For this weeks blog, I am writing about a surprisingly fun experience I had while exploring the migration of our ancestors. I have always been fascinated by other cultures and this project from National Geographic does an incredible job of giving a bit of insight into how different the world is. Paul Salopek is a award winning journalist who has decided to document his journey across 24,000 miles of human history. The amount of detail Paul Salopek and his team put into this project is astounding, with links to every map and picture so readers can learn more. The journey is laid out in a series of chapters with each one describing a different experience.

The Silk Road

The first stop I made, was the Silk Road, a topic I remember learning a lot about in high school. The first stories in this chapter describes what life is like living in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Paul describes the countries’ winding, snow covered roads and unique cuisine. I found the story about the medical benefits of sea buckthorn to be extremely interesting. This chapter was by far my favorite as it gave incredible insight into how peaceful these countries are when they are mostly attributed to war.

The Middle Kingdom

The second stop I made, was another one I was greatly looking forward to, a journey through China and Myanmar, the Middle Kingdom. Being one of the largest countries in the world, China is extremely rich in culture, with an astounding level of diversity. However, the story I was most interested in, is the places Paul was unable to visit. During his journey across Myanmar, Paul ran into logistical trouble because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was forced to fly directly to China, and as a result, lost over 200 miles of potential stories.

The Holy Lands

The final stop I made was in the Middle East, the Holy Lands. This part of the world is considered to be one of the most unstable, making is quite risky to document. Regardless, Paul and his team were able to capture a wide variety of life from this part of the world. The Middle East is home to three of the worlds great religions as well as a massive source for petroleum, making is a restless location. However, like Pakistan, where there is human struggle, there is also incredible beauty.

I had a great experience reading about Paul Salopek’s Out of Eden Walk and I was only able to scratch the surface. Every page leads to more links where even more information can be found. This makes it a great database for a classroom. Students could spend hours clicking through links without getting bored. For a history teacher, this site is a “must have”. If you would like to learn more, you can check out the Eden Walk on National Geographic’s website, here.