http://www.pilgrimsonthesilkroad.com/ It’s amazing when a shift of the wind uncovers the truth behind a legend. The Greek historian Herodotus (484 – 425 B.C.) once wrote about more than 50,000 Persian soldiers who vanished without a trace in a Saharan sandstorm. The event was…
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News from the Nowhere Farm
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www.PilgrimsOnTheSilkRoad.com When it comes to tight writing, it helps to be a poet/songwriter. Linford Detweiler from Over the Rhine is the master when it comes to family letters. He does a great job of evoking scenes without being overwrought. Here is…
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The Sea That Disappeared
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www.PilgrimsOnTheSilkRoad.com Massive hulks of ships lie rusting in the desert sun more than a hundred miles from any water. Harbor towns that were once hubs of commerce crumble into the landscape. Sandstorms choke the air with toxic dust. Its a scene that…
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Ancient Castles of Khiva
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www.PilgrimsOnTheSilkRoad.com The World Monuments Fund recently released their list of endangered places for 2010. Among them are the Ancient Desert Castles of Khorezm, the medieval name of Khiva when the kingdom was at its height. The ruins date from the golden age of the…
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Christians on trial in Uzbekistan
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Uzbekistan remains on the list of “Countries of Particular Concern” issued by the the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. In the 1880’s, Mennonites fled the Russian empire to this region in search of religious liberty. Below is an interesting…
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Star Trek and the Ten Commandments
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http://www.pilgrimsonthesilkroad.com/ Speaking of great Treks…. Gene Roddenberry was no fan of religion, but the folks at Beliefnet just parsed his Star Trek franchise for parallels to the Ten Commandments. Very entertaining. Now someone needs to write about seeing the Beatitudes…
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Great Trekker Website
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Norman Epp is an old friend from our journey in 2007 to retrace the Mennonite migration to Central Asia. His great-grandfather was Claas Epp Jr. You can see quite a bit of him in the documentary “Through the Desert Goes…
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Christianity on the Silk Road
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Hundreds of years before the Mennonites trekked into Central Asia, a group of Christians known as Nestorians lived along what is known today as the Silk Road.In a few weeks, Dr. Charles Stang of Harvard University is presenting a talk…
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Salon article mentions Claas Epp
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Salon’s Gabriel Winant recently wrote a cleverly-titled article summarizing a few Apocalyptic movements. The Mennonite trek to Central Asia clocks in at number three on “The Four Horsemen send their regrets.”Here is Winant’s take on the story: Name: The Great…
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Samarkand’s spell
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Pia Chatterjee has a nice article in the San Francisco Chronicle about her recent visit to Samarkand. This city was an important stop for the Mennonite pilgrims on their way to Khiva. Perhaps they had a similar experience more than a…
