Silk Roads Heritage Corridors: Restoration of Sites of Silk Roads Exchange

Within the framework of the “Silk Roads Heritage Corridors in Afghanistan, Central Asia and Iran – International Dimension of the European Year of Cultural Heritage”, a partnership project between UNESCO and the European Union, a number of heritage sites that exemplify the intercultural exchanges that took place along the Silk Roads are scheduled to be restored in 2019.  

The sites include the Bogbonli Mosque in Itchan Kala, Uzbekistan, The Yengi Emam Caravansari in Iran and the Second Buddhist Temple at Krasnaya in Kyrgyzstan.

The Bogbonli Mosque is located in the South Eastern part of the World Heritage site Itchan Kala. It is a mahalla (quarter) mosque, built in 1809 by the master Pehlivan Quli who designed the entire building, as indicated on a stone at the East of the mosque entrance.

The Second Buddhist Temple at the Krasnaya Rechka site (City of Nevaket) is a World Heritage property located in Kyrgyzstan. The Buddhist temple complex dates from the 6^th - 8th centuries CE. With a diverse cultural history, the temple is characteristic of the exchange of religions which occurred along the Silk Road’s Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor. Buddhism travelled extensively along the Silk Roads, with art and shrines being found as far apart as Bamiyan in Afghanistan, Mount Wutai in China, and Borobudur in Indonesia.

The Silk Roads were fundamental in the dissemination of religions throughout Eurasia and both sites testify to the far-reaching spread of Buddhism and Islam from their regions of origin.

The Yengi Emam Caravanserai is located in the Alborz Province of Iran, in the ancient hills of the old Yengi Emam village. The caravanserai is one of the most important forms of Persian architecture to have emerged across the Silk Roads, and offered a unique venue for exchanging goods and traditions among travellers coming from the diverse regions of Eurasia.

In the Middle Ages, caravans consisting of horses or camels were the standard means of transporting goods across land. Caravanserais, large guesthouses or inns designed to welcome travelling merchants, played a vital role in facilitating the passage of people and goods along trade routes. Found along the Silk Roads from Turkey to China, caravanserai provided not only a regular opportunity for merchants to eat, rest and prepare themselves in safety for their onward journey, but also to exchange goods, trade in local markets and to meet other merchant travellers, and in doing so, to exchange cultures, languages and ideas.

As trade routes developed and became more lucrative, caravanserais became more of a necessity, and their construction intensified across Central Asia from the 10th century onwards, and continued until as late as the 19th century. This resulted in a network of caravanserais that stretched from China to the Indian subcontinent, Iran, the Caucasus, Turkey, and as far as North Africa, Russia and Eastern Europe, many of which still stand today as a testament to Silk Roads exchanges.

More information can be found on the UNESCO Almaty page

See also:

Preservation of the Traditional Craftsmanship of the Silk Roads: Kyrgyz felt carpets

Silk Roads Heritage Corridors: Intangible Cultural Heritage Workshop, Bamiyan, Afghanistan