Bernard Ollivier

This book is the third and final book about Bernard Ollivier’s memoir of his journey alone on foot following the route of the Silk Road. This installment covers his travels from Samarkand, Uzbekistan through Kyrgyzstan to Xi’an China. The account of his journey is interspersed with descriptions of the countryside, cultures and customs of the various groups of people he encounters, and history of recent changes in the region. He is better prepared for this trip, drawing on experiences of show more the last two. For example, he brought a carrying cart (which he calls Ulysses) with him this time and plenty of waterskins. He faces many challenges – weather, language, bureaucracy, altitude, fatigue, and isolation (especially in China where he did not speak any of the local languages though he was able to make a few friends along the way). His trip through the Gobi Desert was grueling.

He has a great sense of humor, and his writing gives the reader a good idea of his personality. Especially in the first part of his trip, he encounters much hospitality and helpfulness. His anecdotes about the people he meets are entertaining. Too bad he found so few traces of the Old Silk Road. At age sixty-three, he was not ready to fade into the background, as is expected from an aging person in his native France (and other western countries), so it was refreshing to go to a part of the world where older people are valued. He engages in some soul searching about why he wanted to take on such a daunting adventure. He was carrying on his (deceased) wife’s dream of traveling, getting away from the hectic world, and wanting to continue to live a full life in retirement. The total journey from Istanbul to Xi’an covered around 7400 miles (or approx. 11900 km) in four separate trips of three to four months each over the course of four years (1999-2002). It is quite a lifetime accomplishment. I always enjoy reading about parts of our world I am unlikely ever to visit and very much enjoyed reading these three books.

4.5 show less

I really enjoyed this travelogue/memoir of Ollivier’s journey from the eastern border of Turkey through Iran and Turkmenistan, into Uzbekistan. I love this region of the world so was enthralled with his descriptions of the scenery. But my favorite portions of the book were his interactions with the people.

Ollivier was adamant that he travel the Great Silk Road on foot. I think there were large portions of the route that I would have given in and accepted a ride. But not Ollivier! I was show more astonished by the distance he traveled each day on foot. Most of the people he encountered along the way were very friendly, kind and hospitable, often inviting him to stay at their homes and providing him free meals. inviting, some not so much. Of course, there were the few who attempted to assert their control over him. I loved the times he pushed back. He also reports numerous instances of local people talking about the need for separation of church and state and the disdain for the mullahs.

The heat was relentless, and oftentimes the places to eat and sleep marked on his maps were inaccurate, resulting in a longer journey on those days. Ollivier provides the reader a good historical narrative of the sites he visits along the way. He also shares some stories about the cultures of the people, describes the wonderful food he partook of, and recounted the day to day life of the people. He also wrote of his frustrations along the way – the loss of his camera, the senseless passport checks (often two or more times at the same location). There were times he really wanted to just give up but somehow he was able to regroup and continue on.

I now need to read OUT OF ISTANBUL which describes his journey through Turkey (one of my favorite places to visit) and am eager for the release of the third book which will take him to Xian, China.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forge Books for the advance copy to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own. show less

French journalist Bernard Ollivier’s memoir about his travels through parts of Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In 1999, Bernard Ollivier set out to travel the Great Silk Road on foot. I previously read his first installment, Out of Istanbul, which took him across Turkey almost to the border with Iran, where he fell ill and had to retire from his journey. This book picks up the next year, where he left off, and ends in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Ollivier’s style is lively and show more conversational. He serves as both tour guide, cultural liaison, and a pair of eyes visiting parts of the world that many of us will never see. Along his way, he meets a variety of individuals, some of whom are kind and welcoming, others are out to take advantage (particularly a few corrupt officials). We vicariously visit caravansaries, borders, and villages. Ollivier is anxious to interact with the people, and many offer him hospitality. His descriptions of the scenery make the terrain easy to picture. One of the highlights is the crossing of the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan, with all its attendant hazards. He also had to design and build a device to carry his supplies.

He is much better prepared on this trip, and attempts to rest more, eat healthier, and carry a supply of water to guard against dehydration. He shares the history of the region and the (at the time) present state of affairs, and changes that have taken place over time. He includes a wide variety of details regarding the cultures, languages, and people of the region in a concise 300 pages. I tend to enjoy travel memoirs, and this one was a pleasure to read, taking me to places I will never physically visit. Highly recommended to my fellow armchair travelers. show less

This would be a 5-star book if I didn’t find it so depressing; it left me in a slump for months. So it gets 4-stars. I love this trilogy (this is book 2) about the author’s walking the Silk Road. I feel like I’ve learned so much about each country thanks to the people he meets and the sights he sees, and the gosh awful way he’s treated by corrupt police or religious radicals—at 1 point I just couldn’t take it anymore—I had to tell myself, “He survived to write the trilogy!” show more I look forward to reading the last book, hopeful that he’s treated far better than in the first two legs of his journey. show less