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Walking to Samarkand
Walking to Samarkand: The Great Silk Road from Persia to Central Asia | Bernard Ollivier
22 posts | 3 read | 4 to read
Acclaimed journalist Bernard Ollivier continues his epic journey across Persia and Central Asia as he walks the length of the Great Silk Road. Walking to Samarkand is journalist Bernard Olliviers stunning account of the second part of his 7,200-mile walk from Istanbul, Turkey to Xian, China along the Silk Road--the longest and perhaps most mythical trade route of all time. Picking up where Out of Istanbul left off, Ollivier heads out of the Middle East and into Central Asia, grappling not only with his own will to continue but with new, unforeseen dangers. After crossing the final mountain passes of Turkish Kurdistan, Ollivier sets foot in Iran, keen on locating vestiges of the silk trade as he passes through Persias modern cities and traditional villages, including Tabriz, Tehran, Nishapur, and the holy city of Mashhad. Beyond urban areas lie deserts: first Irans Great Salt Desert, then Turkmenistans forbidding Karakum, whose relentless sun, snakes, and scorpions pose continuous challenges to Olliviers goal of reaching Uzbekistan. Setting his own fears aside, he travels on, wonderstruck at every turn, borne by a childhood dream: to see for himself the golden domes and turquoise skies of Samarkand, one of Central Asias most ancient cities. But what Ollivier enjoys most are the people along the way: Askar, the hospitable gardener; the pilgrims of Mashhad; and his knights in shining armor, Mehdi and Monir. For, despite setting out alone, he comes to find that walking itselfthrough a kind of alchemyfosters friends and fellowship. From the authoritarian mullahs of revolutionary Iran to the warm welcome of everyday Iranianscustodians of age-old, cordial Persian culture; from the stark realities of former Soviet republics to the regions legendary bazaarsveritable feasts for the sensesreaders discover, through Olliviers keen journalistic eyes, the rich history and contemporary culture of these amazing lands.
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Texreader
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Ebook on sale. But you must start with book one, Out of Istanbul, the series by the author who walked the entire Silk Road. I‘ve only read books one and two so far & loved them. But I have to admit book one made me extremely depressed & sent me into a reading slump. Once he entered the eastern part of Turkey the locals were downright evil to him. It made me so sad that people treated others like that. Spoiler: he did survive to write books 2 & 3.

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PhyllisH
Pickpick

Interesting and informative. IMHO this book is better than book one of the three book series. Looking forward to book three.

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Texreader
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#wondrouswednesday Thanks @EadieB for the tag!

1. Norway, Switzerland, England

2. Reading and pedicures, preferably at the same time! Massages are pretty awesome, too

3. Tagged

4. My cuddly kitty, my daughter‘s loving her first year in college, hubby and son, and my family on Litsy! Shout out to @Doll8455 @freeatlast1137 & sometimes @arielmonsen (feel free to play as well!)

EadieB You're welcome! Thanks for playing! 3y
41 likes1 comment
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Texreader
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Pickpick

This would be a 5-star book if I didn‘t find it so depressing; it left me in a slump for months. So it gets 4-stars. I love this trilogy (this is book 2) about the author‘s walking the Silk Road. I feel like I‘ve learned so much about each country thanks to the people he meets and the sights he sees, and the gosh awful way he‘s treated by corrupt police or religious radicals—at 1 point I just couldn‘t take it anymore—I had to tell myself, “He ⬇️

Texreader survived to write the trilogy!” I look forward to reading the last book, hopeful that he‘s treated far better than in the first two legs of his journey.
#readingasia2021 #Iran #Turkmenistan #Uzbekistan @librarybelle @barbarabb
(edited) 3y
Texreader Would you all give me the link again to record my books in the challenge? Now I‘m out of my slump, I‘ve lost it again! @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB 3y
BarbaraBB I admire your perseverance and am hoping for a happy ending 😀. I hope @Librarybelle can send the GoogleDoc link - to be honest I don‘t use it and haven‘t got it any longer. 3y
Librarybelle Try this: https://forms.gle/g4FgEbnDxdtkovDt8 …it should send you to the Google Form! 😁 3y
61 likes4 comments
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Texreader
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Texreader
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Texreader
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The author has crossed into Uzbekistan and has continually faced hassling from the corrupt police. But he‘s also dumbfounded by all the cotton for the reasons he describes here.

#readingasia2021 #Uzbekistan @librarybelle @barbarabb

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Texreader
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The author is well past the Iranian border as he walks the Silk Road and I haven‘t found much to like in #Turkmenistan until now.

#readingasia2021 #Turkmenistan @librarybelle @barbarabb

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Texreader
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The author visited this beautiful mosque while in Mashhad, the second largest city in the country. Photo from:

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/463893/Goharshad-Mosque-highly-distinctive-in-t...

#readingasia2021 #Iran @librarybelle @barbarabb

BarbaraBB I‘d love to go there one day! 3y
Jari-chan So beautiful 😍 3y
52 likes2 comments
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Texreader
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This makes me want to read The Book of Kings!

#readingasia2021 #Iran @librarybelle @barbarabb

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Texreader
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After numerous run-ins with religious fanatics, the author who is hiking the Silk Road falls in with a huge group of young Muslims pilgrimming to one of the holy cities in #Iran. He‘s encountered numerous kind and generous folks. But it‘s such a relief for him (and the reader) to come across people practicing their religion in such a peaceful and beautiful way.

#readingasia2021 #Iran @librarybelle @barbarabb

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Texreader
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This sounds so similar to what happened in Pakistan since I just read of a very similar set of circumstances in I Am Malala, in which the mullahs and their followers took it upon themselves to do the “policing.”

#readingasia2021 #Iran @librarybelle @barbarabb

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Texreader
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The author, walking across #Iran right now, as part of his hike along the Silk Road, has witnessed quite a bit of casual opium use.

#readingasia2021 #Iran @librarybelle @barbarabb

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Texreader
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rockpools Watching this one with interest. Can I ask when he was travelling? Was it a recent journey? 3y
Texreader @rockpools He started the walk in 1999 and spread it out over 3 years. The first book of the trilogy is set in Turkey where he started his trek. This is the second book set in Iran. I can‘t find proof of the year but it must have been 2000. 3y
Texreader @rockpools This is so funny! After posting the first response to you, I read this: “What am I doing sitting here beneath the Iranian sky on this the 16th of July of the year 2000, dressed in rags and completely alone?” So there you have it, he walked across Iran in July 2000. 3y
41 likes3 comments
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Texreader
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I recall this being true of the Egyptians when I read Cleopatra. Is it a “royalty “ thing?

#readingasia2021 #Iran @librarybelle @barbarabb

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Texreader
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Wow. This taxi driver dad reminds me Malala‘s father wanting freedom for Malala. What a coincidence reading this after just reading I Am Malala today, but this is #Iran rather than Pakistan.

#readingasia2021 #Iran @librarybelle @barbarabb

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Texreader
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This is the second book in a trilogy about the author‘s walking the entirety of the Silk Road. I had stopped reading it early in the summer because it stressed me so badly what the author was facing from religious extremists in #Iran. Having just finished I am Malala, I think I‘m ready to pick up where I left off. He‘s about to head into a deadly desert, so I‘m not sure the stress will let up anytime soon. #readingasia2022

BarbaraBB It does sound very interesting. I am following your thoughts 3y
Librarybelle I look forward to your posts about this book! 3y
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Texreader
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Texreader
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Well, who knew? Cultures do have their idiosyncrasies. #readingasia2021 #Iran

BarbaraBB 😂 3y
GingerAntics That is odd. 3y
Librarybelle 😂 3y
ShelleyBooksie Thats so interesting! 3y
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Texreader
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The author is trekking across #Iran on foot in the first part of the book. He‘s feeling glum and he described it well. It‘s a good description of how I feel sometimes tackling a chore, or just going to work. #readingasia2021

Megabooks That‘s a great quote! 3y
Librarybelle Agree with @Megabooks …love the quote! 3y
Bookwormjillk I love that quote! 3y
BarbaraBB Lovely quote! Also: Happy birthday 🎂 3y
Texreader @BarbaraBB Thank you! 🤗 3y
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Texreader
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I thoroughly enjoyed book 1 of the author‘s trek of the Silk Road so I‘m ready for book 2! If he was able to stick with his plans at end of book 1, he should pick up where he left off in Turkey and should quickly move into #Iran. #readingasia2021

BarbaraBB Fascinating! 3y
Librarybelle Yay!! 3y
50 likes2 comments
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ReadingisMyPassion
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this travelogue/memoir of Ollivier‘s journey from the eastern border of Turkey through Iran and Turkmenistan, into Uzbekistan. I love this region of the world so was enthralled with his descriptions of the scenery. But my favorite portions of the book were his interactions with the people.

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