Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This event took place on 7 November 2024. The information below is correct as of the publication date.
The ancient cities along the Silk Road stretched across a vast and diverse region, connecting East Asia with the Mediterranean. These cities served not only as crucial hubs of trade but also as dynamic cultural crossroads, where ideas, religions, and technologies flowed alongside goods. Dunhuang, once a bustling oasis on the edge of the Gobi Desert, was a critical junction at the gateway to China and one of the key centres of this vast network.
Watch this expert panel of historians and writers explore other historic cities along this legendary corridor. Join Bettany Hughes as she uncovers the ancient wonders of Istanbul, and travel with Colin Thubron through Uzbekistan to explore the legendary city of Samarkand.
Bettany Hughes is an award-winning historian, author and broadcaster. Her books include Venus and Aphrodite (shortlisted for the Runciman Award), the Sunday Times bestselling Istanbul (shortlisted for the Runciman Award), The Hemlock Cup (shortlisted for the Writers Guild Award) and Helen of Troy. She has made many documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic, the Discovery and History channels. Bettany has been a Professor at the New College of Humanities and Research Fellow at King's College London. She has been honoured with numerous awards including the Medlicott Medal, Europe’s Cultural Heritage Prize and an OBE for services to history.
Colin Thubron is an acclaimed travel writer and novelist, and the winner of many prizes and awards. His first books were about the Middle East, then in 1982 he travelled by car into the Soviet Union, a journey described in Among the Russians. From these early experiences developed his classic travel books, among them: Behind the Wall (winner of the Hawthornden Prize and the Thomas Cook Travel Award), In Siberia (Prix Bouvier), Shadow of the Silk Road, To a Mountain in Tibet and The Amur River (Stanford Travel Book of the Year). In 2007 he became a CBE, and in 2008-2017 served as President of the Royal Society of Literature.
This event accompanied the British Library exhibition A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang (27 September – 23 February 2025).
This event took place on 7 November 2024. The information below is correct as of the publication date.
The ancient cities along the Silk Road stretched across a vast and diverse region, connecting East Asia with the Mediterranean. These cities served not only as crucial hubs of trade but also as dynamic cultural crossroads, where ideas, religions, and technologies flowed alongside goods. Dunhuang, once a bustling oasis on the edge of the Gobi Desert, was a critical junction at the gateway to China and one of the key centres of this vast network.
Watch this expert panel of historians and writers explore other historic cities along this legendary corridor. Join Bettany Hughes as she uncovers the ancient wonders of Istanbul, and travel with Colin Thubron through Uzbekistan to explore the legendary city of Samarkand.
Bettany Hughes is an award-winning historian, author and broadcaster. Her books include Venus and Aphrodite (shortlisted for the Runciman Award), the Sunday Times bestselling Istanbul (shortlisted for the Runciman Award), The Hemlock Cup (shortlisted for the Writers Guild Award) and Helen of Troy. She has made many documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, National Geographic, the Discovery and History channels. Bettany has been a Professor at the New College of Humanities and Research Fellow at King's College London. She has been honoured with numerous awards including the Medlicott Medal, Europe’s Cultural Heritage Prize and an OBE for services to history.
Colin Thubron is an acclaimed travel writer and novelist, and the winner of many prizes and awards. His first books were about the Middle East, then in 1982 he travelled by car into the Soviet Union, a journey described in Among the Russians. From these early experiences developed his classic travel books, among them: Behind the Wall (winner of the Hawthornden Prize and the Thomas Cook Travel Award), In Siberia (Prix Bouvier), Shadow of the Silk Road, To a Mountain in Tibet and The Amur River (Stanford Travel Book of the Year). In 2007 he became a CBE, and in 2008-2017 served as President of the Royal Society of Literature.
This event accompanied the British Library exhibition A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang (27 September – 23 February 2025).
