Sites for Silk Road research

Sources for Silk Road Cities – Roughly West to East
1. Damascus – almonds, purple dye, dried fruit, swords, glass, cloth goods
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus#Antiquity
• https://www.msu.edu/user/zayzafo1/travel/damas.htm
• UNESCO World Heritage Convention: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/20
• http://www.oldamascus.com/home.htm

2. Merv – Turkmenistan
• University College London Ancient Merv Project: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/merv/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merv

3. Fergana – Uzbekistan – horses, rugs, nuts, dried fruit, copper
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fergana
• http://www.orexca.com/fergana-valley.shtml

4. Balkh - The Arabs, impressed by Balkh’s wealth and antiquity, called it Umm-al-belad, the mother of cities. When the Silk Road was the chief artery of commerce between East and West, Balkh was second to none. But then came Ghengis Khan, and wreaked upon it the utter devastation that has made the Mongols’ name a byword for barbarism. Balkh never fully recovered.
• http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/cities/afghanistan/balkh.html ***
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkh

5. Samarkand
• Samarkand – The Gem of the East: http://www.tashkent.org/uzland/samarkand.html
• Samarkand – Crossroads of Cultures, UNESCO World Heritage Convention: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/603
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samarkand

6. Kashgar – pack animals, tea, dried fruit, medicinal herbs
• travelogue w photos
http://www.berclo.net/page97/97en-china-16.html
• Tearing Down Old Kashgar: Another Blow to the Uighurs
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1913166,00.html#ixzz1GatKNjzo
• History of Kashgar: http://www.muztagh.com/china-history/kashgar.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashgar

7. Hetian (Chinese name) – Hotan
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Khotan
• http://www.travel-silkroad.com/english/dongfanwenming/history/htsj/gyzkc.htm

8. Kucha
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kucha
• http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110115180840AAxokjq

9. Turfan/Turpan – grapes, raisins, wine, cotton, dye for porcelain, alum, Glauber’s salt, key oasis on northern route, lowest point in China and highest temperature; karez (water channels) run from mountains
• Travel Guide: http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/turpan.htm
• http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/xinjiang/turpan/
• http://www.belfun.com/amaury/turfan.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turpan

10. Loulan - oasis city on the north-eastern edge of the Lop Desert
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loulan_Kingdom
• Uyghur American Association article:
http://www.uyghuramerican.org/articles/37/1/Loulan-Vanished-in-Sand/Loulan-Vanished-in-Sand.html

11. Hami/Kumul – famous for melons
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hami_City

12. Dunhuang – strategic crossroads; “By the second century AD Dunhuang had a population of more than 76,000 and was a key supply base for caravans”
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunhuang
• http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/dunhuang.htm
• caves of the singing sands: http://www.textile-art.com/dun1.html
• International Dunhuang Project collections: http://idp.bl.uk/pages/collections_en.a4d

13. Liangzhou – modern-day Wuwei
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuwei,_Gansu
• http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/gansu/wuwei/
• few pics: http://scenery.cultural-china.com/en/147Scenery3241.html
•
14. Karakorum
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakorum
• http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/312072/Karakorum

15. Lanzhou
• http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/gansu/lanzhou/
• http://www.chinats.com/lanzhou/index.htm
• http://www.muztagh.com/china-history/lanzhou.htm
•

16. Chang’an (Xi’an) – silk, chrysanthemums, rhubarb, paper, lacquer, gunpowder, mirrors, bamboo
• http://www.chinaorbit.com/travel/xian-china-travel/history-changan-xian.html
• http://www.ancientsites.com/aw/Places/Place/325935
• http://history.cultural-china.com/en/183History5192.html
• http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/cities/china/xian/xian.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27an - extensive detail!
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi%27an




Additional Sources for Students
East Site Travel Info.
www.east-site.com/silk-road

History and pictures for many sites, including Bukhara, Samarkand and Khiva, for example:
http://www.east-site.com/history-of-samarkand

Silk Road Seattle
lots of specific maps for cities, empires, regions...includes Dunhuang, Anxi, Palmyra, photos of Kashgar and Bukhara, Karakorum, Balkh
http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/cities/cities.html

Interactive map exercises: test yourself on geographic features, cities, etc.
http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/maps/maps.html

Excerpt from Travel Silkroad
http://www.travel-silkroad.com/english/dongfanwenming/history/sczlgs/routes.htm

Different Routes of the Silk Road
There is more than one route of the Silk Road. The routes vary due to their different destinations in the west in the different dynasties. But there are three main routes.
The route along the north side of Tianshan Mountain is the North Tianshan Route; that along the south side of Tianshan Mountain, the South Tianshan Route and that along Kunlun Mountain the South Western Region Route. These three routes are called, respectively from north to south, the north route, the middle route, and the south route.
The above three routes are actually one route before they reach Loulan, Xingjiang, that is from Xi’an---Lanzhou---the Hexi Corridor---Wuwei---Zhangye---Jiuquan---Dunhuang---Yumen Guan (Yang Guan)---Loulan.
The north route runs from Loulan---Turfan---Hami---Urumqi---Yining---Yili--west to coast of the Caspian Sea.
The middle route runs from Loulan---Kuche---Aksu---Kashi---west to Iran and to Rome along the coast of Mediterranean Sea.
The south route runs from Loulan---Qiemo---Yutian---Shache---south to India and Southeast to the direction of Afghan.
Source: www.travel-silkroad.com, September 12, 2000
Translated by Beijing Star-light Translation Center


Useful List - Populated Places along the Silk Road on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Populated_places_along_the_Silk_Road


Maps
http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/toc/index.html
Highlights: Map of China with PRODUCTS, Central Route with easy to read CITIES, WHOLE Route Turkey to China, Mongol Empire, Arab Empire

http://www.silkroadproject.org/tabid/177/defaul.aspx
Great maps on this site, may be too small to read when printed