Silk Road Odyssey – Adventures along the Royal Road, wine and whisky cake (Uzbekistan, 2011)

We arrived just in time to watch the village ladies bring their milk out to the roadside for collection. We provided instant amusement for the colourfully dressed women folk, whose collective laughter revealed a treasury of gold-toothed smiles...Inside a large courtyard sitting on a Chororya, tea bed, we met the lovely '100 year old' Rakima who offered tea and blessings as one by one we queued to shake her hand..

Silk Road Odyssey – Tamerlane’s Tomb, Saint Daniel’s arm and Samarkand sunsets (Uzbekistan 2011)

Despite a murderous legacy to rival Stalin or Genghis Khan, Tamerlane is the Uzbek national hero. A single turquoise pleated dome, littered with kufic script towers over the jade slab Gur Emir (rulers tomb) we watched a group of Fergana Valley Uzbeks participating in pilgrimage rituals. Colourfully scarfed ladies huddled around an old man wearing a traditional felt doppa hat as he recited a blessing which was symbolically caught in cupped hands and drawn down over the face...

Silk Road Odyssey – A warm welcome in Tajikistan (2011)

Nazira ushered us into a cosy room decorated with beautiful carpets and traditional wall hangings. We sat on the floor, around the teapot as she passed around photos of her late parents. The neighbourhood children had gathered in quizzically in the doorway and listened as we introduced ourselves and answered questions about our jobs. Smiles, giggles and laughter filled the room as our guide, Hamrakul gently translated. A couple of hours later than planned, we finally managed to embrace, shake hands and wish this friendly neighbourhood a fond farewell.

Silk Road Odyssey – Touching the heavens, Karakoram Highway and lake Karakul (Kashgar, China 2011)

Huge channels from mudslides converge on the highway from either side; a reminder that roads aren’t supposed to be here. Soon we are gazing in awe of brilliant white peaks piercing a cloudless azure sky. Each corner we twist around seemingly reveals even higher, more beautiful peaks. It’s the sense that something so beautiful can be so dangerous that attracts man to battle with nature to reach the summits.

Silk Road Odyssey – Mares milk and moon cakes (Kyrgyzstan to Kashgar, China, 2011)

We shake free of the additional guide and move towards the Friday mosque and market area where at least for now, the traditional Uigher lifestyle is being preserved. We amble through the old streets of rickety buildings between street traders. Traditional strings of noodles, lagman, are piled high for a kerbside snack waiting to be painted red with a spicy chilli paste. This is the dish of love, which should last as long as the noodles...

From the beach to the mountains (Winter Travels in Iran, 2019)

As temperatures plummet below zero a picture postcard blanket of snow and ice envelopes the tea houses. The rivers of snowmelt that gush hypnotically beside these summer sanctuaries fall eerily silent, creating an unforgiving environment where only dogs, wolves and bears survive.

Silk Road Odyssey – Horseback wrestling and drunken fishermen… (Kyrgyzstan, 2011)

Riding horses along the valley floor takes us through a breath-taking wilderness among yaks, cows, horses, and shaggy herding dogs. Amongst the peace and stillness of our surroundings, it’s easy to imagine the majesty of an ancient camel caravan snaking its way towards the caravanserai.

Silk Road Odyssey -The journey begins (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 2011)

The Silk Road; that most iconic of ancient trade routes, a mystical network of roads, paths and tracks that defied geography, traversing some of the planets harshest mountains and deserts – all in the name of trade, knowledge and religion. From Buddhism to Christianity, slaves to jugglers and rhubarb to cucumbers for over 1500 years it fuelled intrepid travel..

The unique island cuisine of the Persian Gulf (winter travels in Iran, 2019)

I still regret not asking the shrimp mafia for a second explosive hit of mutant crustaceans. Subtly dusted with spices and flash fried in a cabin beside a lagoon in Baluchistan - they remain the culinary zenith of my travels in southernmost Iran.

Winter travels in Southern Iran – Qeshm Island, UNESCO Geopark (2019)

As the sun slipped through the last golden strip of clouds, I sat down to absorb the beauty and deathly silence across the spectacular valley. Suddenly, seemingly from nowhere, the haunting sound of the call to prayer echoed around the canyon from a village somewhere far on the horizon.