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The stunning Islamic architecture in Uzbekistan's Samarkand and Bukhara, the expansive landscapes of Kyrgyzstan's Issyk Kul, and China's Kashgar Bazaar.....
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00:09I'm in the far west of Uzbekistan in Central Asia and around me for 400 miles is desert in every
00:18direction this scene really has been unchanged for 2,000 years great camels ships of the desert
00:27they take me through strange places like that they can carry unimaginably heavy loads
00:34and it was really thanks to these guys that the Silk Road was able to operate at all
00:44the ancient network of trade routes ran between Europe and China
00:50so far on my travels along the Silk Road I've seen the flamboyant splendor of Venice
00:55even for a Venetian hat that's strange the modern glittering towers of Azerbaijan
01:00it's magic and the magnificent palaces and gardens of Iran absolutely peaceful on
01:07this leg of my journey holy smoke I'm going to visit some of the most stunning and
01:12historic Silk Road cities I mean look at it it's awesome there'll be a stimulating
01:17sauna and I shall witness the amazing and ancient art of eagle hunting follow me on
01:23my Silk Road adventure
01:33come lovely ones Uzbekistan is a double landlocked country and boasts some of the Silk Road's most important cities
01:44I'm in the west of the country in the Kizilcum desert
01:50I'm approaching Ayaz Kala and a fortress has been standing there since 300 years BC
01:59it was part of a chain of fortresses there were 50 of them built along here they're called the golden
02:04ring of Horazun
02:07these ancient fortresses were built to protect a valley on the Silk Road that was vulnerable to
02:13marauding nomads who'd break out of the desert and find rich pickings on the trade route
02:23look at that
02:28well that must be a little small fortress and maybe that's the ruins of a palace beside it down there
02:34look you can just see forever what a brilliant place to position a fort
02:42you'd be able to see a caravan trail coming miles away and you go these are friends
02:47don't fight these people they're bringing in gorgeous things they're bringing in spices and
02:52silk and flavors and coconut gee whiz so the Silk Road traders came here but their real goal their
03:00real destiny was over the horizon to the south the great desert city of Kiva
03:13these are the legendary fortress walls of Kiva gosh you see things in photographs and then when
03:19you see them in real life it looks like a sand castle Kiva offered water a market and a sanctuary
03:27from the desert and it has over 15 centuries of Silk Road history
03:36oh look at this baby look at you sweetheart hello darling
03:50the town became famous for some extraordinary headgear a must for any Silk Road trader taking on the Kizilcum desert
04:00this is gorgeous this is a sort of hat dancing these hats are called Chukirma
04:07they seem to be involved in this dance which is all to do with power and status having these hats
04:14was terribly important
04:18standing here looking rather marvelous with the balding head is Chukir and he's the
04:23he's the owner of this he's the kind of keeper of this Chukirma going back 500 years your family
04:31will have made these hats for caravansaray for the travelers coming through Kiva
04:47it looks very hot is it hot in the summer
04:51the constant mereka to go from Japan
04:57we have sets to um
04:58we will have possible that the skunk and ties all over there
04:59this also missing Christian yours petting the kpeople
05:02how are we if postal kim
05:04I'm bunun king
05:05I'm hung up with that email
05:07it wasn't a whale it's a murder
05:13It's Ce series of trash here
05:15Thank you so much. That was an honour to talk to you.
05:24Trade on the Silk Road was not just in fabric and spices.
05:28Human slaves were a major commodity.
05:31Hundreds of thousands were bought and sold.
05:33And as late as the 19th century, Kiva had an active slave market.
05:38Gosh, how ghastly it must have been.
05:40Russian boys were the prime target for the slavers
05:44because they sold for a lot of money.
05:46We were all kept and sold and traded here in the middle of Kiva.
05:50Heartbreaking.
05:51A man called Captain James Abbott, who was a British officer,
05:56he wrote,
05:57Alas, he who once enters Kiva abandons all hope as he who enters hell.
06:03His prison house is girdled with trackless deserts
06:08whose sole inhabitants are the sellers of human flesh.
06:15Looks gorgeous now, though.
06:24Leaving Kiva and the desert behind,
06:27we're travelling 500 miles to the Uzbek capital in the east
06:31and Central Asia's biggest city.
06:36Tashkent's history goes back to the 2nd century BC,
06:39when it was a tiny oasis town.
06:41But now it's a modern city with nearly 2.5 million inhabitants.
06:46The very words Tashkent sort of make you think,
06:48oh, Tashkent, I wonder what it's like.
06:50Will it be very strange and Central Asian and difficult?
06:54No, look at it, it's just...
06:55It's like Paris, actually.
06:57There's a legend that this is exactly halfway between China,
07:02where all the silk was coming from
07:04and beginning its journey towards the west,
07:06and Europe its destination.
07:08This was exactly the halfway mark.
07:15It's hard to believe it now, but around 50 years ago,
07:18this beautiful city was laid waste by a natural disaster.
07:23On April 26th in 1966, Tashkent was flattened by a massive earthquake.
07:29Hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes,
07:32but luckily only a handful were killed.
07:36At the time, the Soviet Union ruled Uzbekistan,
07:39and it was a catalyst for them to spend billions
07:42on redesigning Tashkent as a model Soviet city,
07:45and not just above ground.
07:51The Tashkent Metro carries just short of 60 million passengers a year,
07:56and for around 12 pence,
07:57you can go anywhere on the 36-kilometre network.
08:01Why this system is really special
08:03is that the 29 stations
08:05each have their own unique architectural theme.
08:10Now I'm changing trains,
08:12and I've got to find a station called Alicia Navoi.
08:14Excuse me, good year, Alicia Navoi.
08:17Uh-huh.
08:19Spasiba.
08:20There's a whole station dedicated to cotton,
08:22one of the country's biggest exports.
08:24Alicia Navoi.
08:25There are stations that celebrate the country's great poets,
08:28bread, chilies, also big news here.
08:31Isn't this beautiful?
08:35But I'm looking for one that's altogether more cosmic.
08:46These great cosmonauts.
08:48Is that Valentina Tershkova?
08:50She was an extraordinary woman.
08:52She was the first woman in space.
08:53She was an ordinary factory worker,
08:54and she circuited the globe 48 times.
08:59What a fabulous station.
09:01It's very cool and dark, like outer space.
09:07Gagariden.
09:09Here he is.
09:10First man in space.
09:12Wow.
09:12Wow.
09:13And here in Russian writing, cosmonauta.
09:19Cosmonauta.
09:20Cosmonauta.
09:20It goes on a bit at the end.
09:21Cosmonauta.
09:23Look at these glass gorgeous pillars.
09:26Isn't it nice to think that after a ghastly catastrophe,
09:30the great earthquake of 1966,
09:33that something so fine should be built?
09:37Hello, baby.
09:39Sweet.
09:40I think Uzbekistan are some of the sweetest children in the world.
09:44I could become a child kidnapper here.
09:47Sorry, I didn't mean to say that,
09:49and I'm obviously not going to do it.
09:58I'm going to an Uzbek wedding,
10:00but I haven't been invited by the bride and groom.
10:05I'm travelling with a pop band.
10:07Fantastic.
10:08This is the band.
10:10This is Raihon.
10:11Fabulous.
10:13Can you get in first?
10:14Boys, get in first.
10:17Weddings are absolutely huge here in Uzbekistan.
10:19They go on for four days,
10:20and they're massive, massively expensive.
10:23And some of them are so grand
10:24that they manage to get pop stars like Raihon to sing there.
10:29It's unbelievable.
10:29I'm getting in first.
10:30I feel rude.
10:31Look at this dress.
10:32We're going off to do a wedding gig tonight.
10:34At least we.
10:35I'm just going along with her.
10:42Raihon is one of Uzbekistan's biggest pop stars,
10:45with nearly eight million YouTube streams of her latest single.
10:51Here in Uzbekistan,
10:52it's perfectly normal to hire a big star to perform at your wedding reception.
10:57Have you sometimes sung for two weddings in the same night?
11:02Yes, of course.
11:03Yes?
11:04Two.
11:04Maybe three.
11:06No.
11:06Or four.
11:08My gosh.
11:09And do you ever get nervous before you go on stage?
11:14Every time.
11:15Do you?
11:15Yeah.
11:18Uzbek spend ten times the amount we do in the UK on weddings.
11:23Culturally, it's supposed to guarantee a wealthy future.
11:26Look at this.
11:28Isn't it fabulous?
11:31The country's president has spoken out against what he calls shameless spending that couples can't afford.
11:37And he's even tried to implement a cap.
11:41Look, look.
11:43He's been filmed on a jib and everybody dressed up to the nines.
11:49Great flyer arrangements on the table.
11:51I mean, weddings do this all the time, but it's so lovely to see it in a different country.
11:56Do you know, it doesn't matter what you put on, you look dowdy compared to everybody here.
12:15I think the dancers will be coming out.
12:19And when they come out, the right horn is on.
12:38The happy couple, to be honest, look slightly terrified.
12:42It's the tradition here that they ignore each other until after the ceremony.
12:46That, or they're wondering how on earth they will ever pay for this.
12:59I've often dreamt of taking the golden road to Samarkand.
13:03But I never imagined it would be on this sleek new train that's whizzing through Uzbekistan at speeds of up
13:09to 160 miles an hour.
13:12A bit wobbly, but come along.
13:15Hello, ladies.
13:16Hello.
13:17Lovely to see you.
13:18Hello.
13:22I know.
13:24We're on our way through to the buffet, but if we'd known that you were here, we would have made
13:27the entire film about you.
13:32That was a very merry group of little ladies.
13:34Look how beautiful this is.
13:37How lovely.
13:38Hello.
13:39This is, this is a beautiful bar.
13:42Oh my gosh, it's stacked up with drinks as well.
13:44Look at it.
13:45Could I have a cappuccino?
13:46Yes, cappuccino.
13:49Here's a travelling tip.
13:51Put things in bags.
13:53Put things in bags.
13:53I know this sounds like things old ladies do.
13:55Quite obviously I'm an old lady.
13:56But if you can, when you're packing, put things in a bag and you know what it's going to be.
14:00So in here, I know what it's going to be in here.
14:02I'll have my passport in there and I know that.
14:04My phone.
14:05And in here, I've got my money.
14:08It looks like millions.
14:10Sort of 5,000 is 50 pence.
14:15Everything's very cheap here.
14:23Oh my lord.
14:29You see, when you, when you travel, when you take the Golden Ridge Sam account, you literally
14:35don't know what you're going to get.
14:51No name evokes images of the Silk Road like the city of Samarkand.
14:57It was once the beating heart of a powerful empire that stretched from the Mediterranean
15:02in the west to the borders of China in the east.
15:07I think I love these colours so much, the combination of the dark blue turquoise on a
15:13sort of buff background with white.
15:16It looks sensational.
15:18And the amount of different patterns they managed to incorporate into every building.
15:22Practically no panel is the same as the one above it.
15:26Even in medieval Europe, Samarkand was renowned, prompting poets, playwrights and travellers
15:32to extol a city few had ever seen.
15:37Today, Uzbekistan cherishes this architectural masterpiece.
15:40And a programme of restoration is constantly repairing and restoring.
15:48Many people do take the golden road to Samarkand from near and afar to gaze at its scale and majesty.
15:57How are you?
15:59Yeah.
16:00Salam.
16:00Salam.
16:01Salam.
16:01You look so beautiful.
16:03So beautiful.
16:05English.
16:06English.
16:07English.
16:07English.
16:08English.
16:08English.
16:09How old am I?
16:10How old am I?
16:12Very, very old, darling.
16:14Are you from Samarkand?
16:16No.
16:17Where?
16:17Fergana.
16:19Fergana Valley, beautiful Fergana.
16:21Oh, there's Janice.
16:24So lovely to meet you.
16:26I love this Frida Carlos monobrow, which is Fergana Valley, I think, which is this decoration across
16:32there.
16:34Very sweet.
16:37This jewel of Islamic architecture is the ambition of one very powerful man.
16:43Amir Timur is known in the West as Tamerlane, whose 14th century imperial conquests killed
16:4917 million people.
16:51But he'd spare the lives of talented artists and architects from lands he conquered and put
16:57them to work building his magnificent capital.
17:00Oh, look at that.
17:02It's a delicacy.
17:06Timur died at the age of 69 on his way to wage war against the Chinese, whilst attempting
17:12to expand an empire within which trade and the Silk Road flourished.
17:21His final resting place is the magnificent Gur Emir, where thousands now flock to pay their
17:27respects to Timur, the conqueror of worlds.
17:37This must be the tomb of Amr Timur.
17:41There's a legend that there is a curse on it.
17:43But you mustn't tamper with it.
17:44In 1941, the Russians, who of course were running Uzbekistan at the time, decided for
17:49scientific purposes to open the tomb and exhume his body, which they did.
17:54Three days later, Hitler invaded Russia.
17:57So it was seen as a terrible curse opening the tomb.
18:01The next year, he was buried with full Islamic honors.
18:04And now he's lying to rest in this phenomenal, extraordinary, calm, quiet, beautiful place.
18:20Rhubarb, gunpowder and the mechanical clock all travel down the Silk Road.
18:25But Samarkand is renowned for one of life's daily basics.
18:29Bread, bread, bread, bread.
18:31OK.
18:33Hello, ladies.
18:34Oh, look.
18:36Gosh, she's got, look how, look how shiny.
18:38I want to see them.
18:40Gosh, they look so delicious.
18:41Here in Samarkand, the bread has almost magical properties.
18:44It's said to be able to stay fresh for absolutely ages.
18:49Thank you so much.
18:51Not only that, it's apparently impossible to recreate it anywhere else.
18:56I want to see how it's made.
18:58You made this?
18:59Yes, yes.
19:01Near here?
19:02Right.
19:02People debate whether it's the air, the altitude or the water.
19:07Hello.
19:09But I managed to track down some bakers who've been making it here in Samarkand for generations.
19:14For generations.
19:16I'm a little bit of salt.
19:18I'm a little bit of salt.
19:19I'm a little bit of salt.
19:20I'm a little bit of salt.
19:21Sesame seed?
19:21Mm-hmm.
19:22Why?
19:22Sesame.
19:23Sesame.
19:24Sesame.
19:24Sesame.
19:31This is hot.
19:33Put her down here.
19:35Look at these little hands.
19:36No.
19:36They're cool.
19:37But she's holding it.
19:38And this is, I tell you, so hot.
19:40It's like a burning, burning hot water pipe.
19:42It's burning hot.
19:43How long does this last?
20:03That's so lovely.
20:05It smells like paradise.
20:06it's cooling off enough for me to hold it and show it to you very quickly and
20:09then put it down because it's unbelievably hot I just want to see this
20:17fire being burnt up like this the smell here when they're setting up for the new
20:21baking I know okay I can sense that I'm just in the way here but look at that
20:35I can't tell you how good it is it's very dense please come through it's very thick
20:42dense so it's not light and furry and airy
20:59Samarkand is known as the glittering capital of Timur's medieval Empire but I've become
21:04intrigued by a mysterious people who were fundamental to the Silk Road centuries before Timur set foot here
21:14the Sogdians and the great city that they built have all but vanished from the earth but in the 1970s
21:21new roadworks uncovered a glimpse into their glorious past come with me the Sogdians these are my new
21:31heroes and I'm going to tell you why look at this seventh century it's a mural depicting what the Sogdians
21:43did they were traders they were the most extraordinary people they came from Persia and they settled in this area
21:50made Samarkand their capital and they were really the enablers of the Silk Road they were the brokers of it
21:58they traded not only in goods but they enabled religions to flow through from the east to the west
22:04everything came through the Sogdians who were utterly utterly brilliant this fascinating fresco shows
22:12people from Korea India China and Tibet all coming to pay their respects to the Sogdian king here in the
22:20middle are the Chinese they've come from China bringing cocoons of silk the Sogdian Empire were so so clever
22:30the Chinese were quite suspicious of them they said when a Sogdian boy is born they put honey in his
22:37mouth and glue on the palm of his baby hand so that when he speaks he speaks sweetly and when
22:43he sees
22:44money it sticks to his hand so these are all the glories of Sogdiana in the old days the most
22:51important and
22:52now almost overlooked empire some extraordinary physical remains have also been discovered
22:59some Sogdians practiced cranial deformation and it produced a distinctive elongated skull
23:17in what method did they bind them into the blood from I know so yosh brown yosh to pay to
23:23the amal gosh
23:24rather we should talk again and talk be sure bug on tower down the Sunni was got a ladder can
23:29we touch it
23:30Albatto is it your money? Oh
23:33Yes, I will
23:35So how old is this?
23:37We're telling mom but they're kind of coming in the target. Okay. Yeah
23:41You give my bitch good to Josh Lerda
23:44You give a little shit. I old chaining boss channel so but that it shouldn't get one of you teach
23:50If you look at that it must have been extraordinary
23:53to see a sogdian coming to you because they not only were
23:57Amazingly clever and brilliant and different and important
24:02You look different. They look like aliens
24:05It's beautiful. I wonder what her name was little person sweet sweet little one
24:14Samarkand has indeed been golden, but it's time to leave Uzbekistan and venture east to surprising and beautiful
24:23Kyrgyzstan
24:34I
24:34We've left Uzbekistan and are traveling to its mountainous and rugged neighbor Kyrgyzstan
24:40Nestled among the Tianshan mountains is its capital city Bishkek
24:48I mean look at it it's awesome and the flag with the symbol of the yurt on it
24:54It is so beautiful with air like champagne
25:00People first settled here in the sixth century to establish a sogdian trading post
25:06Like all the central Asian countries Kyrgyzstan was part of the Soviet Union until its independence in 1991
25:12Which may explain this goose stepping it was first started by the Prussian army in the mid 18th century
25:19Before spreading to Imperial Russia
25:22Changing the guard happens the world over but it's always fascinating to see how it's done in another country
25:28I should just say that the color of the uniforms here is
25:31It's stunning a sort of very dark teal I would say uniforms it always works actually
25:41This is a mainly Muslim country
25:44But its communist legacy gives it a much less strict Islamic feel than other countries I visited
25:51The Kyrgyz people have their origins in the western parts of modern-day Mongolia
25:57And the word Kyrgyz means a collection of 40 tribes and the 40 rays of Sun on the national flag
26:04refer to these ancient clans
26:06Although beautiful Bishke capital of Kyrgyzstan is now a city of over a million and a quarter people
26:11In the old days when it was part of the sogdian Empire
26:14It was just a simple trading post on the important Silk Road traveling from China all the way across to
26:20the East and
26:23And
26:23And
26:24What was it was very very green
26:26Very very green city
26:28Holy smoke
26:34Under the Soviet Union
26:37I think a lot of trees have disappeared
26:51It's a place of head
26:52The cool kids of Bishkek are all into K-pop Korean pop music
26:57And I ask somebody stop me
26:59And I'm gonna pop up
27:01And I'm gonna pop up
27:01To a piece of you
27:02And I'm gonna pop up
27:03And I'm gonna pop up
27:04And I'm gonna pop up
27:06And I'm gonna pop up
27:07And I'm gonna pop up
27:08You gave me quite a shock
27:09I was trying to do a serious piece
27:11About Bishkek
27:12And suddenly
27:13You look so cool
27:17Look at this
27:18Look at this
27:18Look at this
27:19Is this cool in Kyrgyzstan?
27:21Yeah
27:21Absolutely
27:22Because K-pop is a culture of Asian countries
27:30And we see ourselves in them
27:32How do you do that?
27:34Make up and clothes?
27:35Yes
27:36This is K-pop
27:39You look really good
27:42Seeing people enjoying their freedom
27:44It's easy to forget
27:45The dramatic events
27:46That took place
27:47Here in Bishkek
27:48In the spring of 2010
27:54Political tension erupted
27:55When the people took to the streets
27:57In protest against
27:58President Bakayev's corruption
27:59And the crippling hikes in fuel costs
28:04A state of emergency was declared
28:06And around 4,000 protesters
28:08Moved towards Alatu Square
28:10And surrounded the White House
28:12The office of the president
28:14And the government fired on the crowd
28:1680 people were killed
28:17In the return fire
28:18You can see there's still some pockmarks up there
28:21They had Chechen mercenaries up on the roof
28:23Sharp shooters
28:24Absolutely horrifying
28:26People lying here in pools of blood
28:27Cities have a way of rebuilding themselves
28:29Sometimes
28:30This one has
28:35Marina Kim is a young woman
28:37Who's keen to see Kyrgyzstan move forward
28:40Marina you teach in the university here
28:42Can you tell me
28:44How long you spent in England
28:45To get your perfect English?
28:47Do you want me to be honest?
28:49Yes I do
28:49When I was a school girl
28:52I was in love with boys band Backstreet Boys
28:56And I was so in love with them
28:59So I started learning English
29:01To understand what are they talking about
29:03Oh
29:03And I started learning English
29:06And then I entered the American University of Central Asia
29:08Yeah
29:09I think that my English is good enough
29:11But not perfect
29:12It's extremely good
29:13And you have such
29:14I don't know anybody else
29:15Who's a professor at university and also a DJ
29:17I mean this is an extraordinary combination
29:19And you haven't slept all last night
29:21No
29:21What were you doing? Tell me
29:23I was DJing playing at the bar where I'm working as a DJ
29:28I had no chance to sleep
29:29You had no chance to sleep
29:30Yeah
29:31Marina tell me what life is like for women after you've seceded from Soviet Union
29:36I sometimes feel like a pioneer in living the life as I want it to be
29:45You know because for example our mothers and our grandmothers
29:49They were always pressed by the society like you should get married
29:53You should have kids
29:55You should stay at home
29:57Yes stay at home
29:58Just shut up and stuff
30:00And I feel like I'm the first generation of women who are very free
30:04And we live our lives as we wanted to live
30:09And we are very positive
30:13So this is new Kyrgyzstan
30:15I just adore it
30:24Driving eastwards we come across the world's second largest saline lake
30:30Fed by hot subterranean springs
30:32The beautiful lake of Issykul
30:35Offered a balmy respite for Silk Road traders
30:37Coming across the mountains from China
30:40But its beauty hides a grim history
30:42Experts believe that the Black Death
30:45That plagued Europe and Asia during the 14th century
30:47Originated here
30:52The northern shores are popular with Russian tourists escaping the summer heat
30:57But on the far more rustic southern side
30:59Is a beguiling little yurt camp right on the lake shore
31:10Come and see inside
31:11I have to duck
31:13Look at this gorgeous space I've got
31:15I've got a beautiful skylight at the top
31:19And look here
31:19Chest of drawers
31:20I've got with a great big mirror here
31:21I've put all my books and stuff out there
31:24I thought I'd put some things in the drawers
31:25But
31:28I think somebody's living here actually
31:30Because they're three hats
31:31I mean I like a hat
31:33But I wouldn't have asked for three hats
31:35Anyway
31:35I've got a lovely bed here
31:36Come come I've got a bathroom
31:38This is rare
31:39This is built onto the side of a yurt
31:41You don't usually have this
31:44Lavatory
31:46And you put the paper in the little bin
31:47Because I don't think it's got the capabilities of
31:51Come see my shower
31:54I think somebody's in here already
31:55Do you see what I mean?
31:56There's a sense
31:56Sense that I'm encroaching
31:58I've obviously thrown them out
31:59I've thrown them out
32:00I don't mind doing that sometimes
32:01I'm rich and important
32:02I do this
32:08Hello honey
32:09It's so beautiful
32:10The sound of birds singing
32:13Chickens wandering around
32:15Apple trees in blossom
32:18That's a turkey gobbling over there actually I think
32:22And this gorgeous yurt is the kitchen
32:24And in here they're making
32:26Mante
32:27Which are sort of pastry dumplings really
32:29And these are found everywhere
32:31From Turkey and Albania
32:33All across the Caspian Sea
32:35And across Nepal, Tibet
32:37Right through into China
32:38And of course here in Kyrgyzstan
32:39I think each region
32:41Twists them slightly differently
32:43Look how pretty
32:44Look how beautiful
32:46These are some cooking already
32:48And it's steamed
32:48How many minutes?
32:51Kyrpysh
32:51Kyrpysh
32:52Just tippy tippy top
32:56That gives me just enough time
32:58To make use of the camp facilities
33:01Well isn't that divine?
33:04Look at that
33:05It's the mobile sauna
33:06Unusual little vehicle
33:09Who's left behind by the Russians?
33:11Up we go
33:13Here it says
33:14This
33:17On the door
33:18So this means go in
33:22Little bit of a
33:23Kick into the sauna chamber
33:31How lovely is this?
33:35Oh that's blissful
33:37Oh I can feel
33:42Years of filth pouring out of me
33:57Huh
33:58Whoa
34:02Where are we going?
34:05Oh
34:14Um
34:16Is this a bit off?
34:20Oh we've stopped
34:22Can this be right?
34:26Oh
34:26Oh
34:28I'm in the lake
34:30I might just
34:31Put my feet in
34:33I think
34:34That's lovely
34:35That's all I really wanted
34:36To cool off on
34:38Just my feet
34:40Goodness
34:40It's cold
34:53Just along the lake shore
34:55From my yacht camp
34:56Is the town of Bokon Bajevo
34:59I'm popping in to meet a family
35:00That for generations
35:01Has practiced one of Central Asia's
35:03Most ancient skills
35:06Thank you
35:07Thank you
35:09Hunting with eagles
35:11Is still a big part
35:12Of the Kyrgyz culture
35:14Wonderful picture
35:16Over the centuries
35:18Man has trained these birds
35:19To catch wild animals
35:20For meat
35:21And for their valuable fur
35:25Kateden has hunted with eagles
35:27All his life
35:27And is now passing on these skills
35:29To his young family
35:35You're going well my old pony
35:39Kateden
35:40Kateden
35:40And his eldest daughter
35:41Aruke
35:41Are taking me up into the mountains
35:43With Sirgag
35:44A seven-year-old female eagle
35:46To show me
35:47Just what she's capable of
35:53Wow
35:54What a view
35:57The whole of the lake
35:58Spreading around in these rough mountains
36:00And this beautiful eagle waiting to fly
36:14Would it be possible for me to hold the eagle?
36:18Yeah?
36:19Like that?
36:22How beautiful
36:23Quite a heavy bird
36:25There we are
36:26What sort of personality does this bird have?
36:29Is she a good girl?
36:42It's such a great privilege to hold this bird
36:45Extraordinary claws
36:46Holding on to the leather glove
36:48And she's hooded
36:49Completely calm
36:51I've got such a sense of holding on to power
36:55Will you be very kind
36:56And take your beautiful bird back
36:58As my arm is aching?
37:01Thank you lovely bird
37:03For letting me hold you
37:08Eagles are hard-wired
37:10Into detecting movement
37:11Over great distances
37:12And they can spot a rabbit
37:14Or fox
37:14Over two miles away
37:16So Kateden has gone right down there
37:18With something that looks like a fox
37:20It isn't
37:21On the end of a string
37:22And he's going to pull it
37:23And then she's going to take the hood off
37:25And she's going to release the jesses
37:46And the bird will fly
37:47Look at that
37:49Straight as an arrow
37:51Straight down
37:53During the times of the Silk Road
37:55Animal skins were a highly sought-after commodity
37:58As long ago as the 10th century
38:00Half a million pelts of sable, ermine, mink and fox
38:04Were traded across continents
38:06To foreign markets thousands of miles away
38:08Over the centuries
38:10Meat from animals caught by the eagles
38:12Also helped keep many people alive
38:22This is where my journey takes a dive south
38:25200 miles towards the Chinese border
38:28The landscape is immense
38:30High mountain passes
38:32And vast wide valleys
38:35As the traces of modern man diminish
38:38I can imagine huge caravans
38:40Of horses and camels
38:41Passing through this terrain
38:43That's remained unchanged
38:44For millennia
38:49Nestled in this huge river valley
38:52Atbashi
38:52Atbashi is the last town
38:53On the road to China
38:58I've managed to get here
38:59To catch the local school's assembly
39:02It's quite a do
39:10The name Atbashi means horse's head
39:12After the legend of a herder
39:14Who chased his favourite horse
39:16300 miles to this town
39:18All the way from Uzbekistan
39:25Tell me what it's like living here
39:27Do you visit?
39:29Do you go to Bishkek sometimes?
39:30Do you stay here?
39:31Do you travel abroad?
39:35Yeah, when we have a holiday
39:36They are going to Bishkek
39:38But many times here
39:39Yes, of course
39:40Have any of you been outside the country?
39:44No
39:44No, no, no, not yet
39:45You will
39:46You will
39:47Look at your lovely tie
39:48Look at this, isn't it?
39:52Go have this
39:53So your name is?
39:55Joanna
39:57United by a selfie
39:58In this remote corner of Kyrgyzstan
40:02The Kyrgyz people
40:03Were once a race of nomadic herders
40:05And today most families
40:06In Atbashi
40:07Have a scratch of land
40:09To keep a few animals on
40:12Muskal and her husband
40:13Narinbek
40:14Keep horses, cows, goats
40:16And a few sheep
40:17And a few sheep
40:19And a few sheep
40:20And a few sheep
40:21And a few sheep
40:22And a few sheep
40:23Over there
40:24Over there
40:25Over there
40:28But they also have a herd
40:29Which stays at high altitude
40:31And with the money they get
40:32From breeding them
40:33They've managed to put
40:34Four children through college
40:36Oh, look
40:39Ooh
40:40A herd of yaks
40:42It's literally unbelievable
40:43I feel this as though
40:44I'm right at the beginning of time
40:46What beautiful heads
40:47Beautiful faces
40:49Look at that
40:52Even through the long harsh winter
40:54The yaks look after themselves
40:55In the mountains
40:57Is your herd healthy?
40:58Is it happy?
40:59Is it expanding?
41:09Yes
41:18It's easy to forget that these hardy animals were crucial
41:21To establishing a silk road
41:22Across mountainous parts of the world
41:25It was like a kind of relay race
41:27The trading on the silk road
41:29They took goods to the next post, exchanged them,
41:32and then that person took them on to the next round,
41:34literally passing the trade on and on and on.
41:36And the coldest and the most hostile regions were covered by the yak,
41:41carrying immense burdens.
41:44I have actually once ridden a yak.
41:48It's very hairy, very comfortable.
41:51They're quite cross all the time.
41:54They're always going, oh, all right.
42:03It feels like I'm at the end of the earth,
42:05but my route to the Chinese border is pulling me ever southwards.
42:09But before the border, I'm going in search of somewhere
42:11that's been an important sanctuary on a dangerous and remote part of the Silk Road,
42:16and it's fascinated me for years.
42:19The journey to get there is an experience in itself,
42:22diverted off the main road towards sheer cliffs,
42:25which seem to part and reveal a secret pass to a hidden inner valley.
42:34Myths, legends, even ghosts abound within this fabled building.
42:38Oh, my gosh, Tash Rabat.
42:41I've been longing to come here all my life.
42:44And now,
42:46I'm here.
42:57The temperature has plummeted.
43:01I've read so much about this.
43:06Tash Rabat was used as a 15th century caravanserai,
43:10but some scholars believe it to have much more ancient origins.
43:13No one really knows why or when it was built.
43:17Oh, no!
43:20Look at this.
43:28I wonder what goes on in here.
43:30These dark little antechambers.
43:32Ooh, this room spooks me a bit.
43:35You can see how it's a labyrinth.
43:37From the outside, it looked quite contained,
43:39but I wouldn't like to be here at night.
43:41I'm here on a bright day.
43:49Look at this.
43:52That skylight, much, much better built.
43:54And then here,
43:58this extraordinary buttressing.
44:01What kind of mortar did they use
44:02to keep it here for century after century?
44:06I wonder if this is where rich men slept.
44:09Gosh, there's nothing.
44:10I know nothing.
44:11I love it.
44:18It's quite extraordinary to come to this place.
44:20It is so remote.
44:23It is so unreachable.
44:25But I'm here.
44:29It's absolutely redolent of history.
44:32All the people who've ever passed through it,
44:34century after century after century,
44:36all their thoughts and memories
44:38and griefs and ambitions
44:40stored in these walls.
44:42It's not haunted.
44:44It's inhabited.
44:47It's inhabited.
44:49Tashrabat.
45:00Beyond those mountains lies
45:01the People's Republic of China.
45:03We've traveled nearly 4,000 miles
45:06through eight very different countries.
45:08We started in Venice
45:10and found the ancient records of Marco Polo.
45:13In Turkey, we visited caravanserais
45:15and underground Christian churches.
45:18We've seen modern and booming Azerbaijan,
45:21the vast scale and beauty of Iran
45:24and the stunning cities and landscapes of Central Asia,
45:29all the way to China,
45:30where the Silk Road began.
45:34Wow, we've driven here
45:35through the most majestic scenery
45:37and this is the border to China
45:40and that's where I was hoping to go
45:41but most annoyingly,
45:43this time I wasn't given permission
45:45to film in the People's Republic of China.
45:48Tash.
45:48And it's just so annoying
45:50because that country has got
45:51not only the great historic base
45:53of the whole Silk Road,
45:54silk being developed there
45:56and all its importance in our story,
45:58but the modern wonders of China
46:00and its own new Silk Road,
46:02all the things we could have shown you there.
46:05Tash.
46:05But maybe next time.
46:08Who knows?
46:13Still to come tonight,
46:15discussing the big issues,
46:17former Brexit minister Steve Baker
46:19joins Peston after the news at 10.45.
46:22LAUGHTER
46:27MUSIC
46:28MUSIC
46:29MUSIC
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