SILK ROAD

NICK MIDDLETON
 INTRODUCTION

The story is written by Nick Middleton. This chapter is about the

narrator's journey from slopes of Ravu to Mount Kailash to complete the
kora. To bid him farewell, Lhamo gave him a long sleeve sheepskin coat.
He hired Tsetan's car for his journey and took Daniel along to escort him
to Darchen.
 WHO IS NICK MIDDLETON?
As a geographer, he has travelled to more
than 70 countries. In Going to Extremes, a
Channel 4 television programme about
extreme lifestyles, he experienced life in the
hostile conditions that other cultures must
endure.
 MORE ABOUT THE STORY

• The purpose of the author's journey to Mount Kailash

was to complete the Kora, which was a sacred
religious ritual according to Hindu and Buddhist
tradition

• The road was named Silk Road largely because of the

silk trade with China in the chapter the author travels
to Mount Kailash, exploring the Himalayan belt in
Tibet. Since the author explored this region the chapter
is titled as Silk Road.
mt. kailash
 WHAT IS A KORA?
The kora is a stringed instrument used extensively in West Africa.
A kora typically has 21 strings, which are played by plucking with
the fingers. It combines features of the lute and harp

it is a Tibetan word that means "circumambulation" or

"revolution". Kora is both a type of pilgrimage and a type of
meditative practice in the Tibetan Buddhist or Bon traditions.

The kora is used by male musicians mainly to accompany

narrations, recitations, and songs in honour of a patron.
 THE HIMALAYAN BELT
• the Sanskrit name Himalaya—from hima (“snow”) and alaya
(“abode”)—for that great mountain system.

• It is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of

the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau.

• The Himalaya mountains present some of the most

incredible landscapes and stunning scenery on the planet.
Many photographers flock to this region for
photographic reasons alone
• Around 700,000 people visit the Himalayas every year
for tourism purposes. However, these figures remain
restricted to trekkers, mountaineers, and pilgrims visiting
the higher folds of the Himalayan mountains.
NOW AS WE HAVE LEARNT ABOUT THE PLACES AND THE
CULTURES WE CAN MOVE FORWARD TO THE LESSON

ISSUED BY NOUR