Last fall I took a vacation from my role as social media editor for the Out of Eden Walk to travel to the Aegean coast of Turkey. Gazing up at the three-story structure that was once the library in the Roman port city of Ephesus, I realized that the goods traded along the Old Silk Road—silk, spices, knowledge—had flowed from China through this city and out across the Mediterranean to Europe. At the same time, I thought of Paul Salopek, who was in Kazakhstan, heading east with Daulet and Talgat, his local guides, and Alex, his cargo horse. Their path was an extension of the marbled stones of Ephesus—2,600 miles east of where I stood. Such is the vast reach of the Silk Road.
Ruins of the monumental library of Ephesus
Camille Bromley
Paul is now in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, overwintering before he walks on toward India. In recent months he passed through several hubs of Central Asia’s Old Silk Road, including Khiva, Bukhara, and Samarkand. Emma Thompson, a British writer, visited those same spots during a six-week trip on assignment for National Geographic Traveller (UK). It’s interesting to see the overlap and divergence of these two journeys in their writings: Paul writes of Khiva’s Islamic golden age, Emma examines the legacy of Mongol emperor Timur. Paul investigates the history of papermaking in Samarkand, Emma discusses the invention of silk weaving.
Now we invite you to share your own experience of the Silk Road, whether you’ve lived or traveled somewhere along its 4,350 miles or use products that came from centuries of Silk Road trade and knowledge exchange.
Share your photos or stories with us and NG Traveller on Twitter or Instagram by mentioning @outofedenwalk and using the hashtag #NGSilkRoad. For the rest of this month, we’ll re-share your contributions to this “virtual Silk Road” and publish them in a Storify.
The Silk Road was a network of travel and communication that helped shape the modern world. Let’s see how far the Out of Eden Walk and NG Traveller communities can reach.
Ruins of the monumental library of Ephesus
Camille Bromley
Paul is now in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, overwintering before he walks on toward India. In recent months he passed through several hubs of Central Asia’s Old Silk Road, including Khiva, Bukhara, and Samarkand. Emma Thompson, a British writer, visited those same spots during a six-week trip on assignment for National Geographic Traveller (UK). It’s interesting to see the overlap and divergence of these two journeys in their writings: Paul writes of Khiva’s Islamic golden age, Emma examines the legacy of Mongol emperor Timur. Paul investigates the history of papermaking in Samarkand, Emma discusses the invention of silk weaving.
Now we invite you to share your own experience of the Silk Road, whether you’ve lived or traveled somewhere along its 4,350 miles or use products that came from centuries of Silk Road trade and knowledge exchange.
Share your photos or stories with us and NG Traveller on Twitter or Instagram by mentioning @outofedenwalk and using the hashtag #NGSilkRoad. For the rest of this month, we’ll re-share your contributions to this “virtual Silk Road” and publish them in a Storify.
The Silk Road was a network of travel and communication that helped shape the modern world. Let’s see how far the Out of Eden Walk and NG Traveller communities can reach.