Along the Silk Road in Central Asia (eg Samarkand and Bukhara) and the struggle between empires.
Phil Cooper
- Organisation:
- Phil Cooper HistoricTravelTalks
- Region:
- Anywhere
- Notice Period:
- Short (maybe less than one month's notice)
- Type:
- U3A, Probus, Womens Institutes, Ladies Groups
- Fee:
- Expensed: Expenses
- Category:
- Travel
- Updated:
- 30th October 2018
- Tagged:
- Central Asia | Silk Road | Tamerlane | Mongols
A journey along The Silk Road in Central Asia The Golden Road to Samarkand. “Sweet to ride forth at evening from the wells, When shadows pass gigantic on the sand, And softly through the silence beat the bells, Along the Golden Road to Samarkand," james Elroy Fleckner. This starts in the capital of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat journeying on to Kunya Urgench. This was an important city on the Silk Road. It was laid to waste by Genghis Khan and Tamerlane. Khiva was founded by Shem the son of Noah and was a centre for Persian traders, before coming under Turkic occupation. It was also know as the “City of Slaves”. Bukhara was the holiest city in the area the Kalyan mosque can hold 20,000 worshippers. British intelligence officers were held in the Zindon jail, before meeting their fate in front of the Ark. The British intelligence officers were occupied in a “cloak and dagger” confrontation with Imperial Russia, in the 19th century, as Russia sort to gain a foothold in British India. This intrigue I deal with and was known as “The Great Game”. Samarkand is a place of fabulous buildings, starting off with the Registan. It is know for being the capital of the empire of Tamerlane (1360- 1405), which covered an area which now encompasses parts of 22 countries. His mausoleum, the Gur- e – Amir is a most impressive building. He also started the construction of the Bibi – Khanym mosque, named after his wife, which is the largest in central Asia.
Lastly of interest is how the Great game eventually was resolved, which was in Kashgar, Western China, which I deal with briefly. Many are not aware of this conflict, but in 1885 when Russia occupied Panjdeh in what was Afghanistan, the two countries nearly came to war.
Feedback "Re your talk, usually folks need only to talk for 1/2 hour, partly because too long a talk folks of older years (like children) , their attention is not too good, obviously this does not hold with a slide show, which needs ,in most cases to be longer. HOWEVER, your talk was extremely interesting and I do believe, if you had spoken for much longer (an hour+) everyone should enjoy it, and no-one would be bored. I did like the aspect that you kept referring to the map when relating to the history this indeed helps when discussing reasons and timings when situations occurred in the distant past. I also feel that your talk appeals to almost all age groups, and both male and female. I also think you are right to try and emphasise the "Great Game" aspect, as like the others at the coffee morning I was completely unaware of the associated history and political links to "The Silk Road" or rather "Roads".
Views: 2108 | Enquiries: 11About Phil Cooper
I am registered on Zoom and have undertaken 5 presentations using this. One of these to a Rotary Club in Victoria Australia. This was by using screen share, as my talks revolve around photographs I have taken of various places I have visited.
During this time where people need help if there are any donations I will be sending them to the homeless who are vulnerable at this time. I would stress that for me it isn't a money making venture. Any donation from the Costa Rica talk will go to the reforestation project "Rainforest of the Austrians". Please google this to see details of their tremendous project. There is a PayPal reference if a group wants to support this. More details are on the website.
The accent is on the visual, with enough verbal to explain the story of where I have visited. I have accumulated what I feel are good photographs to illustrate my talks which relate to my travel experience. I had 19 speaking engagements in 2019, to various organisation. These presentations relate to places, often with a historical background and often not readily visited. These include Syria and Jordan, the Silk Road in Central Asia and Western China,, India and Cuba. Cuba and Panama. “Great presentation – I spoke to people tonight they were the cleanest photos seen at a Travel Club Presentation. Very good 9 out of 10. It must have been good, hardly anyone dropped off to sleep!” (Taradale Travel Club New Zealand).
My blog site is http://historictraveltalks.blogspot.co.uk (Copy and paste)
One trip I wish to really promote is the trip to Costa Rica. Anyone who is interested in wildlife will enjoy this. There are some excellent photos provided by a colleague on the trip and lots of video. One particular scene involving sloths was something the guide had never seen in his 18 years experience. It also features a superb reforestation project "The Rainforest of the Austrians", re establishing habitats and adding to the carbon trapping capacity. I have liaised with the inspirational Michael Schnitzler and ALL funds generated are sent to Costa Rica to continue this.
I look back at my trip in the Middle East - from Cairo to Istanbul and reflect on what I saw then and what I see currently in places like Aleppo. However the highlight for me was the crusader fortress of Krak des Chevaliers, which is shown on the photo I have included. This was described by TE Lawrence as "perhaps the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world". Indeed he associated with many places along this journey.
I research the topics thoroughly and I provide a narrative and background to illustrated talks. I operate on a voluntary basis and am prepared to travel within reasonable distances from my home in North Nottinghamshire.
Along the Silk Road in Central Asia Talk Feedback
This part of Central Asia included in particular Kunya Urgench, Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand. The buildings are simply stunning and the area is historically very interesting. It is the arena where the Great Game was played out, the political and diplomatic confrontation between Britain and Russia in the 19th century, which was described by one of the audience as fascinating.
"Very interesting talk. I could hear every word. I knew nothing about this area and learnt a lot. Pleased I came!!"
“Your talk was extremely interesting and I do believe, if you had spoken for much longer everyone should enjoy it, and no-one would be bored. I did like the aspect that you kept referring to the map when relating to the history this indeed helps when discussing reasons and timings when situations occurred in the distant past. I also feel that your talk appeals to almost all age groups, and both male and female.”
I am a former graduate Biology teacher and also coached cricket for 24 seasons. mainly in New Zealand,Scotland and Amsterdam. as a professional.
Other Talks on SpeakerNet by Phil Cooper
- A trip of a lifetime Syria- Damascus, Krak des Chaveliers Allepo and Jordan and Mt Sinai
- Along the Silk Road in Western China – Xian, Jiayuaguan, Dunhang, Turpan, Kashgar and Tash Rabhat.
- Assam Wildlife Reserves Amritsar and the Raj in Calcutta.
- A Cricket journey New Zealand, Amsterdam, Glasgow, Notts and France -(will travel)
- Cuba and Panama – Independence, revolution and pirates.
- A historical approach to the Central Asian conflicts on the Silk Road and the Great Game and beyond
- Beasts Birds and Bugs of Costa Rica and the rainforest of the Austrians
- Amazing Animals of Costa Rica and the Rainforest of the Austrians
- The Great Game – A conflict between Great Britain and Russia in Central Asia and Western China.
- Cape Town to Victoria Falls throug Namibia, Botswana and the genocide of the bushmen
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