Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor

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Exploring the Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor - A Melting Pot of Cultures and Civilizations

The Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023, offers a fascinating glimpse into the rich history and cultural exchanges that took place along one of the most significant trade routes in human history. Stretching over 886 kilometers across Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, this corridor forms a crucial part of the vast Silk Road network that connected East Asia with the Mediterranean world from the 2nd century BCE to the 16th century CE.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

The Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor is a key section of the Silk Roads in Central Asia that connects other corridors from all directions. Located in rugged mountains, fertile river valleys, and uninhabitable desert, the 866-kilometre corridor runs from east to west along the Zarafshan River and further southwest following the ancient caravan roads crossing the Karakum Desert to the Merv Oasis. Channelling much of the east-west exchange along the Silk Roads from the 2nd century BCE to the 16th century CE, a large quantity of goods was traded along the corridor. People travelled, settled, conquered, or were defeated here, making it a melting pot of ethnicities, cultures, religions, sciences, and technologies.

Encyclopedia Record: Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor

Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which covers the Zarafshan-Karakum portion of the ancient Silk Road and historical sites along the route. On September 17, 2023, UNESCO designated a 886 km stretch of the Silk Road network in Central Asia as a World Heritage site. The corridor spans Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and includes 31 sites.

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