- 2 months ago
The stunning Islamic architecture in Uzbekistan's Samarkand and Bukhara, the expansive landscapes of Kyrgyzstan's Issyk Kul, and China's Kashgar Bazaar.....
丝绸之路探险之旅是一个艺术、文化和生活方式项目，旨在探索丝绸之路丰富的历史遗产。
丝绸之路探险之旅是一个艺术、文化和生活方式项目，旨在探索丝绸之路丰富的历史遗产。
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TravelTranscript
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 Zanikli Mottomous is Kili Mott
04:55you know yours don't kill kids can be on top of all of your songs in Kish can
05:00yours petting the could go the could close is supposed to come
05:05I'm gonna keep you can but that you listen music will other can it's a near
05:08missus in it a yellow
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.
05:46All 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,
06:43with nearly 2.5 million inhabitants.
06:45The 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,
07:17but around 50 years ago,
07:18this beautiful city was laid waste by a natural disaster.
07:23On April the 26th in 1966,
07:26Tashkent 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
07:53of 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.
08:15Excuse me, good year, Alicia Navoi?
08:17Uh-huh.
08:18Spasiba.
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,
08:29bread, chillies, 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.
09:07Gagarin.
09:09Here he is.
09:10First man in space.
09:12Wow.
09:13And here in Russian writing,
09:17Cosmonauta.
09:19Cosmonauta.
09:20It goes on a bit at the end.
09:21Cosmonauta.
09:23Look at these glass gorgeous pillars.
09:27Isn't it nice to think that after a ghastly catastrophe,
09:29the 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?
10:14The boys 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.
10:22And some of them are so grand that they managed 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.
10:39I'm getting in first.
10:41I'm getting in first.
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, it'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, maybe 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?
11:16Yeah.
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.
11:48Great flyer arrangements on the table.
11:50I 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.
12:02Just dowdy.
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, looks 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.
13:17It's lovely 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 a beautiful bar.
13:42It'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.
13:53I know this sounds like things old ladies do, and quite 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 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 travel, when you take the Golden Ridge Samacan, you literally don't know what you're going to
14:37get.
14:51No name evokes images of the Silk Road like the city of Samacan.
14:57It was once the beating heart of a powerful empire that stretched from the Mediterranean in the west to the
15:03borders of China in the east.
15:07I think I love these colours so much.
15:10The combination of the dark blue turquoise on a sort of buff background with white.
15:16It looks sensational, and 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, Samacan was renowned, prompting poets, playwrights and travellers to extol a city few had ever seen.
15:36Today, Uzbekistan cherishes this architectural masterpiece.
15:41And a programme of restoration is constantly repairing and restoring.
15:48Many people do take the golden road to Samacan from near and afar to gaze at its scale and majesty.
15:57Are you there?
15:59Yeah.
15:59Salam.
16:00Salam.
16:01You look so beautiful.
16:03It's so beautiful.
16:03It's so beautiful.
16:05English.
16:06English.
16:07English.
16:08English.
16:08English.
16:09How old am I?
16:11How old am I?
16:12Very, very old, darling.
16:14Are you from Samacan?
16:16No.
16:17Where?
16:17Fergana.
16:19Fergana Valley.
16:19Beautiful Fergana.
16:21There's Janis.
16:24So lovely to meet you.
16:26I love this Frida Carlos monobrow, which is Fergana Valley, I think, which is this decoration across there.
16:33Very sweet.
16:35Very 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 17 million people.
16:51But he'd spare the lives of talented artists and architects from lands he conquered and put them to work building
16:58his magnificent capital.
17:00Oh, look at that.
17:02It's a delicacy.
17:05Timur died at the age of 69 on his way to wage war against the Chinese, whilst attempting to expand
17:12an empire within which trade and the Silk Road flourished.
17:21His final resting place is the magnificent Ghur Emir, where thousands now flock to pay their respects to Timur, the
17:29conqueror of worlds.
17:37This must be the tomb of Amir Timur.
17:41There's a legend that there is a curse on it.
17:43You mustn't tamper with it.
17:44In 1941, the Russians, who of course were running Uzbekistan at the time, decided for scientific purposes to open the
17:51tomb 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 honours.
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, he'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.
18:45It'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, yes.
19:01Near here?
19:02Right.
19:03People debate whether it's the air, the altitude or the water.
19:06Hello.
19:08Oh, bye.
19:08Oh.
19:09But I managed to track down some bakers who've been making it here in Samarkand for generations.
19:31This is hot.
19:33Put it down here.
19:35Look at these little hands.
19:36No.
19:36No.
19:37It's 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 so burning hot.
19:43How long does this last?
20:04It's so hot.
20:05It smells like paradise.
20:06It's cooling off enough for me to hold it and show it to you very quickly and then put
20:09it down because it's unbelievably hot.
20:12It's so hot.
20:16I just want to see this fire being burnt up like this.
20:19The smell here when they're setting up for the new baking.
20:24I know.
20:27Okay, I can sense that I'm just in the way here.
20:30But look at that.
20:35I can't tell you how good it is.
20:37It's very dense.
20:38Please come through.
20:39It's very thick, dense, so it's not light and furry and airy.
20:59Samarkand is known as the glittering capital of Timur's medieval empire.
21:04But I've become intrigued by a mysterious people who are fundamental to the Silk Road,
21:09centuries before Timur set foot here.
21:14The Sogdians and the great city that they built have all but vanished from the earth.
21:19But in the 1970s, new roadworks uncovered a glimpse into their glorious past.
21:25Come with me.
21:28The Sogdians.
21:30These are my new heroes and I'm going to tell you why.
21:35Look at this.
21:37Seventh century.
21:41It's a mural depicting what the Sogdians did.
21:44They were traders.
21:45They were the most extraordinary people.
21:47They came from Persia and they settled in this area, made Samarkand their capital.
21:53And they were really the enablers of the Silk Road.
21:57They 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.
22:10This fascinating fresco shows people from Korea, India, China and Tibet all coming to pay their respects to the Sogdian
22:18king.
22:19Here in the middle are the Chinese.
22:22They've come from China, bringing cocoons of silk.
22:27The Sogdian empire were so, so clever.
22:30The Chinese were quite suspicious of them.
22:32They said, when a Sogdian boy is born, they put honey in his mouth and glue on the palm of
22:39his baby hand.
22:40So that when he speaks, he speaks sweetly.
22:42And when he sees money, it sticks to his hand.
22:46So these are all the glories of Sogdiana in the old days.
22:50The most important and now almost overlooked empire.
22:56Some extraordinary physical remains have also been discovered.
23:00Some Sogdians practised cranial deformation and it produced a distinctive elongated skull.
23:08In what method? Did they bind them?
23:19In what method?
23:21In what method?
23:28Can we touch it?
23:33Oh, yes, I will.
23:35So how old is this?
23:41Wow.
23:50If you look at that, it must have been extraordinary to see a Sogdian coming to you.
23:55Because they not only were amazingly clever and brilliant and different and important.
24:02They look different.
24:03They look like aliens.
24:05It's beautiful.
24:06I wonder what her name was, little person.
24:08Sweet.
24:09Beautiful.
24:09Sweet little one.
24:14Samarkand has indeed been golden.
24:17But it's time to leave Uzbekistan and venture east to surprising and beautiful Kyrgyzstan.
24:34We've left Uzbekistan and are travelling to its mountainous and rugged neighbour, Kyrgyzstan.
24:40Nestled among the Tian Shan mountains is its capital city, Bishkek.
24:48I mean, look at it. It's awesome.
24:51And 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.
25:13Which may explain this goose-stepping.
25:15It was first started by the Prussian army in the mid-18th century before 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 colour of the uniforms here is stunning.
25:32A sort of very dark teal, I would say.
25:36Uniforms, it always works, actually.
25:42This is a mainly Muslim country.
25:44But its communist legacy gives it a much less strict Islamic feel than other countries I've visited.
25:51The Kyrgyz people have their origins in the western parts of modern-day Mongolia.
25:56And the word Kyrgyz means a collection of 40 tribes.
26:01And the 40 rays of sun on the national flag refer to these ancient clans.
26:06Although beautiful Bishke, capital of Kyrgyzstan, is now a city of over a million and a quarter people,
26:12in the old days, when it was part of the Sogdian Empire, it was just a simple trading post on
26:17the important Silk Road,
26:18travelling from China all the way across to the east.
26:21And whilst it was very, very green, very, very green city.
26:29Holy smoke!
26:34Under the Soviet Union, I think a lot of trees have disappeared.
26:52The cool kids of Bishkek are all into K-pop Korean pop music.
26:57But somebody stop me, I'm not a pop-up.
27:01To a piece if you know my body and dead.
27:07You gave me quite a shock.
27:09I was trying to do a serious piece about Bishkek, and suddenly, tsh!
27:16you look so cool look at this look at this is this cool in Kyrgyzstan yeah absolutely
27:30how do you do that make up and clothes this is k-pop you look really good
27:42seeing people enjoying their freedom it's easy to forget the dramatic events that took place here
27:47in Bishkek in the spring of 2010 political tension erupted when the people took to the
27:56streets in protest against President Bakayev's corruption and the crippling hikes in fuel costs
28:03a state of emergency was declared and around 4,000 protesters moved towards Alatu Square
28:10and surrounded the White House the office of the president and the government fired on the crowd
28:1680 people were killed in the return fire you can see there's still some pockmarks up there they had
28:21Chechen mercenaries up on the roof sharp shooters it's really horrifying people lying here in pools
28:27of blood cities have a way of rebuilding themselves sometimes this one has Marina Kim is a young woman
28:37who's keen to see Kyrgyzstan move forward Marina you teach in the university here can you tell me
28:44how long you spent in England to get your perfect English do you want me to be honest yes I
28:49do when
28:50I was a school girl I was in love with boys band backstreet boys and I was so in love
28:58with them so I started
29:00learning English to understand what are they talking about and I start learning English and then I entered
29:07the American versus Central Asia yeah I think that my English is good enough but not perfect extremely good
29:13you have such I don't know anybody else who's a professor at university and also a DJ I mean
29:18this is an extraordinary combination and you haven't slept all last night have you what were you doing
29:22tell me I was teaching playing at the bar where I'm working as a DJ I had no chance to
29:29sleep no
29:29chance to sleep Marina tell me what life is like for women after you've seceded from Soviet Union I
29:36I sometimes feel like a pioneer in living the life as I want it to be you know because for
29:47example our
29:47mothers and our grandmothers they were always pressed by the society like you should get married you should
29:54have kids you should stay at home yes stay at home just shut up and stuff and I feel like
30:01I'm the first
30:01generation of women who are very free and we live our lives as we wanted to live and we are
30:11very positive
30:13so this is new Kyrgyzstan I just adore it
30:24driving eastwards we come across the world's second largest saline lake fed by hot
30:31subterranean springs the beautiful lake of Issykul offered a balmy respite for silk road traders
30:37coming across the mountains from China but its beauty hides a grim history experts believe that the
30:44Black Death that plagued Europe and Asia during the 14th century originated here the northern shores are
30:53popular with Russian tourists escaping the summer heat but on the far more rustic southern side is a
31:00beguiling little yacht camp right on the lake shore
31:10come and see inside I have to duck look at this gorgeous space I've got got a beautiful skylight at
31:17the top and look here chest of drawers I've got with a great big mirror here put on my books
31:22and stuff
31:23out there I thought I'd put some things in the drawers but I think somebody's living here actually
31:30because there's the three hats I mean I like a hat but I wouldn't have asked for three hats anyway
31:35I've
31:35got a lovely bed here come come I've got a bathroom this is rare this is built onto the side
31:40of a yurt you
31:41don't usually have this lavatory and you put the paper in the little bin because I didn't think it's got
31:48the capabilities of come see my shower I think somebody's in here already do you see what I mean
31:56there's a sense sense that I'm encroaching I've obviously thrown them out I've thrown them out I
32:00don't mind doing that sometimes I'm rich and important I do this hello honey it's so beautiful
32:10the sound of birds singing chickens wandering around apple trees in blossom that's a turkey
32:19gobbling over there actually I think and this gorgeous yard is the kitchen and in here they're
32:25making manti which are sort of pastry dumplings really and these are found everywhere from Turkey
32:32and Albania all across the Caspian Sea and across Nepal Tibet right through into China and of course
32:38here in Kyrgyzstan I think each region twists them slightly differently look how pretty look how
32:45beautiful these are some cooking already and it's steamed how many minutes just tippy tippy top
32:56that gives me just enough time to make use of the camp facilities well isn't that divine look at
33:04that it's the mobile sauna unusual little vehicle it was left behind by the Russians up we go here it
33:14says this on the door so this means go in little bit of a kick into the sauna chamber
33:31how lovely is this oh that's blissful oh I can feel yeah there's a filth pouring out of me
34:02where are we going oh
34:06where are we going oh
34:27oh I'm in the lake I might just put my feet in I think that's lovely that's all I really
34:36wanted
34:36to cool off on just my feet goodness it's cold
34:53just along the lake shore from my yacht camp is the town of Bokon Bajevo I'm popping in to meet
35:00a
35:00family that for generations has practiced one of Central Asia's most ancient skills thank you thank you
35:14wonderful picture over the centuries man has trained these birds to catch wild animals for meat and for
35:22their valuable fur then we'll go and then Katadan has hunted with eagles all his life and is now
35:28passing on these skills to his young family
35:35true you're going well my old pony Katadan and his eldest daughter Arruke are taking me up into the
35:43mountains with Sirgag a seven-year-old female eagle to show me just what she's capable of
35:54wow what a view the whole of the lake spreading around in these rough mountains and this beautiful
36:01eagle waiting to fly wow
36:14would it be possible for me to hold the eagle
36:20like that like that how beautiful quite a heavy bird there we are what sort of personality does this
36:28bird have she a good girl it's such a great privilege to hold this bird extraordinary claws
36:46holding onto the leather glove and she's hooded completely calm but what such a sense of holding
36:52onto power will you be very kind and take your beautiful bird back as my arm is aching
37:01thank you lovely bird for letting me hold you
37:08eagles are hardwired into detecting movement over great distances and they can spot a rabbit or fox over
37:15two miles away so Katadan has gone right down there with something that looks like a fox it isn't on
37:21the
37:21end of the end of a string and he's going to pull it and then she's going to take the
37:24hood off and she's
37:25going to release the jesses and the bird will fly
37:48look at that straight as an arrow straight down during the times of the silk road animal skins were a
37:57highly
37:57sought-after commodity as long ago as the 10th century half a million pelts of sable ermine mink
38:03and fox were traded across continents to foreign markets thousands of miles away over the centuries
38:10meat from animals caught by the eagles also helped keep many people alive
38:22this is where my journey takes a dive south 200 miles towards the chinese border the landscape is
38:30immense high mountain passes and vast wide valleys as the traces of modern man diminish I can imagine
38:39huge caravans of horses and camels passing through this terrain that's remained unchanged for millennia
38:49nestled in this huge river valley at bashi is the last town on the road to China
38:58I've managed to get here to catch the local schools assembly it's quite a do
39:09the name at bashi means horses head of the legend of a herder who chased his favorite horse 300 miles
39:17to
39:17this town all the way from Uzbekistan tell me what it's like living here do you visit do you go
39:29to
39:29Bishkek sometimes do you stay here do you travel abroad yeah when we have a holidays they are going
39:37to Bishkek but many times here yes of course have any of you been outside the country no no no
39:44no not
39:45yet you will you will look at this isn't that good have this so your name is Joanna yeah united
39:57by a selfie in
39:58this remote corner of Kyrgyzstan the Kyrgyz people were once a race of nomadic herders and today most
40:06families in at bashi have a scratch of land to keep a few animals on Muskal and her husband Narinbek
40:14keep
40:14horses cows goats and a few sheep because we shouldn't go away we do cover it yeah under again
40:23talk with it of that yeah talk with it but they also have a herd which stays at high altitude
40:31and with
40:31the money they get from breeding them they've managed to put four children through college oh look
40:40oh I heard of yaks it's it's literally unbelievable I feel this is as though I'm right at the beginning
40:45of time what beautiful heads beautiful faces look at that even through the long harsh winter the yaks
40:54look after themselves in the mountains is your herd healthy is it happy is it expanding
41:18it's easy to forget that these hardy animals were crucial to establishing the silk road across
41:23mountainous parts of the world it was like a kind of relay race the trading on the silk road they
41:30took
41:30goods to the next post exchanged them and then that person took them onto the next one literally
41:34passing the trade on and on and on and the coldest and the most hostile regions were covered by the
41:40yak
41:41carrying immense burdens I have actually once ridden a yak very hairy very comfortable they're quite cross
41:53all the time they're always going all right
42:03it feels like I'm at the end of the earth but my route to the Chinese border is pulling me
42:07ever
42:07southwards but before the border I'm going in search of somewhere that's been an important sanctuary on a
42:13dangerous and remote part of the silk road and it's fascinated me for years the journey to get
42:20there is an experience in itself diverted off the main road towards sheer cliffs which seemed to part
42:26and reveal a secret pass to a hidden inner valley myths legends even ghosts abound within this fabled
42:38building oh my gosh tash rabat I've been longing to come here all my life and now I'm here
42:57the temperature has plummeted I've read so much about this tash rabat was used as a
43:0815th century caravanserai but some scholars believe it to have much more ancient origins no one
43:14really knows why or when it was built oh no what's this
43:27I wonder what goes on in here these dark little antechambers oh this room spooks me a bit you can
43:35see
43:36here it's a labyrinth from the outside it looked quite contained but I wouldn't like to be here at
43:41night I'm here on a bright day look at this that skylight much much better build and then here
44:01I wonder if this is where rich men slept gosh there's nothing I know nothing I love it
44:18it's quite extraordinary to come to this place it is so remote it is so unreachable but I'm here
44:29it's absolutely redolent of history all the people who've ever passed through it
44:33century after century after century all their thoughts and memories and griefs and ambitions
44:39stored in these walls it's not haunted it's inhabited
44:49tash rabat
44:59beyond those mountains lies the people's republic of china we've traveled nearly four thousand miles
45:06through eight very different countries we started in venice and found the ancient records of marco polo
45:12in turkey we visited caravanser eyes and underground christian churches we've seen modern and booming
45:20Azerbaijan the vast scale and beauty of iran and the stunning cities and landscapes of central asia all the way
45:30to china where the silk road began wow we've driven here through the most majestic scenery
45:37and this is the border to china and that's where I was hoping to go but most annoyingly this time
45:44I wasn't
45:45given permission to film in the people's republic of china it's just so annoying because that country
45:51has got not only the great historic base of the whole silk road silk being developed there and all
45:57its importance in our story but the modern wonders of china and its own new silk road all the things
46:03we
46:03could have shown you there ash but maybe next time who knows
46:13still to come tonight discussing the big issues a former brexit minister steve baker joins peston after the news at
46:2110 45
46:22five
46:26you