I have always dreamed of walking or biking the Silk Road. It may need to be added to my Bucket List! In the meantime, I am an armchair traveler who loves reading about other people's journeys. I have enjoyed other stories about the Silk Road and this one was just as entertaining. I think I will have to locate Mr. Olliviers first book!

There are different kinds of travelers writing about their journeys. Some are completely immersed into the culture and the people they meet along the road. Sometimes, the human encounters are a welcomed contradiction to the usual image that media and cultural representations are projecting upon a group of people or a whole country. Some other travelers are on the road with a plan: they want to see every country in the world, and as we all know, life is short therefore they need to do it fast, at the expense of spending enough time in a place to really get familiar with a culture and society; some visit in specific circumstances - to reconnect with their family or literary stories; some do it because they are interested to experience in a country in specific circumstances, like, for instance, walking across, or crossing on motorbike or bike.

Mid-May 2000, journalist Bernard Ollivier started a journey from Turkey to Uzbekistan, on foot. Or mostly on foot, as sometimes the weather conditions and the invitations to run in a car are more tempting, but this happens only in 5% of the cases. Thousands of kilometers by foot, crossing Iran and Turkmenistan, walking the Silk Road, an important economic destination in the region for centuries, that was resuscitated after 2 centuries of neglect recently, for various political, geopolitical and economic reasons. A welcomed reactualization from the point of view of the travel writing, as it brings back cultures and peoples neglected and misread due to repeated pre- and post-Cold War interpretations.

Walking to Samarkand (originally published in French and recently translated into English) is Olliver´s project of covering this part of the Silk Road, on the way to his childhood dream-destination: Samarkand. It is also a test of resilience and personal achievement, as walking saved his life from depression after the death of his wife. Therefore, the stakes of his travels: ´I want to free my body and mind from the limitations they´ve become to believe in; I would also like to free them from fear´.

Most part of the book thus has to do with various preparations and adventures encountered while walking, the physical limitations and challenges. It makes sense for the economy of the book but my interests/curiosities both as a traveler and travel writer are related to the reflections on culture and geography and eventually politics.

The majority of the time he spends crossing Iran - ´Everywhere I go, I´m amazed by the kindness and warmth of the people I meet´. ´Can anyone be more hospitable than an Iranian?´. - with relatively short passing by through Turmkenistan - where policy corruption and the personality cult are the most debated topics - and ending up, as scheduled, in Uzbekistan. While he is not planning carefully his next amount of miles for the day, he is reflecting on his priviledges and lessons learned: `(...) travel affords us with an unparallel opportunity to take a step back and see where we´re from in a new light`.

I felt missing from the writing a deep personal involvement with his travel experiences, a bit too dry for my taste. Maybe there were nuances lost in translation, but probably this is the way in which the writer himself chose to write about his journey. At a certain extent, it can be enough to make the reader interested in his or her own adventure or at least for starting to see this region through completely different eyes. Definitely, personal travel experiences and individual projects are doing much more for promoting a different kind of travel than the usual travel guides.


Rating: 3.5 stars

AUTHOR

Bernard Ollivier is a French Author who has become the inspiration for a generation. Once he retired he decided that rather than embrace leisurely afternoons in one locations he preferred the adventure of travel primarily by self perambulation. 7,456 miles later we have the benefit of his experiences, his reflections, and his opinions gleaned on his journeys, in a range exquisitely written travelogues.

WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE

All of those with an adventurous heart.

SYNOPSIS

With the aid of Dan Golembeski, the translator of Walking To Samarkand, Ollivier has managed to cram his personal account into a seemingly impossible 312 pages.

Ollivier whisks us away with him from Bazaar to Bukhara across oceanic desert through multiple borders, and caravansaries (old world Bed and Breakfast, B&B’s). Our journey transports us to the magnificence of Samarkand in all its rare beauty. Along the way he introduces us to a host of characters including; the Robber-Cop, the pilgrims on the road to Mash-had, the Turkmens of Tehran and a myriad of other fascinating strangers.

We accompany Ollivier though our minds eye. We see and fell through his senses. We experience the sounds, the sights and the sensations through his exquisite descriptions. We feel as the heat rises and the competing demands of balancing hydration against the weight of carrying the priceless water press heavily on his mind. There is even a fleeting chance of a romantic liaison.

After Ollivier’s enormous effort the city of bright water and colorful people is finally in sight, and what a sight she is. For a millennia, Samarkand was the apple in many a tyrant’s eye. From the Khanates of Burkkara and Kniva to the Achaemenid Kings they all shared a thirst for her water resources. Samarkand is the very definition of an oasis in the desert. She has stood on the Great Silk Road from the beginning. Today however, Samarkand stands on the Great Cotton Road. White Gold, as cotton is referred to, has replaced the spices and other valuables. The road has had many names in the past; including the Golden Road during the time of the Achaemenid Kings. Who knows what it will called in the future. What we can say is that whatever the road is called, Samarkand will almost certainly remain a jewel of the desert.

CONCLUSION

It was a joy, a pleasure and an honor to have accompanied Bernard Ollivier on his journey, all be it vicariously though the pages of his manuscript. The phrase that ‘travel broadens the mind‘ holds true. Ollivier includes a plethora of information about the culture, the language, and the people of the region. I am amazed he managed to consolidate all of his observations so succinctly. I can still sense the bustling Grand Bazaar, the heat of the day, and the sight of the once great Bibi-Khanym Mosque (now a UNESCO site).

If you have one adventurous bone in your body then you will love this journal. I heartily recommend Walking To Samarkand.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Bernard Ollivier, NetGalley, and Skyhorse for affording me the opportunity to review Walking To Samarkand.

I would like to make a special acknowledgment to Dan Golembeski for the exceptional job of translating Walking To Samarkand.

I love travelling and I also take great pleasure from visiting places I'm unlikely to go to myself in the company of writers who journey with their eyes and minds wide open. Bernard Ollivier is just such a person,

First impressions are that this intrepid walker is setting off somewhat unprepared, resuming his earlier trek with an inadequate waterproof, no stick and a lack of fitness, but these thoughts soon evaporate. Bernard is an engaging armchair travelling companion, writing as much about the people, good, bad and everywhere in between, as he does about the hardships and heat and setting of his epic journey. His use of simile and metaphor to describe the many natural wonders along the way is succinct and therefore extremely effective. He never over-writes, so the landscape and encounters he describes come to life clearly and vividly.

I loved this account so much that I intend to read more by this author and discover more fascinating places between the pages of his books.

I love travelogue and this was the perfect book for an armchair travel.
I loved the style of writing and the vivid descriptions.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I really enjoyed this travelogue/memoir of Ollivier’s journey from the eastern border of Turkey through Iran and Turkmenistan, into Uzbekistan. I love this region of the world so was enthralled with his descriptions of the scenery. But my favorite portions of the book were his interactions with the people.

Ollivier was adamant that he travel the Great Silk Road on foot. I think there were large portions of the route that I would have given in and accepted a ride. But not Ollivier! I was astonished by the distance he traveled each day on foot. Most of the people he encountered along the way were very friendly, kind and hospitable, often inviting him to stay at their homes and providing him free meals. inviting, some not so much. Of course, there were the few who attempted to assert their control over him. I loved the times he pushed back. He also reports numerous instances of local people talking about the need for separation of church and state and the disdain for the mullahs.

The heat was relentless, and oftentimes the places to eat and sleep marked on his maps were inaccurate, resulting in a longer journey on those days. Ollivier provides the reader a good historical narrative of the sites he visits along the way. He also shares some stories about the cultures of the people, describes the wonderful food he partook of, and recounted the day to day life of the people. He also wrote of his frustrations along the way – the loss of his camera, the senseless passport checks (often two or more times at the same location). There were times he really wanted to just give up but somehow he was able to regroup and continue on.

I now need to read OUT OF ISTANBUL which describes his journey through Turkey (one of my favorite places to visit) and am eager for the release of the third book which will take him to Xian, China.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forge Books for the advance copy to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Journalist Bernard Ollivier journeys across Iran to Samarkand on foot along the Great Silk Road - the ancient road that goes back to the 2nd century BCE - the epitome of trade and travel crisscrossing from Turkey and Italy in the West to China, Korea, and Japan in the East. I loved the people he encounters along the way - most hospitable and inviting, some not so much. The richness of his encounters come through in the interactions with people along the way, culture, food, and life in general. We feel we are there journeying with him - sweating under the intense sun, cooling off under the shade of a tree, sharing a meal with the locals. And we share his frustration as he loses his precious camera, orders a new one - and then goes a few marathon rounds to claim it. And ENVI is another living thing altogether! Apart from living vicariously through him, it a tremendous feat he undertakes - walking the path that millions before him have done in past centuries - a grueling and arduous journey that he was tempted many times to abandon, but yet persevered. I would love to see a movie made of his journey. The writing kept me entertained and the stories shone a light on the people and cultures i may never meet and experience but through Bernard Ollivier’s book have a bit of an insight into - expanding my horizons. An enjoyable and well-worth the read opportunity! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Read if you: Enjoy reading travelogues set in out-of-the-ordinary places.

I love travelogues, especially those set in far-flung places. While a book about an author's experience living in Paris might be intriguing, I'm more likely to be attracted to books in which the author undertakes more unusual travel--in this case, the ancient Silk Road.

The frustrations, setbacks, and even real danger that Ollivier faced while traveling through Central Asia are quite intense (be prepared for several reports about his distressed digestive system!). Moreover, the enormous hospitality shown him throughout his journey is very heartening.

I did notice that one review mentioned that this is a reprinting of a 2001 travelogue. If that was specifically made clear, I missed that. Would have liked to have known that this was not a new book.

Many thanks to Skyhorse Publishing and Netgalley for a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked reading about different parts of central Asia and the people he met along the way. This book pulled me in from the beginning and I found it hard to put aside.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

This looked a really interesting book, and one right up my Route, but proved to be one that I only skimmed through for the bits most relevant to me. Why? Well, time issues were a small concern, but the biggest problem was that I clicked download for this without realising the book was new, yet the source was not – this was a travelogue originally out in 2001. Now, whether it was his more recent book that took him from Paris, across Europe, to the original start of his Silk Route march that inspired the translation of the original trilogy, or just a chance encounter across a publisher's negotiating table, I don't know. But how relevant can this reportage be? Yes, the tourist sites are pretty much the same, but he professes to not like those anyway, meaning much of this featureless landscape is pushed deeply into the background for detail about the people he meets and the hosts he encounters. But all that's changing – you're going to tell me Tajikistan, in book three, is the same now it's been co-opted (and concreted over) by the Chinese? Nu-uh. The whole geopolitics have changed enough to make this pleasant writing out of date. So we're left with his generalisations, such as Iran being almost an oasis of cleanliness between the shit of Turkey and the shittier mess of Turkmenistan. Corrupt 'cops' abound, but he routinely admits to looking for that sort of trouble. You do wonder if his global citizen claims that he ends the book with are fully founded at times. But that aside, there is enough here to read at some time at some leisure – but heck, it's so out of date there really isn't much of a hurry to start. After all, the publishers didn't. Two and a half stars.

An interesting read for fans of authors such as Paul Theroux. A bit more historical and cultural context about the places he traveled would have been nice. But it's definitely a unique and epic adventure.

An excellent travel book. A Frenchman pursues his quest to walk the Silk Road. This section of his journey takes place mostly in Iran, with the latter part of his walk taking him through Turkmenistan. This book reminded me of Patrick Leigh Fermor's travel books, chronicling his walking journeys through Europe in the years before WWII. Ollivier is much older than the young Fermor, and he is undaunted by Iranian mullahs, policemen, and border guards. In fact, if you have any desire to travel to these countries, you will want to read this book to find out how to deal with such authority figures! Ollivier deftly maneuvers around any police or border guard in his path by force of will alone.

Before reading this book, I knew very little about Central Asia. Most of my impressions of Iran were based on TV news reports. Ollivier shows the Iranian people, and most of them are gracious, kind people who show immense and immediate hospitality to a foreigner walking through their towns and villages. Most of them immediately offer tea and curiosity to any stranger passing through, along with a bed for the night. Yes, there are a handful of thieves and corrupt officials along the way, but most of the people the author meets show nothing but kindness and interest in his journey. Ollivier sleeps on a lot of floors, camps in the desert with snakes, and swims in canals, dragging his cart of gear behind him - and at age sixty. He is truly inspirational.

If you have any interest in other cultures or travel to far-flung places, this book is highly recommended.

This book was exciting and transported me literally thousands of miles away. It is inspiring, educational and very well written. It chronicles the author’s journey by foot starting in Turkey and continues to Samarkand -(The Silk Road). This book was full of adventure, and cultural information! I highly recommend it!