Greg's EFL

CHANGE!

Greg's English as a Foreign Language 外语 wàiyǔ

Updated March 21, 2022

Sometimes the "drop-down" menus above don't drop down. So, I put a link list (site map) at the bottom of this front page so readers can see and access all the pages on this site.

Good learning is wide and
deep like the ocean.
海阔天空 (hǎikuòtiānkōng) wide sea and sky

Below is an EFL textbook you can download I've been working on lately. It's not finished, but something of a start.
It's about writing and peace studies.

Take a free IELTS practice test at:

http://www.canadavisa.com/ielts/free-practice-tests.html

Traveling time and the Silk Roads

To me the most exciting travel, history, business, and economic opportunities that have opened up in the 21st century are those tangentially related to the Silk Road Development Plan (One Belt, One Road) being developed by China's President Xi. Five hundred years ago the land Silk Roads started to die because European powers mastered sailing and cannons and basically took over world trade. From China to Turkey across Asia and the Middle East the economies suffered except in those countries that had ports, and even then in most cases the Europeans colonized those nations. None-the-less the Silk Road countries are rich in natural and human resources, history, and culture. Reopening the ancient land Silk Roads and reconnecting the ancient Maritime Silk Roads is thus a most exciting project!

Photo taken from ferry to Istanbul from Bursa_rugged coastline

Anyone who wants to visit those countries is quite free to do so, as I have done over the past four years, as I have traveled some 14,000 kilometers on the ground across China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, and visited at least a few Maritime Silk Road countries including Qatar and Vietnam. My one lament is I haven't had the opportunity to visit Iran, Syria and Yemen yet, for different reasons, and can only wait until political situations smooth out in those countries. None-the-less there are still hundreds and even thousands of places along the ancient Land and Sea Silk Roads I haven't visited yet but can if and when I have the time.

Silk Worms

Samarkand

Most people who might wish to explore some of humanities most colorful and ancient places, some reading before traveling is always a good idea. It's nice to know the meaning and history of what one sees when traveling. Below is a posted a reading bibliography with pretty many links for those who might wish to discover "the heart of the world," for the Silk Road countries always were, and still are "the heart of the world.

Samarkand

Citadel of the Arc in Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Also I'm posting some of the documents I've found during my research, articles, books and so on that can be downloaded. This is a historian's dream come true, and I hope the visitors to this site can gain an appreciation and understanding of the value of this work.

Yep, that's me in Dayahatyn Caravansarai, Turkmenistan, an ancient Silk Road trading post and hotel. For some reason I can't define, ancient caravansarai are favorite places in the world!

Some people like to just travel and see, but I always mix interviews with martial art masters and photography, exploration into the local cuisine, museums, most ancient places and so on to get a wider sampling of the people, cultures and histories of where I travel.

Just below is a Silk Road bibliography I put together a couple of years ago. If I had the time I could easily double its length now, but it's still a pretty good start for someone wishing to learn about the roots, trunk and flowers of human civilization. As stated above, there are a lot of links on the bibliography that will provide the reader with weeks, months and maybe years of oh-so-cool reading and research. Below that are some of those great reading resources...

1_silk_road_research_bibliography.docx
File Size:	44 kb
File Type:	docx

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waugh_reconfiguring_the_silk_road._new_research_on_east-west_exchange_in_antiquity.pdf
File Size:	506 kb
File Type:	pdf

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ibn_batuta.pdf
File Size:	828 kb
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among_the_celestials_travels_in_manchuria_gobi_by_younghusband_-_copy.pdf
File Size:	194 kb
File Type:	pdf

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across_asia_on_a_bicycle_thomas_gaskell_allen_and_william_lewis_sachtleben.docx
File Size:	288 kb
File Type:	docx

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dbet_t2087_greattangrecordofwesternregions_1996.pdf
File Size:	2553 kb
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1877_buried_cities_in_shifting_sands_of_great_desert_of_gobi_by_forsyth_from_prgsv21_s_-_copy.pdf
File Size:	1251 kb
File Type:	pdf

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Site Map

CHANGE!

Greg's English as a Foreign Language 外语 wàiyǔ

Good learning is wide and deep like the ocean.海阔天空 (hǎi​kuò​tiān​kōng​) wide sea and sky

Take a free IELTS practice test at:

Traveling time and the Silk Roads

Site Map

Good learning is wide and
deep like the ocean.
海阔天空 (hǎikuòtiānkōng) wide sea and sky