Pamir Silk Route

MAZAR-ISTAN in 2015

In 2015 we are going to retrace the ancient Persian Royal Road east by desert, great river valley and mountain pass to connect up the dots along the great trade and pilgrim routes between the Caucasus and China. Much of this we know from previous travels. This time we have serious intent to get to Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif and Balk.   We plan to run the trip as a reccy and numbers will be limited.

No one does Shrines as well as the Islamic dynasties of Central Asia. Out there along the dusty edge of Asia the  Mazars of saints, mystics martyrs and scholars lie strewn in glittering profusion.   These are not insignificant shrines but places raised in memory of the great and famous.   Many have strongly spiritual or religious significance; others are set up as memorials to poets and scholars such as Rumi or Omar Khayyam.

The communities who built, maintained and venerated these places are history. A new generation of tomb builders is busily building and restoring but the old trade routes and pilgrim trails that connected them have gone; cut by improbable 20^th century borders, civil war and political turmoil.

Well that sounds exactly like the sort of challenge that took us to Central Asia nearly 20 years ago.  Edgy overland routes quickly become our forte and we have developed a nose for interesting spots. I have a sense that Mazaristan is going to fill that bill nicely. If this sounds like your cup of chai we would like to hear from you.

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