Silk Road : fantasy and reality

Travellers have a lot of fantasies on the Silk Road.  They can read many interesting stories on the great travels of Faxian, Xuan Zang, Marco Polo, Aurel Stein and Sven Hedin. The Silk Road covers great distances, diverse civilizations and long history.  Yet, it is not an easy road to travel.  Weather conditions can be harsh and travel can be dangerous.

(Caravan for tourists)

The Silk Road is not a single road.  It is composed of a network of routes linking Europe, Central Asia and China, as well as countries in between. Silk from China was brought to Europe by trade caravans through these routes early in the pre-Christ time.   Not only for silk, these trade routes were conduits for economic exchanges between peoples along the road.  

The Silk Road provided significant economic benefits to the peoples and cities involved in the exchanges.  Traders facilitated as the middlemen of these economic exchanges.  They also took up the hard work in moving their goods across the long, and sometimes dangerous, trade routes.  The Sodgians, Persians, Indians and Arabs were parts of the ancient traders in the Silk Road. 

The Silk Road was also critical to the spread of cultures and religions.  Over the centuries, different religions, including Buddhism, Nestorianism, Manichaeism and Islam, developed and advanced along the Silk Road.  Sometimes, this also induced conflicts, violence and wars. For those who are interested to learn more about these stories can read Boulnois, Luce. Silk road - monks, warriors and merchants on the silk road. Hong Kong: Odyssey Books & Guides, 2004.

My first travel to the Silk Road was made when I just finished my university study.  This summer, my wife and I made our trip again.
We shall cover what we saw in the next few posts.

Ankara, Turkey : a modern face

Ankara is the capital of Turkey.  It is more centrally located in the country than Istanbul which is in the north western side.  General Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Father of modern Turkey, led the Turkish nationalist movement from Ankara.  The Republic of Turkey was found in 1923 with Ankara as its capital.  

Since then, Ankara underwent rapid development with many government and commercial establishments.  Its population has grown from less than one hundred thousand to about five million.  Modern architectures and high rise apartments shoot up in the city.  You can find more western style shopping malls here than other cities in Turkey.

(Students attending out-door class in the hall of a shopping mall)



(Beautiful sky dome of the shopping mall)

When you are in Ankara, you can visit the Ataturk Mausoleum.  It is the memorial tomb of the Father of Turkey.  It also serves as the modern national history museum. 


(Ataturk Mausoleum)

There are exhibits on battles fought by modern Turkey and its national building efforts.  One of the exhibits is for the battle of Canakkale.  General Ataturk led the Turkish soldiers and local residents to defend the Commonwealth forces from landing in Canakkale at the entrance of the Sea of Marmara. Thousands and thousands of lives from both sides were lost in the battle. This included many young Australians who came a long way to fight for the Commonwealth forces.  It reminds me of my visit to the Sydney Rose Garden fifteen years ago.  Near the entrance, there is a memorial statue for their lost souls in this battle. 

Ephesus, Turkey : a pearl in the Aegean Sea

Ephesus is in the Western side of Turkey, facing the Aegean Sea.  We had an memorable moment in watching the sunset over the Aegean Sea.  It was peaceful and warm.  With the Mediterranean weather and sunshine, local farmers grow many olive trees here.  You will feel more like in Greece.
  

(Sunset over the Aegean Sea)

Ephesus is a hot spot for tourists.  Each year, million of tourists from different parts of the world come here to enjoy the beautiful Aegean Sea and to visit local historical sites.  The port of Ephesus is a common stop over place for the Mediterranean cruises.



Ephesus has long history.  It had been under the dominance of the Persians, Alexander the Great,  the Romans and then the Turks.  Here you can see remains of different civilizations, including the Temple of Artemis, the Roman bath, the Celsus Library and the fort of Seljug Turks. 

(Ruins of Efes)



(The Celsus Library)



(Open air theater)



(Roman show for tourists)

 

Cappadocia, Turkey (2) : early Christainity

Many of you recognize Turkey as part of the Islamic world.  There are many beautiful mosques and Islamic architectures over the country.  Since the Ottoman Turks took over Constantinople in 1453 A.D., Turkey formed part of the Ottoman Empire and the Islamic world.


Early Christianity also took roots in Turkey.  We were told that Saint John wrote his Gospel in Ephesus, Turkey.  In Cappadocia, there were three great Christian theologians, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus.  They made significant contribution to the early development of Christianity.  If you are interested to learn more about their teaching, you can read Meredith, Anthony. The Cappadocians. New York: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1995.

Early Christians built many rock chapels in Cappadocia.   Chapels and monasteries were carved out of the hillsides.  


(Rock chapel and monastery in Goreme, Cappadocia)

 In you are in Cappadocia, try to see the Tokali Chapel (or the Church of the Buckle) and the Elmali Chapel (or called the Apple Church).  They were built around 10th ~ 11th A.D. in Goreme.  They have now been restored and become part of the tourist attractions. 

These chapels reminded me of the Mogao Caves (also known as Caves of the Thousand Buddhas) in Dunhuang, China.  Buddhist monks and pilgrims also built these temples from hillsides from 4th ~ 14th A.D. 


(Outside the Mogao caves)



Cappadocia, Turkey : a miracle of Nature

Cappadocia is somewhere in the middle of Turkey.  It is home of an interesting geological formation.  Millions of years ago, volcanic ashes from ancient volcanic eruptions fell upon Cappadocia.  Wind and water erosion cut through the lands to form immense valleys and rock structures.


(Valleys formed by land erosion)

Early peoples already knew how to cut through the soft rock structures in making their shelters and homes.  Over the century, hundreds of these homes were created.  Some were used as chapels, storage and hotels.  Some were carved out from underground.  Many of them were connected by underground paths as parts of the massive underground city.


(Some of the stone houses are still in use)

Building houses through excavations was also applied in other civilizations.  So far, I have come across similar mud house structures in the ancient city of Gaochang, Xinjiang and the Loess Plateau in China. 

Cappadocia is also a great place for riding hot air balloons.  You can watch the beautiful sunrise from the balloon and overlook the geological miracle from the top.  An hour ride can cost you about US$150.  We have tried and would like to recommend this to you.
Here are few pictures taken from the hot air balloon.


(Firing up the balloons)

(Many balloons in the sky)



(Came back to earth)

   

Turkey: a land of wonders

Our last trip to the Silk Road in China arose my interest in visiting Turkey.  Following the footsteps of ancient caravans, you can travel from China to Turkey.  My wife and I came to Turkey, the Western end of the Silk Road, in October 2010.



(The mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent, or commonly known as the Blue Mosque is Istanbul, Turkey)

Our previous understanding of Turkey was incomplete.  As we travelled through the country, we were amazed by its history, culture and people. 

Here you can find historical sites of the Hellenistic civilization, magnificent Roman cities from the Byzantine regime, beautiful Islamic architectures from the Ottoman Empire, modern buildings and shopping malls.

Turkey stands across Europe and Asia.  Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, resides in both continents with the Bosphorus strait in between.  It also holds the strategic position as the entrance to the Black Sea.  You can see many beautiful palaces, mosques, castles and estate houses along both sides of the strait.

(The Dolmabache Palace)

(The Fortress of Rumeli)

  



(Estate house with pleasure boat)

You can also find many beautiful handcrafts in the local markets.  My wife and I like the Turkish carpets and porcelains most.  We ended up buying an expensive silk carpet.  Its quality and craftsmanship justified its worth.    

(Turkish porcelain)



(Turkish carpet)

For those who are interested to read more about the traditional Turkish arts can see Glassie, Henry. Turkish traditional art today. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1993.

We will cover other interesting things that we saw in Turkey in the next few posts.