Journey Of Hope - Fall 2018 Journey of Hope 2018 | Page 15

The 7-hour drive from Khorog to Murghab takes travelers through
the scenic Koytezek area (pictured on page 12 and 13).
We pass salt lakes that are too corrosive for fish
to survive, and swerve around truckers navigating
the narrow roads on their way to China. Cyclists
peddle past us, calves like iron. They’re exploring
the Silk Road. Marco Polos of the modern era.
Like Marco Polo, most people who visit this
place don’t stay. The land is too hard. The winters
too cold. But there are people who, through tough-
ness of spirit, never leave. Considered too Kyrgyz
to be Tajik and too Tajik to be Kyrgyz, these herders
survive in their isolation. That isolation was com-
plete for up to nine months at a time until just a few
years ago. Heavy snows would block the roads and
old Soviet-Era machinery struggled to remove it.
The people here were alone, surrounded by ice. If
emergencies arose, oh well. If they ran out of food,
better figure it out. They were alone with each oth-
er, and no one else. Now things are a little better.
The snow removed a little sooner.
The map in my lap vaguely resembles newsprint
that has been crumpled and smoothed out again,
the grey creases and folds that represent mountains
cover the route we’re taking. Villages, like Ali Chur,
are too insignificant for the urban topographer to
label. When we pass the villages, I understand why.
The flimsy structures look like they could be blown
away by a strong wind. Some are. Not long ago, the
Bash Gumbez school roof was torn off by a storm.
It had been built by the community, without the
benefit of modern equipment or knowledgeable
engineers. Our Tajik partners replaced the roof last
year. It’s holding strong, as the other roofs buckle
and break around it.
Maybe that’s why they call this place the “Roof of
the World.” Exposed to the elements, laid bare un-
der the sky, battered by all four seasons in a day —
the remoteness is relentless. As the sun starts to set,
that remoteness is even more sharply felt. Twilight
settles in around us. You have to squint to see the
horizon and the blue sky turns to dappled grey.
We start our descent. Slowly, color comes
back into the picture. Grass grows. Sheep and
goats, appear in greater number. The tempera-
ture rises. The sky gets farther and farther away.
Clouds start to cover the stars and the daytime
moon seems less bright. It is as if we are re-
turning to earth. But this is no mission to outer
space. It’s just a regular day for my companions,
the pioneers of education in Tajikistan. l
FALL 2018
MARCO POLO’S JOURNEY
THROUGH THE PAMIR MOUNTAINS
For twelve days the course is along this elevated plain,
which is named Pamer; and as during all that time you
do not meet with any habitations, it is necessary to make
provision at the outset accordingly. So great is the height
of the mountains, that no birds are to be seen near their
summits; and however extraordinary it may be thought,
it was affirmed, that from the keenness of the air, fires
when lighted do not give the same heat as in lower
situations, nor produce the same effect in dressing
victuals.
After having performed this journey of twelve days, you
have still forty days to travel in the same direction, over
mountains, and through valleys, in perpetual succession,
passing many rivers and desert tracts, without seeing any
habitations or the appearance of verdure.
From The Travels of Marco Polo
You Can Come With Us
Follow our expedition’s
route, on the next page.
JOURNEY OF HOPE | 13