Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Nick Rowan is editor-in-chief of the UK published magazine, Open Central Asia, and author of “Friendly Steppes: A Silk Road Journey” that recounts his travel adventures along the Silk Road, Nick Rowan has an insatiable appetite for all things to do with the Silk Road. An Oxford University graduate, recently back from five years living in Moscow, Nick spends much of his spare time exploring Central Asia, having travelled to all the countries on numerous occasions, on the look-out for new experiences and people to meet. His new book, The Silk Road Revisited, seeks to capture the powerful influence that the history of the Silk Road has left on the countries as you find them today. It follows the success of Friendly Steppes: A Silk Road Journey, that recalls his first encounters as a traveller of the Silk Road from East to West.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The Silk Road Revisited
It’s a book I have been writing for almost 15 years, ever since I made my own journey along the Silk Road. I wanted to capture just some of the fascinating history and cultural magic that makes the countries along the Silk Road today such marvellous places to visit and full of wonderful people to meet. The history of the Silk Road is complex, but this book hopes to unravel that a bit and complement it with stunning photography to really bring the words to life and open this part of world history that is so often dismissed and forgotten.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I’m not a historian, nor am I a writer by trade and yet I have written books on both, so you could say I am a bit of an accidental historian! When I returned from my Silk Road travels in 2006, I started to write Friendly Steppes to recount my journey. In that book I wanted to put some of the historical context around the various encounters I made with the local people I met on my travels. The problem was that the history of the Silk Road is so vast, there was plenty of it that I simply couldn’t add without turning my already lengthy tome into a thousand-page encyclopedia! This would have lost the real purpose of the book – to retell many of the wonderful characters’ stories as I found them. So, I started to collate my historical research and decided that some of it might be interesting to put together into a coffee table book where people could try and get a distillation of the vast history alongside photos of the region’s people and places. And this is where the book was born. After a couple of stop-starts with various publishers, finally, after 15 years, I found the opportunity with Hertfordshire Press to get it finalized and out in the market.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The Silk Road Revisited also represents the breathtaking work of a great many photographers and photojournalists, many of whom are members of the Eurasian Creative Guild and who have kindly donated their work to bring the historical text alive. For me their exhaustive and in-depth work has resulted in some of the most compelling and historic images of streets, buildings and landscapes from the region. The book wouldn’t be the same without these images – even if you don’t want to read the text, you can’t help but be drawn by the colour, splendour and intrigue from the subjects captured.
What are you working on now?
I’m still staying in touch with the region. I edit a quarterly magazine, called Open Central Asia that covers the region’s news, politics and culture. Ultimately I’m always looking to return. For the one of the highlights of the region is the people. Most of the people I met (excluding border guards and taxi drivers) were simply charming and welcoming. Their inquisitive hospitality left me feeling embarrassed at the way we treat foreign visitors to Europe. People had so much time to help me when I was lost or speak with me when I was lonely and before long an invitation would follow for me to meet their whole family. Of course, the architecture of Samarkand’s glistening blue domes, the stature of Kyrgyzstan’s mountains, the mesmerizing colour of Turkey’s bazaars and the sheer expanse of the Turkmen desert, with its burning gas crater, are impressive sights already out of the ordinary. And then comes the history which The Silk Road Revisited tries to capture a few slices of – everywhere is dripping in it – empires, enlightenment and technology all emanate from it.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have to say my publisher of course! https://www.discovery-bookshop.com/
Do you have any advice for new authors?
It’s long and hard and often disappointing! But persevere and don’t think that once you’ve written the book that it is all plain sailing – in many ways that’s the easy part!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
I always like a bit of humour that Tom Lehrer once provided and something I stick to. He said, “Life is like a sewer, what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!”.
What are you reading now?
Return of a King by William Dalrymple.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m going to turn my attention to writing a family history next but that may remain a personal one. In terms of publishing something I’m going to enjoy promoting The Silk Road Revisited first and then see.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Well of course I’d have to bring my first book, “Friendly Steppes: A Silk Road Journey”. If nothing else I can recall all my adventures time and time again. After that I’d probably need a useful guide to actually living on a desert island! And the other two books would be blank journals so I can write about my adventures on the desert island itself! At worse they may help light a fire.
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