Best books to read before visiting Uzbekistan

Posted by Michael Pullman 2nd April 2020
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Whether you want to read up before you visit, feed your curiosity post-visit, or just want to be whisked away to the Silk Road from the comfort of your armchair, we present three great reads featuring Uzbekistan.

The Silk Roads, Peter Frankopan

This highly readable history book made waves when it was published in 2015, causing many to reassess the history they learned in school, and the crucial part China and Central Asia played in shaping the world. Frankopan tells us how not only goods but ideas, religions and disease flowed along the branches of the Silk Road, creating the global economy we now live in.

A Carpet Ride to Khiva by Christopher Alexander

Initially travelling to Uzbekistan to spend a year working for a charity, Alexander ended up staying for seven years in the Silk Road backwater of Khiva. He recounts his experiences setting up a carpet workshop using traditional weaving and dyeing methods, along the way looking into the history of silk production and recounting tales of everyday life in Uzbekistan.

The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk

This thrilling true story tells of the high stakes ‘great game’ fought between Britain and Russia in the 19th century, and some of the fascinating characters on both sides who risked their lives playing it. The book recounts perhaps the Great Game’s most infamous moment, when two British spies were beheaded outside the Ark of Bukhara.

Silk Dreams, Troubled Road by Jonny Bealby

Well we couldn't leave out this page-turner from our very own Founder Jonny Bealby. Follow Jonny on a mishap-packed adventure along the Silk Road on horseback.

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