The Walk of Eden is an amazing story about a man who needed life to slow down a little bit. Following the footsteps of the first people who migrated out of Africa during the Stone Age, Paul Salopek’s decade long, 21,000 miles walk gives humanity a reality check on the important things in life. The site follows Salopek through his journey and provides and abundance of pictures and facts that outsiders can follow along with.

The first place I observed from Salopek’s journey were the Holy Lands. Arriving closer to the beginning of his journey in Jordan, Arabian Christians hike to be able to pray under a ginormous cross during Feast of Epiphany Week. As prayer is very important to these cultures, the website shares other holy grounds Salopek came across. For instance, Kidron-Nar Valley, where heaven and Earth meet. Located in Jerusalem at the mouth of the Dead Sea, the land has been a spiritual and cultural corridor for centuries.

The next place I visited during my tour was the city of Baku. Baku was the world’s first oil capital. That’s right, the WORLD. Baku has been around for centuries. First drawing people in by its mass amounts of fish and shelter, later evolving into a medieval walled port, and finally being known today as the first petroleum capital.

The last place I visited while shadowing Paul Salopek’s journey was The Silk Road. What once was one of the world’s pioneering experiments in globalization is now surrounded by settlements. In his writings, Salopek reflects on all the good the Silk Road once did. He states how it was more than just somewhere to trade luxurious goods, but a place where ideas were shared, humans connected, and breakthroughs occurred. He is disappointed to see all of that vanish due to a plague that happened years and years ago.