Some years back I watched the film “Babies.” The images of the child in Mongolia with her simple toys was likely my very first taste. It struck me as so foreign, in the most beautiful of ways. I sought out other stories of people living in the steppes with their horses and eagles and vast grasslands.
When my trip to Central Asia started to take shape I was torn. Do I look up everything, or do I experience the journey completely naive? As a child, my father held the reins and I was along for the ride. As an adult, I have been creating detailed itineraries: working out ferry schedules, making note of days when museums are closed, and so forth. My children would experience trips with wonder, but recently I found I had lost my awe. Having already seen the images online, seeing even something so inspiring as the Trevi Fountain lost its impact on me. For this trip I wanted to know something, but see it new. So I tried to walk the line between.
I found professor Eren Tasar’s 24-part lecture series “Crossroads of Civilization: A History of Central Asia.” Dr Tasar gave me the vocabulary I lacked. I dipped my toe into “planned economy” and “sedentary societies.” I gave thought to the barbarism of Europeans. But I also deliberately did not go online to view the masterworks of the Central Asian empires. I would be led like a child to see with fresh eyes and redevelop the wanderlust I had lost.
“What would I want to see next?” some have asked. Again and again I hear that the treasures of the steppes was taken and housed at The Hermitage. Someday I would like to go to St Petersburg to witness the splendor. Or better yet, perhaps someday the treasures will be rightfully returned.
