The Silk Road

The architecture and the mosaics of St Mark’s Basilica reveal the links that connect this city with the distant lands of Asia; the textile maker Alberto Bevilacqua recounts the history of the silk trade.

Ottoman architectural wonders and the traditional local variant of wrestling, in which men are doused in olive oil before bouts.

The caravanserai at Aksaray is a perfect example of architecture of the Seljuq dynasty, the first empire in the region starting in the 10th century.

Tabriz is the center of the ancient Armenian community in Iran.

2,000 meters above sea level, Alfred visits the ruins of Hassan-i Sabbah's fortress, founder of a movement known as “Hashshashins” – drug smokers and killers who gave us the modern word “assassin”.

In the oasis of Kashan, in central Iran, Alfred marvels at the famous pleasure gardens of Fin that cemented the Persians’ renown.