Insight Guide Silk Road is the complete illustrated guide to one of the world's ultimate travel adventures. Passing right through the heart of Asia, the ancient trade route traverses a quarter of the globe from the heart of China to the Mediterranean via a vast, inhospitable expanse of mountains and desert. The guide covers all the sights along the way across 13 countries and 6 time zones, with authoritative chapters on the Silk Road's history and culture to put it all into context. The magic of the journey is brought to life through evocative photography, and is complemented by lavish Photo Features which offer a unique insight into various aspects of the route: these include details of silk production, the ancient treasures that have been discovered along the route, and the colourful bazaars - which are a reminder of the Silk Road caravanserais of the distant past. Our inspirational Best of The Silk Road section highlights the unmissable sights and experiences, while a comprehensive Travel Tips section gives you all the practical information you need to plan your trip - whether it be a short section or the entire Silk Road - and our selective listings bring you the best hotels and restaurants.

Insight Guide The Silk Road is the complete illustrated guide to one of the world's ultimate travel adventures. Passing right through the heart of Asia, this ancient trade route traverses a quarter of the globe from the heart of China to the Mediterranean via a vast, inhospitable expanse of mountains and desert. The guide covers all the sights along the way across 13 countries and 6 time zones, with authoritative chapters on the Silk Road's history and culture to put it all into context. Inside Insight Guide The Silk Road:A fully-overhauled major new edition by our expert Silk Road author.Stunning, specially-commissioned photography that brings the countries along this evocative route to life. Highlights of the Silk Road's top attractions, including the great city of Isfahan, the ancient splendor of Persepolis and China's Terracotta Army in our Best of the Silk Road.Descriptive country-by-country accounts cover the whole route from China to Turkey by way of the 'Stans of Central Asia and the geopolitical nerve centres of the Middle East.Features detail silk production, the ancient treasures that have been discovered along the route, and the colourful bazaars - a reminder of the Silk Road caravanserais of the distant past.Detailed, high-quality maps throughout will help you get around and travel tips give you all the essential information for planning the trip of a lifetime. About Insight Guides: Insight Guides has over 40 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps as well as picture-packed eBooks to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture together create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure. 'Insight Guides has spawned many imitators but is still the best of its type.' - Wanderlust Magazine

This Silk Road guidebook is ideal for travellers seeking inspirational guides and planning a more extended trip. It provides interesting facts about the Silk Road's people, history and culture and detailed coverage of the best places to see. This Silk Road travel book has the style of an illustrated magazine to inspire you and give a taste of the Silk Road. The book is printed on paper from responsible sources, and verified to meet FSC's strict environmental and social standards. This Silk Road guidebook covers: China (Shaanxi, Ginsu, Xinjiang), Central Asia (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan), Western Asia (Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey). In this Silk Road travel guidebook, you will find: Unique essays – country history and culture, and modern-day life, people and politics Silk Roadhighlights – Mingsha Shan and Crescent Moon Lake; Heavenly Lake Tianchi; Flaming Mountains near Turpan, China; Lake Karakul; Tajikistan's Pamir Highway; Hunza Valley, Pakistan; Tehran Bazaar; Sunday Market, Kashgar; Peshawar, Pakistan; Isfahan architecture; Xi'an city; Samarkand; Istanbul Practical travel information – getting there and around, budgeting, eating out, shopping, public holidays, information for LGBTQ+ travellers and more When to go to the Silk Road - high season, low season, climate information and festivals Insider recommendations – tips on how to beat the crowds, save time and money and find the best local spots Main attractions & curated places – narrative descriptions of where to go and what to see, covered geographically Tips and facts – interesting facts about the Silk Road and useful insider tips High-quality maps of the Silk Road – must-see places cross-referenced to colourful maps for quick orientation Colour-coded chapters – each place chapter has its own colour assigned to aid easy navigation of this Silk Road travel guide Striking pictures – rich, inspirational colour photography on all pages, capturing attractions, nature, people and historical features Fully updated post-COVID-19 This Silk Road guidebook is just the tool you need to get under the skin of the destination and accompany you on your trip. It also makes a great gift because of its premium quality. This book will inspire you and answer all your questions while preparing a trip to the Silk Road or along the way. It will also remain a beautiful souvenir after your trip.

This Silk Road guidebook is ideal for travellers seeking inspirational guides and planning a more extended trip. It provides interesting facts about the Silk Road's people, history and culture and detailed coverage of the best places to see. This Silk Road travel book has the style of an illustrated magazine to inspire you and give a taste of the Silk Road. The book is printed on paper from responsible sources, and verified to meet FSC's strict environmental and social standards. This Silk Road guidebook covers: China (Shaanxi, Ginsu, Xinjiang), Central Asia (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan), Western Asia (Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey). In this Silk Road travel guidebook, you will find: Unique essays - country history and culture, and modern-day life, people and politics Silk Road highlights - Mingsha Shan and Crescent Moon Lake; Heavenly Lake Tianchi; Flaming Mountains near Turpan, China; Lake Karakul; Tajikistan's Pamir Highway; Hunza Valley, Pakistan; Tehran Bazaar; Sunday Market, Kashgar; Peshawar, Pakistan; Isfahan architecture; Xi'an city; Samarkand; Istanbul Practical travel information - getting there and around, budgeting, eating out, shopping, public holidays, information for LGBTQ+ travellers and more When to go to the Silk Road - high season, low season, climate information and festivals Insider recommendations - tips on how to beat the crowds, save time and money and find the best local spots Main attractions & curated places - narrative descriptions of where to go and what to see, covered geographically Tips and facts - interesting facts about the Silk Road and useful insider tips High-quality maps of the Silk Road - must-see places cross-referenced to colourful maps for quick orientation Colour-coded chapters - each place chapter has its own colour assigned to aid easy navigation of this Silk Road travel guide Striking pictures - rich, inspirational colour photography on all pages, capturing attractions, nature, people and historical features Free download of title's eBook - available after purchase of the printed guidebook to the Silk Road Fully updated post-COVID-19 This Silk Road guidebook is just the tool you need to get under the skin of the destination and accompany you on your trip. It also makes a great gift because of its premium quality. This book will inspire you and answer all your questions while preparing a trip to the Silk Road or along the way. It will also remain a beautiful souvenir after your trip.

Insight Guides: all you need to inspire every step of your journey. From deciding when to go, to choosing what to see when you arrive, this is all you need to plan your trip and experience the best of Southeast Asia, with in-depth insider information on must-see, top attractions like Angkor Wat, Singapore's markets and the island of Boracay, and hidden cultural gems like the pagodas of Mandalay and Borneo's wild national parks. Insight Guide Southeast Asia is ideal for travellers seeking immersive cultural experiences, from exploring Laos' Plain of Jars and the high-energy capital of Bangkok, to discovering the remote peoples of Papua's highlands and the rich spirituality of Bali. In-depth on history and culture: enjoy special features on the legacy of war in Vietnam and diving in the Philippines, all written by local experts Includes innovative, unique extras to keep you up-to-date when you're on the move - this guide comes with a free eBook, and an app that highlights top attractions and regional information and is regularly updated with new hotel, bar, restaurant, shop and local event listings Invaluable maps, travel tips and practical information ensure effortless planning, and encourage venturing off the beaten track Inspirational colour photography throughout - Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books Inventive design makes for an engaging, easy reading experience About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

For many, Thailand remains the quintessential Southeast Asian destination - exotic and exciting but accessible, whether you want to soak up Bangkok's bright lights or the sun on a tropical island. Be inspired by the new edition of Insight Guide Thailand, a comprehensive full-colour guide to the 'land of smiles'. Inside Insight Guide Thailand: A thoroughly updated new edition by our expert Thailand author. Stunning, specially-commissioned photography brings this beautiful country and its people to life. Highlights of the country's top attractions, including diving off Krabi and the Unesco World Heritage site at Ayutthaya. Descriptive region-by-region accounts cover the whole country from frenetic Bangkok and laid-back Chiang Mai to the country's stunning beaches and islands, including Phuket and Ko Phangan. Detailed, high-quality maps throughout will help you get around and travel tips give you all the essential information for planning a memorable trip. About Insight Guides: Insight Guides has over 40 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps as well as picture-packed eBooks to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture together create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure. 'Insight Guides has spawned many imitators but is still the best of its type.' - Wanderlust Magazine

The Silk Road conjures images of the exotic and the unknown. Most travellers simply pass along it. Brit Chris Alexander chose to live there. Ostensibly writing a guidebook, Alexander found life at the heart of the glittering madrassahs, mosques and minarets of the walled city of Khiva - a remote desert oasis in Uzbekistan - immensely alluring, and stayed. Immersing himself in the language and rich cultural traditions Alexander discovers a world torn between Marx and Mohammed - a place where veils and vodka, pork and polygamy freely mingle - against a backdrop of forgotten carpet designs, crumbling but magnificent Islamic architecture and scenes drawn straight from "The Arabian Nights". Accompanied by a large green parrot, a ginger cat and his adoptive Uzbek family, Alexander recounts his efforts to rediscover the lost art of traditional weaving and dyeing, and the process establishing a self-sufficient carpet workshop, employing local women and disabled people to train as apprentices. A Carpet Ride to Khiva sees Alexander being stripped naked at a former Soviet youth camp, crawling through silkworm droppings in an attempt to record their life-cycle, holed up in the British Museum discovering carpet designs dormant for half a millennia, tackling a carpet-thieving mayor, distinguishing natural dyes from sacks of opium in Northern Afghanistan, bluffing his way through an impromptu version of "My Heart Will Go On" for national Uzbek TV and seeking sanctuary as an anti-Western riot consumed the Kabul carpet bazaar. It is an unforgettable true travel story of a journey to the heart of the unknown and the unexpected friendship one man found there.

Launched in 2013, China's Belt and Road Initiative is forging connections in infrastructure, trade, energy, finance, tourism, and culture across Eurasia and Africa. This extraordinarily ambitious strategy places China at the center of a geography of overland and maritime connectivity stretching across more than sixty countries and incorporating almost two-thirds of the world’s population. But what does it mean to revive the Silk Roads for the twenty-first century? Geocultural Power explores this question by considering how China is couching its strategy for building trade, foreign relations, and energy and political security in an evocative topography of history. Until now Belt and Road has been discussed as a geopolitical and geoeconomic project. This book introduces geocultural power to the analysis of international affairs. Tim Winter highlights how many countries—including Iran, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, and others—are revisiting their histories to find points of diplomatic and cultural connection. Through the revived Silk Roads, China becomes the new author of Eurasian history and the architect of the bridge between East and West. In a diplomatic dance of forgetting, episodes of violence, invasion, and bloodshed are left behind for a language of history and heritage that crosses borders in ways that further the trade ambitions of an increasingly networked China-driven economy.

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • Far more than a history of the Silk Roads, this book is truly a revelatory new history of the world, promising to destabilize notions of where we come from and where we are headed next. "A rare book that makes you question your assumptions about the world.” —The Wall Street Journal From the Middle East and its political instability to China and its economic rise, the vast region stretching eastward from the Balkans across the steppe and South Asia has been thrust into the global spotlight in recent years. Frankopan teaches us that to understand what is at stake for the cities and nations built on these intricate trade routes, we must first understand their astounding pasts. Frankopan realigns our understanding of the world, pointing us eastward. It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the twentieth century—this book shows how the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East. Also available: The New Silk Roads, a timely exploration of the dramatic and profound changes our world is undergoing right now—as seen from the perspective of the rising powers of the East.

The Silk Route was never a single thread but an intricate web of trade routes linking Asia and Europe. This new practical guide helps travelers explore all these threads and covers Turkey, Syria, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and China.