Tag: silk routes

TRAVEL | Reinventing foreign lands in our imagination

Switzerland is all about the Alps, sanatoriums, chocolate, and cheese. In France, there is nothing else to do but to see the romantic Paris and eat haute cuisine. Italy was frozen in Roman times and only has pizza and pasta to taste. Portugal only has amazing beaches, good food, and friendly people. Nordic countries are cold in every way. And then there is Asia, which seems to be just one country full of Buddhist temples… and poverty. Africa is so poor, people still live in huts in the middle of the savannah, where there are lions, hyenas, hippos and giraffes. The Middle East is just desert. Latin America is Amazonia and the Caribbean is composed of exotic beaches.

These are just a few stereotypical perceptions Westerns, especially Europeans, have of foreign countries. Nowadays, local guides do their best to show all the beauty of their home countries, but even they sometimes fall into the marketing trap of giving people what they want… that is, what people have in their minds… that is, all the stereotypes they have been collecting in their minds. Is Paris really romantic? Is Inca civilization really lost? And what does it really mean “New York, the Big Apple”?

Before there was marketing (from the 19th / 20th century onwards), there were travellers who would roam the world and write their impressions about the foreign lands they were visiting. Usually, they were merchants looking for merchandise to buy, transport, and resell. They would follow routes like the Silk Roads. Even though they came into contact with people from different backgrounds, they were full of prejudices and their writings reflected them. Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant, travelled along the different routes of the Silk Roads for about 20 years, and conveyed his knowledge about Asia in a book that is still read 700 years later. His somewhat biased views have shaped how Europeans have perceived Asia.

Later, missionaries and colonialists have also provided a certain image of faraway lands. This time, the perspective was different. Europeans were imposing their culture throughout the world assuming that their culture was superior to all others. Therefore, since then, everything has been compared to European standards. Descriptions of uneducated people, weird traditions and behaviours, and odd constructions are still widespread in documentaries, films, stories… and marketing. All these distorted perceptions were so crystallised over the centuries that, when people go to those foreign countries, they expect to see what matches their perceptions. If there is not a match, people can get very disappointed, even demanding to see “the real country”.

Tourism began in Roman times, but it was in the 19th century that the idea of regularly traveling for pleasure was widespread (among rich people, of course, those who had money for that). After World War II, societies developed many inventions, infrastructures (like transportation networks), and better living conditions for their people. Workers have become entitled to paid holidays and packages to travel around the world grew and grew, especially recently with low-cost companies. Thus, the number of tourists around the world is now so great it is becoming problematic. Yet, although they can see other countries with their own eyes and make their own mind, many choose to keep seeing foreign lands with the outdated eyes of biased ancient travellers. Is it because it is easier? Is it because it is more comfortable? Is it simply because people travel to see what they have built in their mind as being true, and do not accept that their perception is wrong?

The world has changed dramatically. The Silk Roads closed in 1453, even though China is trying to rebuild it. Colonies have become independent countries, developing in their own pace and manner. Catholicism is no longer conquering the world, quite the opposite. The diversity of cultures and languages is being cherished. Europe is not the centre of the world anymore and their cultural superiority is being questioned. However, tourism wording still reflects the old times. Destinations are sold using descriptions of exotic and paradise places, and comparing them to European known places, or as luxury resorts built exclusively for tourists, in the middle of local extreme misery. The idea of traveling to other countries to see with their own eyes what they have pictured in their minds (fuelled by the images and the texts they have seen and read about the place), staying in hotels similar to the hotels they are used to in Europe, and eat similar food, is so strong that they get frustrated when they realise reality is very different.

It is difficult to let go of preconceived ideas on how the world is. Those beliefs help us make some sense of the world and give us a kind of safety feeling. However, it can also prevent us from discovering new wonderful things and realise that the other side may be as amazing (or even more amazing) that this one.

 
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** YOUR WORDS AND IDEAS **

By Isabella Muir | On 26 February 2026 at 13:24
Your observations are so true. Our own cultural experiences are so ingrained that it can pervade all our opinions about ‘difference’. Keeping a truly open mind is challenging, but ultimately, so very rewarding!

By Words in Ideas | On 26 February 2026 at 14:22
Thank you, Isabella! Yes, we don’t realise how much our cultural experiences are a hindrance for our open minding…

 

This article is part of the FOREIGN LANDS series

Foreign Lands aims to discuss the difference between languages and cultural backgrounds.

 

 

The Silk Road great adventure: past and present

Photo by UNESCO
When Nicole Anna got married, she probably thought she would have a family life beside her husband. Maybe things went wrong with the marriage, maybe her husband did not love her enough, or maybe he just loved adventure too much. We do not know. The fact is that, as soon as she got pregnant, Niccolò left her and their unborn child and departed (ran away?) to Constantinople with his brother and business partner Maffeo. When the child was born in 1254, they were already establishing themselves in the new city, where they stayed for three years.

At that time, Venice was an independent republic and an international trade hub, intermediating commercial exchanges between the East and the West. Most (or maybe all) of its population was living from international trade, directly or indirectly. Nicole Anna had married a wealthy merchant from Venice and moved to his palazzo, where she ended up living alone, taking care of their child. If she hoped Niccolò would come home after setting up his trading post in Constantinople, she would be disappointed.

At some point, the situation in Constantinople went badly, but Niccolò and Maffeo did not return to Venice. They closed their business there and moved further and further East, exploring precious routes in the pursuit of many riches and new endeavours. By the time Niccolò finally came home, his wife had died and his son was already a teenager, with a good education that had been provided by his uncle and aunt. For some reason, Niccolò decided to depart again, but this time he took his son Marco with him. During the next twenty years, they travelled extensively all the way to China, India, and Indonesia. Besides setting up trading posts and doing business, they ran away from wars and served as diplomats to kings.

The return to Venice was not pacific. A war was being waged and Marco ended up in prison. There, he met Rustichello to whom he told his adventures in far away and exotic lands. Rustichello decided to write them down and the first and probably most famous book about the Silk Road was published. It was a bestseller at the time and made Marco Polo world and timelessly famous.

The Silk Road was, in reality, a network of different routes by land and by sea (these also known as spice routes) used by travelling merchants. The name was coined only in the 19th century and it referred to the most precious merchandise traded. However, many other goods were exchanged, some coming from the West and others coming from the East. For centuries, these trading paths were privileged ways not only to exchange merchandise, but also to exchange knowledge: linguistic, scientific, cultural, artistic, and even religious. Cities along these roads were full of life… and money. Beautiful and magnificent buildings were constructed, many of them are still standing, marking and remembering a golden period in time.

With so much happening in the East, it is no wonder that the Polo family was fascinated and drawn to this adventurous and diversified world. In comparison, life in Venice was quite monotonous, despite this city being at the time a very much cosmopolitan city. Rustichello’s book, nowadays named as “Marco Polo – The Travels”, reflects the image Europeans had about the East: strange, but seductive, full of exotic animals, of people with bizarre habits and beliefs, of rulers always at war with their neighbours. Yet, it also shows us respect for other cultures.

After 1,500 years, the Silk Routes were closed in 1453 by the Ottoman Empire. Europeans immediately started to look for another way to continue the trade with the East. Hence, the Age of Discovery and the many maritime routes to India, China, and Japan. In the meantime, they also found the Americas and a whole “new” world of opportunities was opened. This led to colonialism and the division of the world between the “developed” countries and the “poor” countries (the now ex-colonies).

Yet, the Silk Road is still a reference, especially due to its multiculturalism. The trade was made between merchants of different countries and different cultures with the only aim of getting the best deal possible. They did not have any political intentions or desire to dominate other folks. They did not have any power either. In fact, the routes were built by the travelling merchants, according to the conditions they would find.

Inspired by this, the government of China decided to revive the old network in a modern way 560 years later. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims to reconstruct some of the old routes by land (through Central Asia to Europe) and by sea (towards India and Africa) and build new ones, for example to Chancay, in Peru (America). The investment in infrastructures, namely ports and train lines/stations, in different countries is part of this strategy. Like in the Roman Empire, where all roads would lead to Rome, these connections aim to be linked to one major hub: China.

Contrary to the original Silk Routes, these paths are designed by a single country with national strategic plans in sight. Besides trade, China is looking to gain other advantages. Security is one of them, building military bases alongside the civil infrastructures. For example, the Djibouti port, strategically located at one end of the Suez Canal, serves both goals. Extending diplomatic relations is another objective. As China is willing to pay for the bills, it expects countries to be loyal to them. However, it is not just about infrastructures. China also provides other services, like healthcare. For instance, the Chinese Navy has a hospital ship (called “Silk Road Ark”) that travels through the BRI routes providing healthcare services for free. China gives back as much as it takes, in a win-win mentality.

When Marco Polo returned to Venice after twenty years, he had turned into a man of almost forty years-old. Contrary to his father, he got married and stayed in his hometown, becoming a wealthy merchant and raising three kids. If he lived nowadays, he probably wouldn’t leave his country for so long. There are airplanes and online conference services that make travel and communication much easier. He probably wouldn’t be an individual merchant, would probably have a company and sign contracts with other Chinese companies… and companies from other parts of the world. And he probably wouldn’t live in Venice, but maybe in Rotterdam. The way to do business and connect with other countries would be different, but the respect to multiculturalism would remain the same.

 
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