Walking to Samarkand: The Great Silk Road from Persia to Central Asia | 
pickI am loving this series from Bernard Ollivier about his treck across the Silk Road. This all happened in the early 2000‘s but I believe the books were only recently translated into English. In this part of the journey he picks up where he left off in Turkey then travels across Iran and Turkmenistan. My favorite parts are when he connects with locals although it is very apparent this is never a trip a woman would be able to make.
I didn‘t think I‘d get my full 2 miles in before what‘s left of Debby hit us. It held off though and there‘s a breeze! Even skipping the Olympics tonight so I can sit outside and enjoy the wind. Enjoying this audiobook as well! I listened to the first in the series last month for #FoodAndLit
Ebook on sale. But you must start with book one, Out of Istanbul, the series by the author who walked the entire Silk Road. I‘ve only read books one and two so far & loved them. But I have to admit book one made me extremely depressed & sent me into a reading slump. Once he entered the eastern part of Turkey the locals were downright evil to him. It made me so sad that people treated others like that. Spoiler: he did survive to write books 2 & 3.
pickInteresting and informative. IMHO this book is better than book one of the three book series. Looking forward to book three.
#wondrouswednesday Thanks @EadieB for the tag!
1. Norway, Switzerland, England
2. Reading and pedicures, preferably at the same time! Massages are pretty awesome, too
3. Tagged
4. My cuddly kitty, my daughter‘s loving her first year in college, hubby and son, and my family on Litsy! Shout out to @Doll8455 @freeatlast1137 & sometimes @arielmonsen (feel free to play as well!)
pickThis would be a 5-star book if I didn‘t find it so depressing; it left me in a slump for months. So it gets 4-stars. I love this trilogy (this is book 2) about the author‘s walking the Silk Road. I feel like I‘ve learned so much about each country thanks to the people he meets and the sights he sees, and the gosh awful way he‘s treated by corrupt police or religious radicals—at 1 point I just couldn‘t take it anymore—I had to tell myself, “He ⬇️
The author has crossed into Uzbekistan and has continually faced hassling from the corrupt police. But he‘s also dumbfounded by all the cotton for the reasons he describes here.
#readingasia2021 #Uzbekistan @librarybelle @barbarabb
The author is well past the Iranian border as he walks the Silk Road and I haven‘t found much to like in #Turkmenistan until now.
#readingasia2021 #Turkmenistan @librarybelle @barbarabb
The author visited this beautiful mosque while in Mashhad, the second largest city in the country. Photo from:
https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/463893/Goharshad-Mosque-highly-distinctive-in-t...
#readingasia2021 #Iran @librarybelle @barbarabb
This makes me want to read The Book of Kings!
#readingasia2021 #Iran @librarybelle @barbarabb
After numerous run-ins with religious fanatics, the author who is hiking the Silk Road falls in with a huge group of young Muslims pilgrimming to one of the holy cities in #Iran. He‘s encountered numerous kind and generous folks. But it‘s such a relief for him (and the reader) to come across people practicing their religion in such a peaceful and beautiful way.
#readingasia2021 #Iran @librarybelle @barbarabb
This sounds so similar to what happened in Pakistan since I just read of a very similar set of circumstances in I Am Malala, in which the mullahs and their followers took it upon themselves to do the “policing.”
#readingasia2021 #Iran @librarybelle @barbarabb
The author, walking across #Iran right now, as part of his hike along the Silk Road, has witnessed quite a bit of casual opium use.
#readingasia2021 #Iran @librarybelle @barbarabb
I recall this being true of the Egyptians when I read Cleopatra. Is it a “royalty “ thing?
#readingasia2021 #Iran @librarybelle @barbarabb
Wow. This taxi driver dad reminds me Malala‘s father wanting freedom for Malala. What a coincidence reading this after just reading I Am Malala today, but this is #Iran rather than Pakistan.
#readingasia2021 #Iran @librarybelle @barbarabb
This is the second book in a trilogy about the author‘s walking the entirety of the Silk Road. I had stopped reading it early in the summer because it stressed me so badly what the author was facing from religious extremists in #Iran. Having just finished I am Malala, I think I‘m ready to pick up where I left off. He‘s about to head into a deadly desert, so I‘m not sure the stress will let up anytime soon. #readingasia2022
Well, who knew? Cultures do have their idiosyncrasies. #readingasia2021 #Iran
The author is trekking across #Iran on foot in the first part of the book. He‘s feeling glum and he described it well. It‘s a good description of how I feel sometimes tackling a chore, or just going to work. #readingasia2021
I thoroughly enjoyed book 1 of the author‘s trek of the Silk Road so I‘m ready for book 2! If he was able to stick with his plans at end of book 1, he should pick up where he left off in Turkey and should quickly move into #Iran. #readingasia2021
pickI really enjoyed this travelogue/memoir of Ollivier‘s journey from the eastern border of Turkey through Iran and Turkmenistan, into Uzbekistan. I love this region of the world so was enthralled with his descriptions of the scenery. But my favorite portions of the book were his interactions with the people.
