Summary of Bernard Ollivier's Walking to Samarkand

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 I had been on three flights before boarding the bus to Erzurum: Paris–Istanbul, Istanbul–Ankara, and finally Ankara–Erzurum. I was comfortably strapped in my seat when I looked down and watched as the landscapes, cities, and villages raced by. I wanted to get out and walk.

#2 I set out from Istanbul on the first leg of this journey in April 1999. I was excited and happy to be walking the world, and I had high expectations for the trip. But my joyful mood was dampened when I was attacked by Kangals and people, and when I was sick and had to be evacuated.

#3 I’m setting out in May, so most of my journey will take place during the summer. I’ll have to cross three of Central Asia’s hottest deserts, each one inhabited by friendly little critters like cobras, scorpions, and tarantulas.

#4 I was determined to enjoy the journey, no matter what. I was getting on in years, and I had no idea if my health would hold up as it had in the past. I was afraid of solitude, but I wanted to experience it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822511125

IRB Media

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Insights on Bernard Ollivier's Walking to Samarkand

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 17

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I had been on three flights before boarding the bus to Erzurum: Paris–Istanbul, Istanbul–Ankara, and finally Ankara–Erzurum. I was comfortably strapped in my seat when I looked down and watched as the landscapes, cities, and villages raced by. I wanted to get out and walk.

#2

I set out from Istanbul on the first leg of this journey in April 1999. I was excited and happy to be walking the world, and I had high expectations for the trip. But my joyful mood was dampened when I was attacked by Kangals and people, and when I was sick and had to be evacuated.

#3

I’m setting out in May, so most of my journey will take place during the summer. I’ll have to cross three of Central Asia’s hottest deserts, each one inhabited by friendly little critters like cobras, scorpions, and tarantulas.

#4

I was determined to enjoy the journey, no matter what. I was getting on in years, and I had no idea if my health would hold up as it had in the past. I was afraid of solitude, but I wanted to experience it.

#5

I spent four hours and fifteen miles traveling from Doğubeyazıt to Lake Van. The next morning, the sky was still gray. I was eager to get moving. In front of a shop, an elderly beanpole was selling walking sticks by the bundle. I carefully chose just one stick and handed him 100,000 liras.

#6

On the road, my good mood is short-lived. In order to help my body ease back into the swing of things, I had planned for my first week four reasonable stages. But Telçeker, the village where I was supposed to stop after 13 miles, was barely more than a few hovels. There was no chance of finding a restaurant there.

#7

I eventually realize that I’ll never get rid of them until I give in. So I change a few dollars as well as my remaining Turkish liras. In Bazargan, just over the border in Iran, a dollar buys nine thousand five hundred rials.

#8

I was allowed to pass through the Turkish customs window after three hours of waiting.