Things to see & do along the Silk Road, Uzbekistan

What is the Silk Road?

There is no actual single Silk Road, but more of a series of routes that traversed Central Asia into Europe and which was considered the world’s first major commercial highway. Its name was coined by a German geographer, Ferdinand von Richthofen, in 1877, and it wasn’t just used for trading the East’s much coveted silk but also many other precious products such as porcelain and paper (still famous in Samarkand). Going the other direction, when the traders travelled west to east, they brought wool, exotic fruits and nuts and, of course, wine.

It was only when Europeans started exploring new trade routes by sea from the 13th century onwards that the Silk Road started to lose favour. Uzbekistan’s commercial power weakened, and its political power did too. In the early 16th century the country’s infamous Timurid Empire broke up, and the country was divided up into khanates. In-fighting between these Khanates made the country vulnerable, and so in stepped the Russians in 1865. International trade was not a biggie for the Russians, and so the conversion of silk to Soviet rule saw the end of this major trading route in Uzbekistan.

Where can I buy silk?

Thankfully not all the old ways have been lost. In fact, as Uzbekistan slowly wakes up to the disastrous impacts that the cotton industry has had on its country, environmentally and socially, many of these old traditional crafts are being revived. International fashion designers are recognising the skills of the silk makers, whose ancient practices known as sericulture, have been seen on the catwalks in recent years.