The Silk Road: The Grand Market in the Mountains Pt. 1

While Eastern Uzbekistan (about 70% of the country) largely consists of deserts, with green spots along the river of Amudjaria, the west looks much different. Getting closer to the Tajik border, large mountains begin to arise, soon occupying the whole horizon. They are part of the Pamir mountain range, a vast plateau that connects the Tian Shan in China with the Hindukusch and the Himalayas in India. Combined, it is the largest mountain range in the world. At the western end of this plateau, already in the hills but still reachable from the fertile lowlands at the bottom of the mountains, there lies the town of Urgut. For centuries it was a transshipment point for goods on the Silk Road, where travelers from China sold their goods to Central Asian merchants, who in turn transported them on camels through the desert and brought them closer to their final destination – Europe. Therefore, the Grand Market of Urgut (the largest of Uzbekistan, of course) is what it must be and always was: A transitional space for people and ideas from the Orient and Oxidant. It is probably one of the few early melting points of human civilization still in existence, looking not much different than centuries ago. Except for the iPhone cases and pirated Gucci handbags, the new luxury goods of the 21st century coming from China to Europe. A new kind of silk, one could certainly argue.