Travel Along Central Asia’s Silk Road: History, Culture, People

Join Zulya Rajabova's presentation at Smithsonian Associates 

Conde Nast and Travel+Leisure Award winning tour operator and travel guide ZULYA RAJABOVA BRINGS IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE OF CENTRAL ASIA TO THE SMITHSONIAN on Thursday, April 21, 2022 - 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET

Join via zoom: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/travel-along-central-asias-silk-road-history-culture-people

There are few places left to explore for the traveler who longs to discover the truly exotic.China has gone global, and India is a tourist paradise. The nations of Central Asia, long closed to the west behind the Iron Curtain have recently opened their arms to the world, offering the treasures of fabulous landscapes and thousands of years of history, tradition, and culture.

Zulya Rajabova is an expert in travel to this fascinating Central Asia region. Having grown up in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, she was an in-demand tour guide there prior to settling in the USA where she has founded and is president of Silk Road Treasure Tours.On Thursday April 21, she will unlock those treasures for us and present an immersive journey into the culture and history of Central Asia.

Ms. Rajabova will be sharing not only her knowledge but also her boundless enthusiasm and pride for her heritage. We will learn of the sweeping history of her homeland as a center of trade, travel, and learning along the Silk Road, how gorgeous mosques, mausoleums and madrassahs bear witness to the wealth and might of the ruling dynasties which rose from this mercantile hub. She will also lead us to a pristine wilderness; to sapphire lakes and glowing sunsets against the Tian-Shen Mountains where we can envision the conquering hordes of Chinggis Khan's cavalry surging through the vast stretches of steppe and taiga. Ms. Rajabova will take us into the homes and daily lives of the people of Central Asia, and into craftsmen's studios see them create wondrous works of folk-art using centuries old skills. We will be entertained and enlightened and come to know more about this heart of the medieval world, the center of the great Silk Road routes. Weaving fact with folklore, Zulya's Zoom presentations are as intricate and rich as a fabled Turkmen carpet, connecting the ancient world to the present for her audience.

Ms. Rajabova has earned her place as a pioneer in travel to Central Asia. She speaks five languages fluently and has been helping clients discover the true soul of Central Asia with her transformational tours for over 20 years. She has worked with heads of state, first ladies, celebrities, academics, and travel industry professionals from all over the world. Conde-Nast and Travel Leisure Magazines have been naming her as a "A list "and Top Travel Specialist for Central Asia. Zulya Rajabova is an unique Central Asia Travel expert who has been giving presentation about Central Asia and Caucasus in different organizations across the US including American Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian, Asia Society, Columbia and New York Universities, Consulates of Central Asia countries, New York Times Travel Show, Women Travel Clubs and Historical and cultural societies and travel clubs across the country.

Ms. Rajabova' love for her work started when she was still a child playing on the ancient streets near her ancestral adobe home just outside Bukhara. She would often be stopped by tourists wanting to take her picture.She recalls "It was here, at the age of 4 or 5, that I learned my very first English words! Since then I have had a passion to share my country's beauty with others."

Join Zulya on April 21 to unlock the treasures of Central Asia.

For more information about Ms. Rajabova Smithsonian presentation, visit: https://smithsonianassociates.org/ticketing/tickets/travel-along-central-asias-silk-road-history-culture-people