Silk Road Cities : Part One The Road to Samarkand

The “armchair travel ” talks today and next week are based around several visits Jane Angelini made to Uzbekistan over the last ten years and make use of photographs taken during the visits. During the talks, today and next week, we will follow the route taken from Tashkent to Samarkand, Bokhara, and across the desert to Khiva. Today we start with a general introduction to the Silk Road trade across Central Asia and then follow the route taken from Tashkent to Samarkand, the glorious capital of Timur, which boasts the most magnificent central square in the Islamic world. There will be plenty of background information about peoples, places, and their cultural legacy, as well as some lively anecdotes and all based on excellent images.

The talk lasts1:30 hours and will be divided into two 45 minute talks with a brief interval.