The American Museum of Natural History in New York City, does an outstanding job of bringing the experience of the historic Silk Road to life with their exhibition, "Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World." This presentation will transport you from the present day to a long ago place and time where you will see, hear, smell, touch, and learn about the cultural crossroads that influenced civilization across continents for nearly 3 millennia.
The route itself stretched thousands of miles from China to Italy at around 2nd century BC. In addition to silk, there were treasures such as jewels, medicine, ivory, herbs, spices, foods, musks and animals transported along this route. Together with the importation of this exotic merchandise, travelers disseminated new religions, music, art, ideas and cultures.
The journey you will take begins in Xi'an, China where your "passport" is stamped and lifelike camels laden with saddles, baskets, and sacks walk a stretch of sand before a desert back drop of dunes and misty skies. Here you will also learn about the silk making process as you watch live worms spin silk and view a replica of an ancient Chinese silk loom. As you make your way through subduedly lit passages, you will come to a musical presentation that allows you to interact with the music. You can choose a solo instrument, a combination of any instruments, or an orchestra to render melodies much like those played in the ancient city of Xi'an,
Entering Turfan of north-west China, the landscape changes to that of a fertile oasis. Soon you find yourself walking in the midst of a bizarre, where you hear market sounds all around you: footsteps, clanging coins, a cacophony of languages. As you make your way through the market, you pass stalls of colorful merchandise such as peacock feathers, herbs, fruits and fabrics. Kneel down to take in the scent from barrels of patchouli and musk. Before you leave Turfan, children will enjoy the reenactment of tales such as the Goose who Laid Golden Eggs and The Lion and the Hare, which are shown in a small viewing area before you make your way onto the next city.
The third stop on your journey is Samarkand. Today, it is located in Uzbekistan and is one of the oldest cities in the world. In antiquity, it was a mid-point on the journey from China to the Mediterranean, which is what allowed this city to flourish. Here you will find examples of the fine paper and glass that were coveted by Silk Road traders.
Your passage ends in Baghdad. At the time of the Silk Road, this city was a world center for intellectual thought and culture. Medicine, mathematics, chemistry, astronomy as well as literature and the arts flourished here. At this point of the exhibition you can use an astrolabe to tell time in a star filled sky. Here, at the culmination of your journey, you are reminded of the poignant impact that history has on our modern lives. “Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World,” successfully resurrects the past for both adults and children. You will walk away with a better understanding of this commercial superhighway, which linked East and West culturally, artistically, religiously, intellectually, and moreover has set the stage for the world we live in today.
"Traveling the Silk Road: Ancient Pathway to the Modern World," is on exhibit now to August 15, 2010, at the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, N.Y. 10024. For further information please visit their website at: http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/silkroad/ , or call (212) 769-5100
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