight-line distances, but his walked distances are generally much longer. More on these waypoints here.
Every hundred miles Salopek pauses to record the landscape and a person he meets, assembling a global snapshot of humankind. Milestones reflect straight-line distances, but his walked distances are generally much longer. More on these waypoints here.
We were crossing the historic Fergana Valley. It was in the heart of Central Asia. Winter was coming. We were pushing hard, pacing off 25 cold miles a day, trying to reach the Kyrgyz border before the heavy snows. We were walking to the old Silk Road town of Margilan.
Alexander the Great was said to have founded Margilan. He named it after a great lunch he enjoyed there, camped beside a river with his army of sunburned Greeks: murgh (“chicken” in Persian) and nan (“bread” in Persian).
We, on the other hand, walked from chaikhanna to chaikhanna—from teahouse to teahouse—gnawing on samsas, traditional Uzbek meat buns. But at this samsa kiosk beside the road, the baker shook his head sadly. He splayed his hands in helplessness at the waxen sky. He shrugged. It was his day off. He raised the lid on the clay samsa oven: dark, empty, cold. On the 4,600-mile mark of a world walk, there would be no samsa. We nodded bleakly. We notched our belts tighter. We walked on.
A wraparound soundscape at this Milestone
This Milestone’s location on a map
Photos of the ground under Paul’s feet and the sky above at this Milestone
A brief question and answer with the first person Paul meets at this Milestone
Ali Mardon
Samsa baker, age 26
Who are you?
“I am a simple human being, and ordinary worker. I’m very sorry your are here when I’m closed.”
Where do you come from?
“I was born here.” (Shaboda village.)
Where are you going?
“Nowhere. I’m just working here.”
Observations from social media from the Milestone location
A post from this region seems to celebrate a holiday for health workers. One social media user is studying, while another is taking pride in following the career he planned for himself. Other posts show ads for a new sushi restaurant.
A video showing the landscape around this Milestone
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