Through the Silk Roads, the world became more interconnected than ever before, and this exchange of ideas and goods shaped the course of history.
~ Peter Frankopan

Join us for our once-monthly “Other talk”

Today’s first topic — “The Sufi and the Silk Road”

The Silk Road is a series of trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. These caravan routes ran from Istanbul or Cairo to China, with spurs that ran to Beijing and Hangzhou. Along the way, the main route passed through three important cities: Merv, Bukhara, and Samarkand. These three cities also had trade routes that connected them to India, Afghanistan, and Tibet. While vast amounts of material goods traveled these roads, more importantly to our story, much knowledge traveled along the Silk Road as well. This knowledge naturally accumulated in these three hub cities as scholars, philosophers, and mystics of all kinds found their way to the region.

At the peak of its use, the Silk Road brought Muslims, Christians, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, and Shamanists together in a powerful exchange of ideas. Out of this milieu, a new approach to Sufi practice was born which was fundamentally different from the Sufism that had developed to the south. Indeed, by the 11th Century CE, the centers of mystical learning had shifted from Baghdad to the three cities mentioned, as well as to Morocco and Al Andalus. The face of Sufism itself had been transformed.

This evening we will explore the unique methods of this northern Sufi movement, as recorded by contemporary sources and the oral traditions of the still-existent Tariqas (Sufi schools).

Join us for an hour or so as we take a look at this then-revolutionary approach and see what meaning it can have for our lives today.