Members of Shenley Women's Institute enjoyed a presentation on the Silk Road to Samarkand, a road stretching from China to Uzbekistan, at their meeting this month.
Ian Torrance showed slides of photographs he had taken on the 2,000-year-old road, which winds its way through arid mountains areas to barren desert and scrubland. He had pictures of a palace built on the route by the Sultan of Persia, for one of his wives, and told members about a large garden he created at Samarkand.
Mr Torrance also described how the silk-making process works today, and showed slides of some colourful silk costumes worn by traditional Persian dancers.
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