Silk Road – unit of work - National Museum of Australia

THE SILK ROAD TODAYWhile caravan merchants of the SilkRoad risked their worldly assetstransporting goods over mountainsand deserts, other traders placedtheir bets on the sea. To reach China,ships sailing from Baghdad had totravel some 9 600 kilometres. Thevoyage took about six months—yetthis was considerably faster thanoverland travel, which could take aslong as a year. Despite the peril ofpirate attacks and shattering storms,sea trade expanded and eventuallyovershadowed the caravan trade.Your journey to four ancient cities alongthe Silk Road is complete. But thesecities—Xi’an, Turfan, Samarkand andBaghdad—still exist today. In someways, they have changed dramatically.In others, they remain the same.Sea trading routesA trading dhow, showing how theside planks were stitched togetherto be watertightFor more informationabout the NationalMuseum of Australia SilkRoad exhibition go to◆ http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/travelling_the_silk_road/home and◆ http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/pastexhibitions/traveling-the-silk-roadThe old capital ofChina remains athriving, bustlingcity, home to morethan 8 millionpeople. Traditionalhomes and palacesfrom many ancientdynasties rubshoulders withnewer constructions,including modernfacilities for theChinese spaceprogram.Fruit orchards stilldot the landscapeof Turfan and theregion is still famousfor its grapes andwine. Now a cityof about 250 000people—more thanhalf of them areCentral Asian peoplecalled Uyghurs—Turfan is todaya predominantlyIslamic city, a shiftthat began duringthe height of theSilk Road.This city of about600 000 people inUzbekistan bearsthe marks of itscomplex politicalpast. Its greatestlandmark is theimpressive Registan,a square enclosedby beautifully tiledIslamic schoolsbuilt between aboutAD 1400 and 1700.But other buildingsaround the cityspeak to decadesunder Soviet rule,which ended in1991.The war-torn capitalof Iraq remains acentrepiece of theIslamic world, asit was during theheight of the SilkRoad. But much elsehas changed. Thecity was decimatedby the Mongolsin AD 1258. In thelast 100 years thepopulation soaredfrom about 200 000to more than sixmillion. Ongoingconfl icts andreconstruction effortswill likely continue totransform the city.12 © National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2012