The “authentic” Silk Road
The UNWTO Silk Road logo
One of the main areas of focus of tourism in Kyrgyzstan is travel along the Great Silk Road … that ancient trade route which served as a forerunner of globalization, bringing together the two vastly different areas of the world, East and West, Europe and the Orient as typified by China.
The Silk Road wasn’t a single route, but rather a network of routes used by travelers including merchants and pilgrims, soldiers and diplomats. These routes criss-crossed the continent and some passed through Kyrgyzstan – others through Tajikistan, and Afghanistan, Pakistan and Persia, (Iran). Although there were some notable exceptions, few travelers would have covered the whole distance from East to West, (or vice versa), but would have covered just a small section connecting neighbouring communities.
In fact anyone who want to travel along the Silk Road overland these days, more or less, has to travel through Kyrgyzstan – and cross over into China over either the Torugart or Irkeshtam passes. There are alternatives, the Karakoram pass from the Hunza Valley in Pakistan, a rail crossing from Kazakhstan and routed via Mongolia further to the North and East.
There are difficulties associated with each of these options – ranging from political uncertainties, conflicts, closed borders, time and visa constraints.
Apart from offering the shortest and most direct route between the Mysterious Orient and the Western world, (which might help to explain why the numbers of tourists passing through the country seems to have remained remarkably constant despite out “little local difficulties” over the years), Kyrgyzstan offers something more to the traveler who has the imagination, the inclination and the time: a chance to envisage the “authentic” Silk Road.
To be honest, I feel a little anxious typing the word “authentic” because it is a much over used word and, as a result, risks being devalued to the point of being meaningless – like “nice” … as my English teacher always used to say: “‘Nice’ is not a nice word.” Lots of things may have the claim made for them that they are “authentic”, supposedly giving them an aura or promise of something which they cannot give.
In some ways, it seems to me, there is an element of that when I describe Kyrgyzstan and offering a chance to experience the “authentic” Silk Road. The concept of “authentic” implies being true and maintaining a closeness or accuracy to some original attributes, qualities or standards.
For a start, as I said, there wasn’t a “Silk Road” … in fact some scholars say that it never really existed, but was a idea invented and imposed by Ferdinand von Richthofen to help explain the phenomena of the trade which brought silk to Rome and other exotic goods to Rome and, according to one ancient historian, practically bankrupting the Empire.
Richthofen coined the term to describe a network of trade routes that covered vast distances, crossing landscapes with diverse terrains, climate, fauna and flora; subject to vastly different climates and encountering a wide variety of peoples and cultures. Even though Kyrgyzstan does offer all of this … it can’t hope to encapsulate all that was to be found in the 24 countries that go to make up the Silk Road Project of the United Nations World Tourism Organization: Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, DPR Korea, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan … and it seems to me there are a few other countries that could just as easily be included. Each country has it own specific highlights representing Silk Road history, culture and tradition.
What’s more, let’s be honest – the Silk Road is “long gone”. There’s now talk about the “New Silk Road” … just as there is talk about an “Information Superhighway” … neither exists as such but the terms are useful in conveying a concept or an image. Even if it were to exist, then traveling along it would be quite a different experience from that of Marco Polo, Hsuan Tsang, Fasien, and the other intrepid travelers that undertook even a part of the journey throughout history. Travel is much more common than it used to be, people of today’s generations travel further and faster than was ever considered possible in the medieval world yet alone the ancient world.
Whereas travelers in the past would have been delighted to cover, say, 25 kilometers in a day … with planes, trains and motor vehicles … we now consider 25 kilometers less than half an hour’s journey. Inconceivable for Marco Polo … just as his three year sojourn would be inconceivable for most most travelers.
On the other hand, Kyrgyzstan does offer a very important bridge between the ruins, archaeological and preserved sites of ancient cities of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey, Greece and Italy, with experiences of the exotic and “inscrutable” orient. For those with the time, interest, imagination and inclination, then taking some time out to explore the sort of landscape, the conditions and lifestyle, taking advantage of the fact that the Kyrgyz have managed to preserve many aspects of the nomadic life of their ancestors, albeit with some adaptations to accommodate the twenty first century.
Instead of zooming through the country as fast as possible, in two or three days, it pays to linger a little … to walk in the remote and unspoiled landscape of, say, Son Kul or Tash Rabat, walking or horse riding in the hillsides … take time out to put up a yurt or see how simple ala kiyiz or shyrdak carpets were created by craftswomen …
It t won’t be exactly like experiencing the hardships, trials and tribulations of Marco Polo and other travelers, but for those with the imagination that doesn’t require the 3D technicolour special effects of a Hollywood blockbuster, it will help to put their stories into a context, bring about a greater understanding and increase our admiration for their hardy characters and for the impressive achievements.
Bishkek