The Silk Road

- Season 1

(2019)

Our host begins his journey in Venice, like Marco Polo, the famous voyager who traveled the ancient route. On this journey we see the mosaics of St Mark's Basilica which reveal the links that connect this city with the distant lands of Asia. Also we get a taste of Venetian cuisine and view an Armenian monastery which is packed with manuscripts in all languages, brought there via the Silk Road.

At the edge of the European continent, Alfred de Montesquiou enters Turkish territory through the city of Edirne, to discover Ottoman architectural wonders and the traditional local sport of oil-wrestling, in which men are doused in olive oil before bouts.

At the heart of the Anatolian plateau, our host visits the first of the Caravanserai which dot his journey, as they once dotted the ancient trade routes. The Caravanserai at Aksaray is a perfect example of architecture of the Seljuq dynasty, the first empire in the region starting in the 10th century.

Alfred discovers Iran; enter the city that once was the core of the entire Silk Road in Persia: Tabriz. He heads into the bazaar, the finest in the country, and wanders through its 22 miles of alleyways and stalls. Our guide meets Dr Faribouz Esmaeli at the heart of this architectural gem he oversaw its restoration. Tabriz is also the center of the ancient Armenian community in Iran.

Alfred learns that Iran has a Silk Road office. Its representative explains that the government wishes to develop links between other countries along the illustrious road. Far from the city, at 2,000 meters above sea level, Alfred visits the ruins of Hassan-i Sabbah fortress, founder of a movement known as "Hashshashins" drug smokers and killers who gave us the modern word "assassin".

In the oasis of Kashan, in central Iran, Alfred marvels at the famous pleasure gardens of Fin. At the temple of Chak Chak, in the nearby mountains, he is introduced to Zoroastrianism, Persia's ancestral religion. In the sacred city of Yazd, in southern Iran, he visits a zurkhaneh, a "house of strength", where athletes engage in training sessions.

Alfred arrives in Uzbekistan, halfway along the ancient Silk Road. He fulfills the dream of countless travelers down the ages by visiting Bukhara, the home town of Avicenna, and meets some of its artists and craftsmen. Woven into the pattern of a fabric, on talismans, and so on. The bazaar is the beating heart of the city and a bubbling melting-pot of cultures.

Some used to say Samarkand, in central Uzbekistan, was the center of the world. Alfred follows the ancient "Royal Road" to the city associated with the great Turco-Mongol warrior Timur, who was famed for his refinement and elegance. Alfred visits Timur's mausoleum and the imposing public square of Registan, journeying back in time with the help of a local historian.

Alfred is struck by the modernity of life in Tashkent, the capital of present-day Uzbekistan and a major central Asian city, and the incredible mix of ethnic groups in this part of the world. Alfred visits a silk factory - a must for anyone retracing the Silk Road, then travels the age-old route through the mountains to his next destination: Kyrgyzstan, the land of the nomads.

Osh is the first place Alfred visits in Kyrgyzstan. He saunters down the aisles of its bazaar, but soon realizes that the real Kyrgyzstan is to be found on the endless steppes and vast mountains, where you lose all notion of boundaries. Alfred learns about Kyrgyz identity from a girl student who tells him local legends at the foot of the "Throne of Solomon", the hill that overlooks the city.

Alfred's point of entry to China is Kashgar, in the Xinjiang region, which covers a sixth of country's surface area. This is the home of the Uyghurs, an ethnic minority descended from Turkic peoples. When trade on the Silk Road was as its height, Kashgar was a major hub for caravans travelling to India or Central Asia.

A Uyghur family invite Alfred into their home, where he learns about their way of life and growing techniques. Gaochang was once an important way-stage on the Silk Road and a famous centre of learning. Alfred visits the city of Turpan, in the heart of the desert, and the tunnels of its ingenious water-supply system.

It was only once they had succeeded in crossing the Taklamakan desert that the Silk Road caravans truly arrived in China. In the dunes of the oasis of Dunhuang, Alfred meets a woman camel breeder. The oasis is now a popular tourist spot, but its fragile ecosystem has to be protected. The valley of the 1000 Buddhas stretches outwards from the edge of Dunhuang.

Alfred travels to Liqian, at the narrowest point of the Hexi Corridor. Legend has it that Liqian is where the descendants of Crassus' lost legions ended up. From there, he goes to the sprawling industrial metropolis of Lanzhou, on the Yellow River, and samples an essential ingredient of Chinese culture - noodles.

Alfred arrives in Xi'an, in the province of Shaanxi, where the caravans of the Silk Road ended their long journey. Alfred ends his journey with a visit to the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor to rule over a unified China. His terracotta army looks as if it is standing guard over him, ensuring he remains undisturbed for all eternity.