Asia Overland: Tales of Travel on the Trans-Siberian and Silk Road
Bijan Omrani


This title offers a travel companion and historical travelogue. It is resourced from travel luminaries: from George Kennan to Anton Chekhov, Fa Xian and Xuanzang to Marco Polo and Matteo Ricci, Sir Clarmont Skrine and Francis Younghusband to Peter Fleming and Ruy Gonzales de Clavijo. It features fascinating archival images, lavish, broad-ranging photography, and succinct travel information section for the modern traveller. What was it really like to travel the iron rails of the Trans-Siberian Railway in its early years, the dusty, parched tracks of the Silk Road in its heyday, or the rugged, dangerous mountain passes into and out of the Indian subcontinent? Eurasia's great land routes, offspring of the ambition of Russian tsars, Chinese emperors and Mughal khans, have served human history well, acting as conduits for trade, religion and cultural conventions, and as avenues down which conquering armies and commercial pioneers swarmed in the forging of empires. With wit and humour, Omrani weaves a tapestry of tales and reports by a panoply of travellers down the centuries, taking the reader on an exciting journey that crosses continents and spans epochs. Richly embellished with stunning photography, detailed maps and fascinating archival illustrations, "Asia Overland" is a compelling piece of travel literature that will appeal to both modern-day explorers and armchair travellers alike.