Beginning my Expedition

Hello. My name is Afran meaning happiness. I have turned 31 last month and am beginning my expedition. It is the year 2007. I being a mid class sunni muslim must take the sacred journey to the Hajj at least once in my lifetime and I have chosen now. I live in Saudi Arabia along with many other muslims, and I will be taking this trip with a few of my closer friends. I am a housekeeper and just saved up enough money to start my trip. This trip can cost up to thousands of dollars a night. I will be beginning my journey on January 1st, and should return by march 5th, and I am so excited. I plan to travel from my home by foot to the Mecca, where I will then do the sacred tradition of the Hajj rout. Throughout the twelve days I will work to do everything correctly. After my route is complete I will head home and return to my family. I know I will miss my husband and my three daughters but, I am so excited, I leave in only one week!

This is the route I will be traveling throughout my journey.

This is a picture of my husband and three kids hands all together, a moment I will never forget.

Julia Ulrich p.1

Meet Abdul-Jabbar

My challenging journey takes place in 780 CE. I am male, 59 years old, and my name is Abdul-Jabbar, which means Servant of the Mighty in Arabic. I am a rich Sunni Muslim caravan manager, and I live in Baghdad, Iraq. I was born in Hit, Iraq within a devout Muslim family. My family strictly followed the principles of the Koran, including the 5 pillars of Islam. My father rigorously educated me at home in mathematics and economics to prepare me to become a successful trade worker. My father’s efforts were successful because, when I grew up, I moved to Baghdad to start a successful career in trade. Because I am a rich and successful man, I, following the 5 Pillars of Islam, always try to help the poor whenever I can and I donate 2.5% of my wealth to them. Despite my strict following of the Koran, I still have one more pillar to complete, the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. I have been blessed with one wife and 4 children, all of them boys. I have diligently trained my sons in business education and in the principles of the Koran, just as my father had done for me. I feel that one of my reasons for my devotion to Islam is my choice to be a camel caravan manager, which is what Mohammad was before he became a religious and political leader. Since the Battle of Talas between Arabia and China had ended in 750, and my financial stresses as caravan manager had subsided, I know that it is now safe to travel to Mecca, without government or financial interference, on the desert route by camel caravan from Baghdad. I will be traveling south to Kufa, then west to the oasis city of Ha’il, and then will continue south to Mecca. Kufa is the city where the Baghdad caravan will officially start its journey to Mecca since the pilgrims from Iraq meet there and gather their supplies before they leave for their pilgrimage. The caravan will then cross Nejd, or the central region of Arabia, to the city of Madinah, passing through the town of Ha’il on the way. East of Madinah, the caravan will next rest near the town of al-Rabadha on the way. The final stop of this journey will be Mecca itself. What I am really looking forward to doing on this journey is arriving at Mecca to pray next to the monumental Kaaba, a large stone structure that is the most important shrine in Islam, with the Black Stone inside of it. The Black Stone supposedly dates back to the times of Adam and Eve and was brought from Paradise by the Angel Gabriel. I fear I might face a treacherous sandstorm during my journey, but I am willing to brave that challenge to stand up for my faith. I will bring my best sheep with me to sacrifice during the Festival of Sacrifice in Mecca. I am looking forward to the most exciting and profound journey of my life, the Hajj, and achieving ihram, or the normative state of mind and body for Muslims who visit the sacred shrines in Mecca.

Mitchell S-Period 2

This is me, with my camel, ready to go on my Hajj to Mecca.

This is Ha'il, one of the Arabian cities I will be traveling to.

This map shows the route to Mecca that I will be traveling with my caravan on.

This is my wife, in her veil, next to my house.

This is the Kaaba structure, the focal point of my Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

These are some of my sons next to my home.

Links:

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200401/journeys.of.faith.roads.of.civilization.htm

http://www.religioustolerance.org/isla1.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/780

http://webspace.webring.com/people/pk/kafat/Chron/Chron4e.html

http://www.ummah.net/family/masc.html

My father and mine excursion!

Hello! It’s so nice to have contact again! Last time I talked to you was a mere three years ago when I was 8, in 212 BC! If you don’t remember me that’s fine, my name is Wen Liu. I wrote to you the day prior of my fathers and mine expedition.
We left about a year ago, we left at the end of winter and at the moment it is ripe winter. We stayed on our original plan which was to travel from Cherchen al the way west till we reached New Saral. Our expected time to arrive was a year ago but obviously it didn’t go that fast.
Our first stop was Khotan. This city was cheap and stocked. Since it was not far out west and isolated, the completion made things cheaper and better made. So father and I traded along of things in this city to stock up for the future market.
A few slow months later we edged on to Yearjand. By this point I was very weak. Food was not abundant in fact pretty scarce and not to sound negative but father only could afford very little food for us. He even gave most of it to me. But we just couldn’t spend our money cause we didn’t have that much and we would need it to last near up to three years. We also needed a portion of the money to purchase and collect things we can trade once we got to New Saral.
A year later I was thinner than when we left. We were then in Kashgar. I remember incidents in Kashgar that made this account. My father and I had a donkey, one of our most prized possessions. The donkey, Jidong – would often carry me, when I tried, and also all the things we planned on trading. He was honestly a wonderful soul. Anyways, In the city of Kashgar I meet a young boy, named Gezi Chang, a few inches taller than myself. He was 10 years old it turned out, only a year, but he also wasn’t as thin as I was. He was also traveling along the Silk road but stationed with his father in Kashgar. One day, early in the morning I awoke to the voice of my father screaming. I quickly jumped to my feet, overlooking my surroundings, I saw my father and immediately started running towards him. He was on the side of a road getting punched in the stomach by Gezis’ father. I started screaming, I looked up and saw Gezi running away in the middle of the street. What was going on? I heard my father grunt to me to get away. A few minutes later, when my father was doubled over on the ground, I stared at gezis’ father from across the street while crying, scold my father to never accuse him of stealing his things again, and if he saw him again, he would be in for it. He then left. I ran over to were my father lay and helped him up. Turned out that while we were sleeping they came over and started to steal some of our things. GEzi was holding them, and that’s why he was running away. His father told him to go back with our things. When my dad awoke to them scurrying around with our things he got quite upset. Although, my father and Gezis were about the same size, mine was a lot weaker. We left from Kashgar a few days later.
A few months later we were in the city of Sarparkand. I remember that in this city I was always terrified thinking that Xionngnu were going to raid us. I stayed very close to my father this whole time and was very aware of my surroundings. Although while we were here no Xionngnu’s attacked, at the time there were very brutal battles between the Chinese military and this group. The Xionngnu were a group of nomads who often attacked and raided cities. We then left for Bukhara.
A few months at Bukhara I had already seen a man killed for disobeying Emperor Qin. After seeing that I was quite emotional. My often would whisper to my father to ask if we’re doing anything illegal or disobeying Emperor Qin. He would reassure me that we were safe and no, we were not. I also noticed in Bukhara that people often bought from people of their own religion or close to. This was quite annoying. My father told me though that, that was why we were going west were, it was not crowded and we would get a more desperate group.
I did notice a difference though in population along the road when we were in Khlva compared to Khotan or most of the other cities. It was quite peaceful out there. I had seen a lot of things though, from different arts to the innovations of technology.Finally we made it to New Saral were we currently are. Father was right we get a lot more customers out here and its nice. Jidong is still alive and well. I hope we never have to sell him. Father is proud of me for helping him achieve the journey, but he doesn’t know that I’m more proud of him that he is of me! I’ve got to go, I’ll talk to you soon! Bye!

May 18, 177 B.C

I can’t believe that it has only been a year since I left my family.  After my year of traveling, I visited many countries including Fergana, Persia, Iraq, Egypt, and India.  On my travels I met a man named Wang Wu. Wang is different than other Chinese men; he also believes that women should be equal to men so therefore treats me with respect. I couldn’t ask for anything more. We fell in love and are now married. Wang sells his family’s unique design of porcelain, so we do a lot of traveling, and moving. This wasn’t my plan, but things change. I met Wang when I was in a market just outside of Persia; I saw all these delicious booths selling pistachio nuts, dates, and saffron powder. I saw this beautiful porcelain bowl made by a Chinese man; I went over to it, where I met Wang.

From Persia we traveled together to Egypt, and took a route all the way to India! Indian markets are just filled with color, and their beliefs about Buddhism are quite extraordinary. We were fascinated on how in Buddhism; you don’t strive for anything, because that would be considered selfish. I’m very intrigued by this thought, and wonder how many other religions are out there in the world.

From India we went to Egypt, where I found some great glass bottles, and Wang made a fortune selling his porcelain. We are currently traveling back to on the Silk Roadheaded for Rome.  I have always admired the Romans for their elegancy, and cannot wait to see what they bring on the Silk Road. I know they are big on the Chinese silk, but I hope they also love Chinese art, like porcelain.  

                When we travel we run into a number of different people. There are those who look down upon me, and there are those who are just like us and we get along great. Usually these are the middle class people selling their families works. There is such a variety of people we see; it is hard to categorize them. Some people speak new languages, some people dress/look different from me, and some people even have a different currency than us! It’s a whole new world every morning when I wake up, from when I went to bed the night before. There is always someone selling something magnificent, and great. Just the other day I saw someone selling some great fabrics from India with gorgeous prints, with colors of orange, red, yellow, pink, every color! This road has opened my eyes to the world, and has given me so much more than I can give back.

                On my trip Wang and I got word of numerous stories from other nations, we heard that Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, had died, which didn’t affect us directly, but we sure heard a lot about it. Everybody was talking about it, and what would come of Egypt. Also the Romans took over Sardinia and then enslaved some of the citizens! People were fleeing from there, so we often saw Sardinians

   come through the markets.

                The one thing bad about my trip, were my feet. Because I have binded feet, it was extremely hard for me to get off my horse, I would often crawl if I needed to go somewhere on my feet. After I met Wang though, things got easier, and he was able to help me.

                I have to go; we are setting up camp at this glorious path off of the southern route, near Arabia.

~Sincerely, Feiyan Lu

Journeys on the Silk Road #2

September 30, 200 BC

Hello, again!! It has been so long since I last wrote. It is taking less time to travel than we had initially planned. So I decided to write you sooner and tell you about our journey. So far, our trip has mostly been going as planned. This is good because if something was to go wrong, I have no idea what Ming and I would do.

From the beginning, it took us a couple weeks to reach Lanzhou. Upon our arrival, it was very crowded. This was because a large caravan from the west was arriving as well. There were so many different things to trade or buy. I found the coolest thing; I think he called it an eyeglass or something rather. To the right is a picture of this fascinating object. Oh! And I almost forgot, he is Wong Song. Wong is traveling in a large caravan with his family. They are traveling the road to move to Turpan, where my aunt lives.

Wongs family had many different cultural differences from Ming and me. Before every meal, Wong and his family would do what they called “saying grace.” Wong said it was a way to thank God for what he has given them. I began to tell him about

Buddhism and he said his religion was called “Christianity.” It sounded very interesting. On the other hang, Wong and I have our social and economic status in common. We both come from large, low class families, and have become independent at a young age.

Back to my travels, our second stop was Jiayuguan, which also happened to be Wongs second stop. So, he asked if Ming and I would like to travel with his family caravan. Ming and I said yes! This was great for us because his family had extra food and more men to help us when needed. It was a long time until we reached Jiayuguan. We traveled day and night because Wongs uncles and older cousins attached our mules to theirs and they alternate who was in control so that we could travel faster.

Yesterday, we finally reached Dunhuan. The desert was more than I thought it to be. It is called the Taklimakan Desert and was just beautiful. Many merchants and peasants had cave shrines up to protect themselves from the desert. While we were here, I sketched a portrait of Wong and his brother. You can see it to the left. We have only been here one day and I have already learned a lot about the politics. Wong was telling me that wher

e he is from their government is run the same way and by the same people as where I am from. He doesn’t live as far west as I thought he did. Therefore, we both are run by

dynasties.

Well, I better be going! Wong’s cousins, Ming, and I are going to go on a night walk before the sunsets. Hope to write again soon.

Sincerely,

Mingzhou Lee

Kathryne Cole Period 9

The Pursuit of Hapiness

Hi, it's me Yhong. I have been in Dunhuang for two months as I said I would be. My journey to me has been a complete success, and not because of what I planned to do. I retired as a merchant about one month after I arrived in the city. I have reached enlightenment as some would say, and this is how it happened.

When I arrived in the city, I had no idea it was one of the biggest religious centers throughout the Chinese empire. The first day I set up my stand, I met a man named Duo. He was a man of Buddhism, and not anything more. His only belongings were the close on his back. He was traveling from place to place around the world working as a missionary trying to convert people to Buddhism. Though he only came to me begging for some food, I realized what he was and I asked him why he wanted to live a life of begging and wandering. This was his response.

“I don’t think of it that way. I see my beliefs as a chance to travel the world and live life to the fullest. This can be achieved by letting go of your material possessions and thinking of yourself as a part of the universe. I have never felt so alive. I have never felt so free.”

After his little speech, I gave him some bread, and he left. It happened to fast, but I could remember every word. The speech really made me think to myself about how it related to me. I had a great desire to travel to new places and see the world, and suddenly making money wasn’t my top priority in life anymore. I was still going to stick with my trade, but I liked the idea of Buddhism, and I wanted to give it a try. It was great.

Almost every day I met with Duo so he could teach me the ways of the religion. The days I wasn’t with Duo were trading days, only to keep my business going if things didn’t work out. My new master taught me the four noble truths and the middle path. He then told me if I followed these beliefs, I would reach enlightenment, and eventually nirvana, which meant I would never reincarnate again, and my spirit could be free. I also love to meditate. It is my favorite part of Buddhism because it gives me time to relieve my stress and think. I fell in love with all of this, and that is when I retired.

After I decided I wanted to dedicate my life to Buddhism, I sold the rest of my supplies to a fellow merchant. I am only holding on to the money for food and to survive. My only belongings are my clothes and my camel Hong, but I don’t like to think of him as one of my belongings, but as a partner. Above is a picture of our future travels, but it isnt for the goods. Use my story to think about what you want with your life.

A Trip I Will Never Forget

April 5, 104 BC

It’s me again journal! However this time I’m writing all the way from Beijing, China! It’s been a very crazy and hectic journey from Rome and I’m glad that we’re finally resting. We stopped along many cities and countries that I’ve never even heard about and learned about their languages and culture! You know what? I’ll just start at the beginning of our adventures.

Just after Pater (Father) and I had left our village, we stopped to pick up the Flavius’. Boy, have Anthony and Gram changed from the small, annoying kids that they use to be! After we loaded all of their goods and supplies into the caravan, we started along the Silk Road. We were really lucky to leave Italy at the time we did, because just after we left, men's silk was banned in Rome! Men’s silk is one of most profitable goods that my father sells, aside from women’s silk of course.

The only real problem that we faced along our journey to China were the robbers. I've never seen such scary men in my whole life. Not only were they evil looking, but you also could see their knives and weapons in their bags slung across their shoulders. We only encountered them once, but we were lucky because Pater and Marcus Flavius knew how to get them to go away.

After three months, we had passed Koria and Tuffan (just to name a few cities) when we finally hit the Great Wall of China! I have never seen such a beautiful sight and I never knew that something so big and so wide could be constructed in so little time, but it was right there before me. It was really an amazing experience. I can’t wait to bring back my painting of the Great Wall for Mater (Mother) and my sorores (sisters). They’ll be shocked to see its beauty.

Not only have we seen many cities and the Great Wall, but we have also met some very interesting people. Just yesterday I got the chance to go to a Chinese market. It was very different from the markets that we have back in Rome. The food that they sold was food that I had never seen before (rice) and the goods that they sold ranged from jade to porcelain. All the paintings that were for sale are amazingly intricate and like nothing I’ve ever seen before (this is where I got my Great Wall painting). I also got the chance to watch a poet write a poem about the mountains, and it was simply beautiful (he even let me keep it to bring home to Mater!)

<--- The painting of the Great Wall and the poem from the market!
















Throughout our time in China, I have come to realize that China is really different from Rome. First of all back in Rome the majority of the people are Catholics, but here in China many are Buddhists! Buddhism is really very interesting (how they’re one with nature) and I would love to become Buddhist one day, but I know that my Mater would disapprove. Also China has a lot of interesting new technology that I’ve never seen before! They have these blinking lights in the sky called “fireworks” and they’re beautiful! Every so often we’ll be able to go see a “firework” show and it’s really fun. Another thing that they have, that I’ve been begging Pater to get for back home on the farm, is a plow. They’re these really cool inventions that harvest your crops with just a horse! It makes farming a lot easier!

Even though a lot of things are different about China and Italy, we have some similarities too. One similarity is that we both have emperors. Right now Emperor Wu Di is in charge, and so far people seem to like him. Another similarity is that many people here are also merchants and there’s a very dominant middle class just like in Italy! You would only ever see the aristocrats, on very rare occasions in there fancy rich silk and expensive jewelry.

<--- A painting from the market of two aristocratic women












Oh journal, look at the time! Gram, Anthony and me are going out onto the town tonight to look around and meet some kids just like us! Wish us luck! I promise I’ll write again very soon! ☺

- Clara Cornelius