The Silk Road

Our adventurer begins his journey in Venice, just like Marco Polo, the most famous voyager to have proceeded down this ancient route. The many cultural influences are immediately obvious: The architecture and the mosaics of St Mark’s Basilica reveal the links that connect this city with the distant lands of Asia; the textile maker Alberto Bevilacqua recounts the history of the silk trade, while a restaurant owner passionate about gastronomy explains the varied origins of Venetian cuisine. Alfred then shows us a little-known treasure: the Armenian monastery’s library. It is packed with manuscripts in all languages, brought there through the Silk Road.

At the edge of the European continent, our guide enters Turkish territory through the city of Edirne. He discovers Ottoman architectural wonders and the traditional local variant of wrestling, in which men are doused in olive oil before bouts. After a stop in Istanbul, the ultimate symbol of the Silk Road, Alfred discovers the city that was once the Ottoman capital, Bursa, and gains an insight into Anatolian culture.

At the heart of the Anatolian plateau, our guide visits the first of the caravanserais that dot his journey, as they once dotted the ancient trade routes.

Alfred discovers the north of Iran; enter the city that once was the core of the entire Silk Road in Persia: Tabriz. He heads into the bazaar, the finest in the country, and wanders through its 36km of alleyways and stalls.

Alfred learns that Iran has a Silk Road Secretariat. Its representative in the northern city of Qazvin – Hooman Babapoor – explains that the government wishes to develop links between other countries along the illustrious road.

In the oasis of Kashan, in central Iran, Alfred marvels at the famous pleasure gardens of Fin that cemented the Persians’ renown. He then discovers Iranian Zoroastrianism in a “house of strength”, whose inhabitants hone both their spirit and their body.

Alfred arrives in Uzbekistan, at the heart of the ancient Silk Road. He discovers Bukhara the beautiful, dream city for numerous travelers.

Some used to say Samarkand – in central Uzbekistan – was at the center of the world. Alfred follows the ancient Royal Road to the city – associated with the great Turco-Mongol warrior Timur, who was also famed for his refinement and elegance.

Alfred is awestruck by the modernity of life in Tashkent, the capital of present-day Uzbekistan and a major central Asian city. There is an incredible mix of ethnic groups in this part of the world.

Osh is the first place Alfred visits in Kyrgyzstan. He saunters down the aisles of its bazaar, but soon realizes that the real Kyrgyzstan is to be found on the endless steppes and vast mountains, where you lose all notions of boundaries.

Alfred's point of entry to China is Kashgar, in the Xinjiang region – the biggest in the country. It is home to the Uyghurs, an ethnic minority descended from Turkic peoples.

A Uyghur family invites our guide into their home. He learns about their way of life and growing techniques. Gaochang used to be an important waypoint through the Silk Road and a famous gathering place for scholars.

Crossing the Taklamakan desert is a demanding step. And only once the Silk Road caravans made it could they say they truly arrived in China. The Bactrian camel has become emblematic of the region: without it, trade could not have developed along the Silk Road.