ABOUT MY ILLUSTRATED LECTURE ON TAJIKISTAN...

The weathered sign indicated my altitude as I crossed Tajikistan's Ak-Baital Pass – 4,655 metres above sea level.

Barren mountains stretched away from me in every direction, casting their shadows over the second-highest international road in the world.  China was just over the eastern horizon.  The plains and valleys of Kyrgyzstan were behind me. To the south lay Afghanistan, the Hindu Kush Mountains and the fabled Wakhan Corridor.

I was heading south, along the Pamir Highway, once part of the Silk Road but now officially known as the M41.  Rightly celebrated as one of the planet’s most intrepid road trips, this 2,038-kilometre-long road winds its way from the plains of Central Asia through the heart of the High Pamir Mountains, along the Panj River that marks the Tajik-Afghan border, and through to Dushanbe, one of the world’s newer capital cities.

My destination was Tajikistan, still an isolated land of breathtaking scenery, amazing traditions and colourful markets, just like it was when the ancient traders of the Silk Road travelled along this same road.  It is where Russia’s expansion confronted Britain’s defence of India during the Great Game of the 19th century, the area that later became the highest altitude republic of the Soviet Union.

This richly illustrated talk will share Stephen’s experiences of two recent trips through Tajikistan – surely one of the world’s least known but most fascinating countries.

Download an application form by clicking the blue-framed brochure picture to the right of this page.

The lecture will be held at 2:00pm on Sunday 5th May 2019 at

Norths, 12 Abbott Street, Cammeray, Sydney, Australia

This lecture will be the latest in a series of illustrated talks Stephen has given for the Geographical Society.  Earlier lectures have looked at Eastern Europe in 1989, Irian Jaya in 1990, the former Soviet Union in 1992, Bolivia in 1994, Burma in 1996, Mali in 2005, North Korea in 2006, Iceland in 2007, China’s Ancient Tea Horse Route in 2008, Ethiopia in 2009, The Guardians of the Red Sea (Yemen, Eritrea and Djibouti) in 2010, Middle East Hotspots (Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria) in 2011, the Last Threads of the Iron Curtain (Transnistria and both sides of North Korea’s border regions) in 2012, Iran in 2013, Beyond Siberia (Russia’s Wild Far East) in 2014, Tunisia and Algeria (Springs of the Arab Spring) in 2015, the African Sahel (Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso) in 2016, Three Pacific Micronations (Kiribati, Nauru and Palau) in 2017, Turkmenistan (also in 2017), and Coastal West Africa (Gambia, Liberia, Ghana, Togo and Benin) in 2018.

The covers of the brochures of Stephen’s previous talks are below.  Where indicated, click the yellow tab beneath the cover to read a summary of the talk that is hosted on the Geographical Society’s website.   Click on any cover to see an enlarged image.