The Silk Road is gone.
At one point, the Silk Road—which, of course, wasn’t really a road, but just a collection of routes and passes—connected the east and the west. It brought people, goods, religion, learning, and culture from one end of Eurasia to the other, year after year, for more than a millennia. And the cross-roads, Central Asia, was a booming center of trade and culture.
Places like New York, Hong Kong, and Moscow are now the booming centers of trade and culture.
But, we don’t travel by caravan anymore—lamentably, because that would be cool. We travel by train and plane, and being adjacent or in-between doesn’t much matter anymore. So, places like New York, Hong Kong, and Moscow are now the booming centers of trade and culture. And Central Asia is just kind of there.
This area in the middle of the world is still peopled by the descendants of the adventurous people that traveled and traded on the Silk Road, left behind like silt when a river changes course. And there they live their lives like all of us: sometimes proud and sometimes wearied by the grandeur of the past.
And we find beauty and kindness.
The only things that travel these old worn paths anymore are wanderers like us—people who are fascinated by the past or curious about the present. We find a way into the heart of Eurasia by hook or by crook and see what is left of all of those caravans. We see temples, mosques, and tombs. We see people of every shade and hue. We find noodles and rice and bread of every shape and style. And we find beauty and kindness.
I know the Silk Road traders of old were looking to sell their wares for a profit, but I have to assume they noticed the tranquil deserts and majestic mountains along the way. Those that settled did so for their own reasons, but when they did, they built things. They built beautiful, magnificent things.
Those that are in ruin are magnificent ruins.
All these years later, the deserts are still stunning, the mountains are still majestic, and many of the buildings are still standing magnificently. Those that aren’t, those that are in ruin, are magnificent ruins.
So, maybe the Silk Road is still there in the middle of Asia somewhere. Perhaps if you take the time and look really hard, you can see it. And we suggest that you do.
