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Sven Hedin's discoveries on the Silk Road

In 1865 in Stockholm in the family of architect Ludwig Hedin was born a boy named Sven. Since early childhood he was fond of reading adventurous novels and travels description. It must be admitted that it fired his passion for studying Asia. Being a young boy, he decided to devote his life to travel.

Sven Hedin's discoveries on the Silk Road

Being a student of Stockholm University, Sven Hedin had done his first trip to the East – via the Caspian sea to Persia, during which he studied Tatar and Persian languages.

After having returned to Europe, Hedin started to learn geography and geology in Berlin University Uppsala. Then on, he, for a short period of time mastering languages worked as an interpreter and translator in Swedish-Norwegian embassy at the court of Persian shakh. In 1890-1891 a new travel to Asia followed. Passed Ashgabad, Merv, Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent, Sven Hedin reached the Issyk-Kul, where he visited a tomb of the famous traveler Przhevalski.

In such a way Sven Hedin prepared himself for the future expeditions. When he was 27 years old he defended a thesis for a Doctor's degree and became famous as one of the most authoritative orientalists. "Asia became my gold fiancee", – he wrote.

In October 1893, Sven Hedin started his new travel to the East that lasted for three and a half years. "The whole Asia was opened before me. I was feeling that I had a calling to discover a lot – they are expecting me in the very heart of deserts, on the top of the mountains – he wrote in his book. – During my three years travels, the only principle which I followed – was a research of those regions which had not been visited by Europeans".

Before he started his travel Sven Hedin made an expedition plan, making his way via the ancient caravan routes of the Great Silk Road: "As for the equipment, it will be done in Turkestan and from Stockholm, devices and weaponry only should taken. I had decided to set out on a journey on tarantass on the known roads via Turkestan to Tashkent, Kokand, Margilan and Osh, via the pass Terek-davan to Kashgar... The expedition will start from Osh in Fergana, where the mail routes are stopped and caravan ones are started through which I will have to pass almost 800 Swedish miles to the coasts of the Yellow Sea".

Soon after departure from Orenburg the travelers met the caravan in desert consisted of 100 camels loaded with cotton and looking quite interesting among this deserted scenery.

Having turned around the Aral sea, the travelers came to the banks of the great Syr-Darya. Here in the thicket along the banks of the river lived Turkestan tigers that chased after wild boars. The eagle whirled in the sky. Pods of emerald bee-eaters frisked. Gazelles flashed carefully by. Pheasants shined with rainbow metallic tints flushed at every step. Sven Hedin wrote: "Inclusion on the rest part of the trip in my menu a delicate white pheasant meat was the most wonderful change, especially because my provision was coming to an end".

From Kyzyl-Orda the traveler went on tarantass harnessed with three camels. "In desert, thorny plants with difficulty bear a struggle with severe nature. In the most dry and sandy places saxaul grows, taking the most intricate forms, in which instead of leaves there are bunches of yellow-green rich branches. Its hard, like bone roots of unusual length represent the best fuel. Tumble-weed balls rush about the ground, ground squirrels look out of their holes, jump like gutta-percha jerboas. Wolves, foxes, antelopes, hares run about an endless space. It is about 5 o'clock in the afternoon, the dazzling sun disappears, purple color is being replaced with the light blue which in a few moments passes into night shades. Cold air is clean and fresh, starts shine like electric lamps".

Sven Hedin's discoveries on the Silk Road

"Eventually, the gardens of Turkestan with high hills came into view, and here is a proud burial mound of Timurid time. The travelers made a stop here for a couple of hours in order to look through a grandiose mosque-mausoleum built by Amir Temur in honor of the holy Khodja Akhmad Yassavi. In his diary Sven Hedin made a note: "Portal of the mosque-mausoleum is extremely high and decorated with two picturesque towers, and the mosque itself is topped with a number of cupolas. Porcelain facing of the facade was destroyed but lateral and back walls of the rectangular building have been survived and glisten like in Samarkand with blue and green colors. The mosque is surrounded with the square clay wall built by Khudoyar Khan".

It was Friday and Sven Hedin visited the mosque during the pray. Believers "in colored caftans and white turbans solemnly entered under the gigantic arches of the mosque, leaving the shoes at the entrance. White walls of the mosque were decorated with surahs from Koran". Sven Hedin went up to one of the upper galleries and watched the pray from there. "It was a beautiful view, reminding the Night of Ramazan in Istambul", – he points out.

On January 25, 1894 Sven Hedin arrived in Tashkent, where he stopped in order to complete his preparation for his trip to the Pamirs. The traveler who had been in Tashkent before, pointed out that the city was built deep in the valley of the Chirchik river. Dachas and country-houses with gardens which formed suburbs. Peaches, almonds, apricots, grapes and nuts grew in the gardens. Between the gardens and dachas the fields of wheat and lucerne stretched, but more with cotton and sesame, much rice, mulberry-trees, fig-trees. The Tashkent valley and the city itself was irrigated from the canals assigned the Chirchik river at the Niyazbek fortification.

The city was divided into two parts by the Ankhor canal. The "old town" was located on the right bank of the river, all in greens of gardens, between which constructions with flat roofs were hidden. Over them a light blue cupola of the mausoleum of Suyunidj Khan and madrassah of Barak Khan raised above splendid building erected in the beginning of the XVI century and amazing people with its scale and luxury of decorative trimming. Sheikhantaur sight was a mausoleum of Yunus-Khan, remarkable for asceticism and rough beauty. Not very far from the crossing of the ancient roads Chorsu on the hill, there was seen a high peshtak of the madrassah Kukeldash, trimmed with ornaments of colored tiles and flanked with minarets. To the north of it there was Jami Mosque and madrassah Khodja Ahrar. The mausoleum of the holy Sheikh Abu Bakr Kaffal Shashi who died in 976 and who was respected by believers sparkled with a cupola. Madrassah of Abul Kasim located in the Beshagach part of the city and surrounded with the gardens.

Since olden days, the old part of the city was inhabited by artisans – blacksmith, jewelers, potters, weavers, carpet-makers. Old town quarters-makhallya has the same name: makhallya Takachi – blacksmith, makhallya Dergez – casters, Egarchi – saddle shapped, Ukchi – armourers etc. The houses were as a rule one storied buildings did not have windows facing the street, all the doors of the rooms faced the courtyard. In front of doors there was a common awning on the columns. Doors with carving, windows with a frequent lattice without windows. During winter time windows were sealed up with the oily paper, except one of them in order that the smoke may go out. The fire in the houses was made in the fireplace, which represented four corner pipe with a wide hole at the bottom. There were a plenty of nishas in the walls instead of wardrobes.

Sven Hedin's discoveries on the Silk Road

In the new part of Tashkent separated from the "old town" with the fortress on the left bank of the Ankhor canal, Russian officials, officers, manufacturers and merchants, local intellectuals settled over there. Among the one-storied European buildings, the monumental brick buildings of banks, big shops, men and women gymnasiums and special spot of the city – surrounded by the park, the palace of the "exiled" great duke Nikolai Konstantinovich stood out for.

From Tashkent, having provided themselves with food and changed camels on five horses, the expedition headed for Kokand. There, Sven Hedin stayed for a few days time seeing the wonderful architectural buildings of this ancient town, ex-center of Kokand khan-the palace of the last ruler Khodoyar khan, numerous mosques and madrassahs including the biggest and the most fantastic – Jami madrassah. "Its huge square yard, shaded with mulberry-trees, poplars, willows, with minaret, with a wonderful gallery, painted roof and carved wooden columns... had 86 khujras and could accept 200 students", – Sven Hedin pointed out in his records.

Further, the way of expedition passed through Ferghana Valley.

In Margilan Sven Hedin hired a guide Uzbek man Islam-bai from Osh by birth. Dressed in a blue cloth, Islam-bai grizzly, but strong enough, he looked wonderfully. Besides Islam-bai, the traveler was also accompanied by cameleers and the workers Mukhammad-shakh, Yuldash, Kosim and Yulchi.

"In Margilan I left some unnecessary things including Orenburg tarantass and suit-cases. Instead of them I bought "yagdans" – wooden trunks, upholstered with leather, which could be strapped to the back of a horse or a camel".

From Margilan the caravan headed for Uchkurgan, from where the expedition was seen off to long journey by Uchkurgan "aksakals" dressed in the gala blue robes and white turbans, with belts of forged silver, curved sabers in sheath fettered with silver with big horse suite.

Sven Hedin wrote that he was indebted to Islam-bai who "was a truly partner no matter how dangerous it was or which weather they face en route... He left his house and the family and easily followed me to share the unknown fate". Islam-bai was very well aware of the area, helped Sven and his travelers finding wells in the desert and underground waters either with the help of bird's-nests or by buzzed gadflies appearing near camels or by plants and the other signs. "We wandered together through loose sands of the Gobi desert and very nearly die of thirst. And when the others could bear, he saved my records and maps. He was always the first when it was necessary to cross high covered with snow mountains, led my caravan via foamy rivers, stood on the post when nomads wanted to attack us. If it had not been him, my trip would not have been completed so happily. Now he is with honor wear golden medal given to him by the king Oskar".

During many trips which were made by Sven Hedin for his long life, it happened so rare that all the participants of his expeditions returned home alive. During the caravan trips, his travelers perished in the mountains, waterless deserts, were killed by militant nomads.

On March 18, Sven Hedin reached the Pamir post in Murgab. During all this trip he was keeping out geographical observation, collected geological and botanical collections, made anthropological metering and realized the route hydrological inspections. Then, Sven`s way passed through Kashgar to Lob-Nor, Northern Tibet and the final point of his trip became Peking. Rich results of this trip have been described in two volumes, published in London in 1898, under the title "Through Asia". According to Rerih, these two volumes represent "masterpiece of scientific geography".

Sven Hedin's discoveries on the Silk Road

Having completed this expedition Sven Hedin wrote in his scientific diaries: "Now it became clear why in the past times caravans with silk from China headed for western countries made their way so close from southern part of Lob-Nor, though here they had to pass through the terrible sandy desert".

One more time Sven Hedin visited Central Asia during his next trip in 1899, when his way to Tibet and India passed through Osh and Kashgar, and on his way back, in may 1902 he stayed for a while in Andijan.

The son of the famous artist Nikolay Rerih scientist-orientalist Yuri Rerih wrote about Sven Hedin soon after the death of the traveler in 1952: "Many years Sven Hedin planned a scrupulous research of Central Asia with the group representing various branches of science. Such a new type of expedition meeting the requirements of the modern researchers and growing demand on specialization was necessary at that time. This new type of the expedition had a tendency to recruit specialists where every specialist would be responsible for his own field of researches; moreover it intended to develop to the movable research station, whose workers spend a lot of time in one region and organize research bases in various places of given region. A new type of expedition facilitates accumulation of the exact data on the country and gives the scientists unique chance to check and to confirm their results".

Sven Hedin made six expeditions to Central Asia. He made up maps of remarkable places in the Pamirs, in the desert of Takla-Makan, in the mountains of Tibet and the Himalayas, researched flora of deserts and hydrography of the Lob-Nor basin.

Sven Hedin's books have been translated and republished in many languages of the world. The books had photos, taken by the researcher himself and representing exceptional scientific and historical interest. The scientist in his travels set the task "open new ranges, lakes and rivers, search of tracks of ancient culture able to cast light on immigration of peoples, fixing forsaken caravan routes – the tasks irrepressibly attracting travelers to these remote regions".
 

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