the journal

Stories from the road

Every dispatch so far - places walked slowly, cultures met up close, and the people who gave each journey its soul.

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The New Hub of Global Energy

How Dubai Replaced Geneva as the Vital Node of the Modern Energy Silk Road For decades, the lakeside city of Geneva was home to many of the traders who sold Russia’s oil to consumers around the world. But since Switzerland joined the embargo imposed on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine, much of that trade…

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Silk Road Art

A standout piece in the British Museum’s Silk Roads exhibition is a 7th-century mural from Samarkand, a major Silk Road city. The painting reflects the vibrant cultural exchange and artistic influences that connected Asia, Europe, and Africa centuries before Marco Polo. A small Buddha statue crafted in the Swat Valley of present-day Pakistan and later…

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