Top 10 Silk Road stops
Chris Moss celebrates the epic scale of the east-west highway, and its highlights along the way
SHIRAZ, IRAN
One of the most important centres in the medieval Islamic world and a former capital, Shiraz is a city of wine, song and nightingales. Highlights include the Nasir al-Mulk (Pink Mosque), Pars Museum, tombs of Hafez and Saadi (two major poets) and beautiful gardens, such as the Bagh-e Naranjestan, named after its orange trees.
ORKHON VALLEY, MONGOLIA
This Unesco-listed “cultural landscape”, still grazed by nomadic herders, was once a key transit route and political centre, containing Karakorum, the 13th-century capital of the Mongol Empire. The Orkhon river cuts through the arid vastness.
OSH, KYRGYZSTAN
Built around the five-headed peak of Mt Suleiman (aka Solomon’s throne), Osh is the country’s oldest city. Short on architectural wonders of the ancient kind, it has a huge mosque and a real Central Asian vibe and is a useful starting point for trips into China, Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley and Tajikistan.
MERV, TURKMENISTAN
One of the important oasis cities of the Silk Road, Merv blossomed following the establishment of Cyrus the Great’s Achaemenid Empire. It has been dubbed the “wandering city” as there are actually five adjacent cities spread over the arid plains north of Bayramaly. They were built side by side as the watercourse changed its route.
ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN
One of Central Asia’s most ancient cities, the former Kazakh capital was a trading hub for agricultural produce and crafts from the 10th to 14th centuries, when it housed its own mint. Now, Soviet-era architecture rings a centre of leafy avenues and some fascinating sights, including the 19th-century wooden Zenkov cathedral and lively Green Bazaar.
PANJAKENT, TAJIKISTAN
At a key crossroads, this ancient city has been a melting pot of Silk Road cultures, with Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Manicheans and Nestorian Christians all passing through and staying a while. Well-preserved, the original street grid is intact, though the bustle has long since gone. A citadel atop a hill affords great views.
XI’AN, CHINA
It’s thought Emperor Wu dispatched his envoy, Zhang Qian, to obtain some of the legendary Ferghana horses from Chang’an (today’s Xi’an) in the second century BC. He returned minus the horses but with tales of untold riches — thus commencing trade between East and West. Xi’an is home to the Great Mosque, the Shaanxi Museum and, of course, the Terracotta Warriors.
KHIVA, BOKHARA AND SAMARKAND, UZBEKISTAN
Uzbekistan gets three of the 10 stops on this list. Khiva, Bokhara and Samarkand were all important trading posts on the Silk Road and have been painstakingly restored. Among the many glittering minarets, elegant domes and mesmerising mosaics, Khiva’s Tash Hauli Palace, Bokhara’s Kalon Mosque, Samarkand’s Registan public square and Bibi-Khanym mosque — the latter the poster-child of the Silk Road — all stand out.