The videos document my pilgrimage from Indonesia to the African continent by land (no airplane!). The route: 1.) Indonesia: Traveling through Sumatran Mountains and Prehistoric Sites 2.) Malaysia: Meeting with the Aborigines of the Malay Peninsula 3.) Thailand: Tracing the Southeast Asian Ancient Empires 4.) Laos: Experiencing the Lao-China Railway 5.) China: Backpacking the Tibetan Plateau to the Edge of the Silk Road 6.) Kazakhstan: First Contact with the Central Asians 7.) Uzbekistan: Pilgrimage in the Land of the Timurids 8.) Tajikistan: Lost in the Fenn Mountains 9.) Afghanistan: Visiting Afghanistan after the Taliban Takeover 10.) Iran: Surrounded by the Ancient Civilization of Persia 11.) UAE: Short Transit in Futuristic Cities 12.) Saudi Arabia: Pilgrimage in the Holy Land of the Muslims 13.) Jordan: Catching a Glimpse of Jerusalem 14.) Egypt: Ending in the Land of Pharaohs
Curated by: Bang Jago (174 videos)
On the 115th day I explored Samarkand, the capital of the Timurid Empire that was first built 2500 years ago. I started my journey from Registan, the center of Samarkand city which is surrounded by three giant madrassas built in the 15th to early 17th centuries. Walking to the northeast is the Bibi-Khanym Mosque, which was built by Timur in 1399 as the largest mosque of its time and was the jewel of his empire. From there I stopped briefly at the grave of Islam Karimov, the first president of Uzbekistan. Even though it is relatively new, several people can be seen praying in front of the grave. On this trip I was accompanied by Musa, a Tengri follower from Turkiye who was on a pilgrimage to Mongolia, the birthplace of the Turkic people. We walked past the Muslim cemetery, the Bukharan Jewish cemetery, and the Timur-era necropolis, Shah-i-Zinda. It is said that the oldest tomb in this place is the tomb of Qatsam bin al-Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad who "brought" Islam to Uzbekistan. A little to the north is Afrasiyab, the old city of Samarkand which flourished from 500 BC until it was destroyed by Genghis Khan in 1220. One of the best exhibits is the Afrasiyab Mural which shows delegations from Chagana, Chach, Tang (China), Tibet and Korea who paid tribute to the Sogdian King Varkhuman (640-670). After reaching the Ulugh Beg Observatory, I returned to the city center to visit the Mausoleum of Timur and and Ulugh Beg. While walking home, we saw a wedding party and Musa invited me to try to enter. Luckily we were accepted as special guests so I could experience the atmosphere of an extravagant party in Samarkand. On the way home we were lucky again to be able to see the 3D-light show at the Registan. According to Musa, we were lucky because I picked up an eagle feather on the road. In Tengri-ism, if we find bird feathers on the road, we should pick them up because these are gifts from life and will bring us good luck. I was reminded that this area was once under the influence of the Turkic-Mongols who believed in Tengri, "the all-encompassing God of Heaven." The plan is that after this I will relax in Samarkand and return to Tashkent. ___ Sumatra Stage 1 Route (DONE!): Jakarta - Bandar Lampung - Baturaja - Lahat - Pagar Alam - Bengkulu - Lebong Tandai - Kerinci - Jambi - Kuala Tungkal - Batam - Johor Bahru ASEAN Mainland Stage 2 Route (DONE!): Johor Bahru - Kuala Tahan - Kota Bharu - Su-Ngai Kolok - Nakhon Si Thammarat - Chaiya - Nakhon Pathom - Bangkok - Nakhon Ratchasima - Phimai - Nong Khai - Vientiane - Vang Vieng - Luang Prabang - Chiang Rai - Chiang Mai - Pai - Chiang Mai - Chiang Rai - Boten - Kunming, China China Stage 3 Route (DONE!): Kunming - Dali - Lijiang - Shangri-La - Shambala - Litang - Chengdu - Leshan - Chengdu - Xi'an - Zhangye - Jiayuguan - Dunhuang - Turpan - Urumqi - Almaty, Kazakhstan Stage 4 Central Asia Route: Almaty - Shymkent - Tashkent - Nukus - Muynak - Turtkul - Khiva - Bukhara - Samarkand - Tashkent - Khujand - Fann Mountains - Dushanbe - Kunduz, Afghanistan *Follow my Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/obeysianipar/) for direct messages **Message me for sponsorship --- Music Credits: And Awaken - Stings by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.