There are such names .......

“There are such names in the world that leads people into a world of dreams. the magic and fame of these names immediately impact your mind when you hear or read about them. There is such a name amongst them that attracts our imagination to itself, it is Samarkand.”

And after nearly three weeks of travel (with the last couple of thousand kilometres cross crossing four national borders), we made it to Samarkand.

“It seems that this name emerged from a whirlpool of clear and diverse colours, the scent of perfumes, fabulous palaces, bells of caravans, pure melodies and yet misunderstood feelings.” Federico Mayor, DG of UNESCO

Samarkand indeed evokes all of these sentiments and so does Bukhara, in different ways. The former had style and the latter substance. But both have now faded and are mainly playing hosts to retired Europeans and Americans and the occasional intrepid travellers like us.

Inevitably, empires (and their cities) rise and fall. But Athens, Rome, Beijing, London, Tokyo all remain relevant. So what happened here?

The last two words of the UNESCO DG speaks volumes; for after all the stupendous achievements of Samarkand, Bukhara and many other cities we have seen along the Silk Road, three things ring true:

1. Geography matters. Oases in deserts, hubs at Crossroads, fertile valleys... these are where cities are built
2. Ambition matters. Cities that become capitals of empire naturally become the centre of wealth, culture and knowledge but the start were always cruel in the sense that wars were waged in order to gain ground
3. Openness matters. The only way for empires to hold is that the rulers find a way to keep the growing population in check, whether by delivering peace and/or prosperity and often also sharing power. This 4P formula is a recipe for success but not if succession planning is not put in place for future generations who fail to follow this formula will also fail the population and ultimately lose the empire.

As alluded to, in the end, misunderstood feelings spell the end of empires. Misunderstanding geography (like how Bukhara overutilised their rivers), misunderstanding ambition (like how precious capital cities like Alexandria Eschate are left behind by new ones) and misunderstanding openness (as happened to all of Central Asia during the Soviet era) all led to the demise of these once great cities.

In this 21st century, new powers have arisen and these cities along the Silk Road are trying to make sense of their roles, esp. when they are being bordered by superpowers from all corners: China in the east, India in the south, Russia in the North.

It will take another 5-10 years (one to two full terms of democratically elected officials of these countries nowadays) to fix the infrastructure. However, it will take another 20-30 years to fix the mindsets. A whole generation of people to learn the virtues of self reliance, of hard work, of the pursuit of knowledge and then these great ancient civilisations would have arrived. Whether they can do it depends on their government and also very much on their culture.

As of now, with improving (though in parts still derelict) infrastructure, the Silk Road - or in some other description the High and Long Road - is still a challenge to cross, whether by air, rail and esp via road. Like the mountain roads in Tajikistan under constant assault by avalanche of snow, rocks and heavy goods vehicle, the soles of my shoes gave way and got nailed back reactively and preemptively by a clobber in a Dushanbe bazaar, Joe’s watch is developing a nice patina especially against the bronze sunset hues in Registon Square, M’s stomach gave way in Turpan and again in Samarkand and D’s cabin bag zipper serendipitously got stuck at the Ulugqaat customs checkpoint. However, these are add to our adventure. It wouldn’t be a Silk Road journey if one didn’t suffer these conditions caused, respectively by heavy use, by the weather, by the food or by the wiles of authorities.

I am not sure the Silk Road will regain its eminence as before. Its very existence, however, especially in the state it is now, will lead people into a world of dreams and indeed some places will be dreams unto themselves.