The Silk Road in Central Asia

The Silk Road was a centuries old trading route in Central Asia : A talk by Phil Cooper.

Here’s a flavor of the Silk Road from YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPowByzqZBA

Admission £2.50. Pay on the door

Bar, tea, coffee and raffle.

Non-members are always welcome.

My journey started in Ashgabat in Turkmenistan and finished in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. My talk is visually illustrated with numerous photographs and other visual effects.

Part 1 deals with the journey and some of the local sites and people and the more distant history. Many may not have heard of Kenya Urgench, but at one time it was a major hub along the Silk Road, as were Khiva and Bukhara. One of the main players in their ancient history was Genghis Khan and then Tamerlane. Tamerlanes capital was the fabled city of Samarkand, noted for its architecture, which made it an attraction for travelers during the last century.

Part 2 deals with the Great Game. This was a diplomatic and intelligence confrontation between Russia and Great Britain  for influence in the Central Asian region and even further south, as Russia threatened India. Czarist Russia increasingly encroached on the area from the north, which British intelligence officers monitored causing them to seek alliances with the local Khanates. This almost resulted in an Anglo-Russian war.