The trip
Introduction
People have travelled from one place to another and have traded with their neighbours since the beginning of time. The Silk Route was a commercial web that joined Western and Asian cultures for many centuries. It went through mountains that at first sight seemed to be impassable and continued for thousands of kilometres through deep valleys, fast-flowing rivers and desolate desserts from Xi-an (the Old capital of China) to the Mediterranean Coast.
The track between these two trading centres was full of caravansaries, old fortresses built to give shelter and protection to the continuous flow of goods. The merchants took refuge in them and spent the night while also taking the opportunity to try to sell their products. The Route was very rarely travelled in its entirety.
A part form the precious cloth which gave name to the Route there was also merchandise such as jade, spices, ceramic, porcelain, gunpowder and so on. These left China towards the Mediterranean and Europe while the Western World offered gold, silver, ivory, coral and other such goods.
The route was an essential trading route not only for the material products but because it helped to spread ideas, religions, customs and different artistic tendencies. It was thanks to this route that distant places learnt of each other.
The German geographer, Ferdinand Freiher von Richtofen, initially used its current name "The Route of Silk" in 1877.
Our project
We aim to ride through the historical route in order to make the work that is being carried out by Mattieu Ricard and his Foundation Karuna Nepal better-known. We would also like to make people aware of the basic needs still to be covered in these areas in the world.
Our aim
We want to raise money for the Foundation Karuna, a Buddhist organization dedicated to covering the medical needs of the most poverty-stricken and displaced social classes in Nepal.
The route
We will begin our adventure at the beginning of spring, 2008. We will set off from Asturias towards Istanbul (Turkey). From Turkey we will make our way to Xi-an in China. From here, we will continue our trip towards Lhasa in the Tibet, to then cross the Himalayan Range finishing in Kathmandu, Nepal.
While on the Route which is approximately 13,000 km long, we will be crossing countries such as Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazajstan, Kirghizstan, China and Nepal. The trip will make the two female components of the team the first Asturians to ride through the Route.
We will visit the historical cities of Istanbul, Tehran, Persepolis, Marv, Gujarat, Samarkand, Tashkent, Kokand, Kasha and Xi-an.
We will go through mountain passes of about 4000 metres in altitude and cross desserts like the one in Taklimakan and deep valleys. It is important to highlight that the Route we have initially planned may vary due to political upheaval, weather changes or natural disasters we cannot foresee.
The time estimated for the trip is approximately one year.
Due to the uniqueness of the trip we hope to have the collaboration of the media so that we can inform the public periodically about our trip but more importantly, about the life-saving work done in Foundation Karuna.