#silk roads

[chaosnail]

Silk and gold in Boukhara and Samarkand, 19th-early 20th century.

[father-of-the-void]

According to Plutarch, Alexander the Great insisted on resting before engaging the enemy, sleeping so deeply that his concerned commanders had to shake him awake. Dressing in his favoured outfit, he put on a fine helmet, so polished that 'it was as bright as the most refined silver,' grasped a trusted sword in his right hand and led his troops to a crushing victory that opened the gates of an empire.

Peter Frankopan, The Silk Roads

[valsedelesruines]

The only consolation is the knowledge that we shall follow those who went before. I do not know how long we will have to wait, but I know it cannot be very long.

Epistolae by Petrarch, commentary on the 1347 Plague 

[capture-create]

The New Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan (Divya reads Asia #13)

About the shifting back to older worlds, trans national financing, how dire it would be if a war situation happens - ah well. :/

[scribeofchaos]

going kind of mad thinking about the silk road rn. like the romance. the culture. the exchange. the trade. i want to make it a story a reference a term I want to write about it there's no good nonfiction books that capture the romance of it. aksjfjksjfskka

[the-etcetera-archive]

UNESCO "Youth Eyes on the Silk Roads" International Photo Contest 2025

I found out about this contest incidentally to doing research for another post, but the sooner I post this, the better, because submissions are still open!

The 2025 contest is open until July 20th. Youths ages 14-25 are welcome to participate.

This year's theme is "Women, Guardians of Silk Roads Heritage." Young people who live in or have travelled along the Silk Roads (see map below) are asked to "share their perceptions" through photography.

Visit the site linked above for more information.

[mothcollects]

[j-august]

No lion is so cute as an antique Chinese lion. 10/10, would let this thing gum me to death any day. It's from the British Museum Silk Roads exhibition, which has a few weeks left to run and, I must warn you, is very full of very slow readers.