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A Traveller's Companion to Central Asia
Seiten
1993
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New edition
John Murray Publishers Ltd (Verlag)
978-0-7195-5321-9 (ISBN)
John Murray Publishers Ltd (Verlag)
978-0-7195-5321-9 (ISBN)
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"A Traveller's Companion to Central Asia", arranged alphabetically for the user's convenience, is a concise handbook to the region which also offers an epic account of the turbulent history of this region.
As Central Asia rapidly opens up to the West there is a need for something more than a guidebook. Kathleen Hopkirk, who first visited the area nearly 30 years ago, has drawn on the accounts and observations of travellers over the centuries to bring to life its turbulent past and set the scene for its no less turbulent present. Stretching 2000 miles eastwards from the Caspian Sea to China, Central Asia has witnessed some of the most extraordinary events in history. Overrun by waves of barbarians, including Huns, Turks and the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan, it was also the meeting point of a host of cultures and faiths. Criss-crossed by the camel trails we know as the Silk Road, its caravans carried ideas as well as exotic merchandise between China, India and the eastern Mediterranean. Its fabled cities of Merv, Samarkand and Bokhara became synonymous with wealth, splendour and mystery, as their remoteness made them inaccessible to all but the most adventurous. By the 19th century, when its deserts and mountains became the chessboard for the Great Game, Central Asia was rarely out of the headlines.
But then, when the Bolsheviks and the Chinese Communists took it over, it became a closed region, one of the least-known on earth. Only now does it once again find itself in the spotlight, following the collapse of Soviet rule and the creation of five entirely new countries. "A Traveller's Companion to Central Asia", arranged alphabetically for the user's convenience, is a concise handbook to the region which also offers an epic account of this region.
As Central Asia rapidly opens up to the West there is a need for something more than a guidebook. Kathleen Hopkirk, who first visited the area nearly 30 years ago, has drawn on the accounts and observations of travellers over the centuries to bring to life its turbulent past and set the scene for its no less turbulent present. Stretching 2000 miles eastwards from the Caspian Sea to China, Central Asia has witnessed some of the most extraordinary events in history. Overrun by waves of barbarians, including Huns, Turks and the Mongol hordes of Genghis Khan, it was also the meeting point of a host of cultures and faiths. Criss-crossed by the camel trails we know as the Silk Road, its caravans carried ideas as well as exotic merchandise between China, India and the eastern Mediterranean. Its fabled cities of Merv, Samarkand and Bokhara became synonymous with wealth, splendour and mystery, as their remoteness made them inaccessible to all but the most adventurous. By the 19th century, when its deserts and mountains became the chessboard for the Great Game, Central Asia was rarely out of the headlines.
But then, when the Bolsheviks and the Chinese Communists took it over, it became a closed region, one of the least-known on earth. Only now does it once again find itself in the spotlight, following the collapse of Soviet rule and the creation of five entirely new countries. "A Traveller's Companion to Central Asia", arranged alphabetically for the user's convenience, is a concise handbook to the region which also offers an epic account of this region.
The rise, fall and rise again of Central Asia; Ashkhabad - heat, dust and pestilence; Bokhara - the forbidden city; Geok-Tepe - last stand of the Turcomans; Gilgit - Hunza and the "great game"; Kashgar - "great game" listening-post; Khiva - the freeing of the slaves; Merv and Bairam Ali - stepping stone to India?; Samarkand - city of the scourge of God; the Silk Road; Tashkent - Tsarist bridgehead; the Transcaspian railway; Tunhuang - the secret cave; Turfan - cockroaches, scorpions and spiders; Urumchi - most sinister town in Asia; places of lesser interest - Alma Ata, Bishbek, Dushanbe.
Erscheint lt. Verlag | 9.9.1993 |
---|---|
Zusatzinfo | 12pp illustrations, 2 maps, references, index |
Sprache | englisch |
Maße | 138 x 215 mm |
Gewicht | 399 g |
Themenwelt | Reisen ► Bildbände ► Asien |
ISBN-10 | 0-7195-5321-0 / 0719553210 |
ISBN-13 | 978-0-7195-5321-9 / 9780719553219 |
Zustand | Neuware |
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