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National Geographic: Out of Eden Walk
By: Dara Sborea
This week, we are exploring journalist Paul Salopek’s 24,000 mile journey, titled “Out of Eden Walk.” The idea was to follow the path out of Africa to other lands, just as our earliest ancestors did tens of thousands of years ago.
Salopek wanted to slow down so we can rediscover our world, on foot. His idea was to highlight the people and events along this journey that wouldn’t normally make the news. In this post, I will discuss three of destinations from the walk, but I highly suggest you take a look at Salopek’s journey for yourself.
Salopek begins where humankind began, in Africa. In the Great Rift Valley, which Salopek describes as an inhabited wilderness, he encounters Ahmed Alema Hessan, a leader of a clan of the Afar people. Hessan hasn’t driven camels in 30 years, but in this region, there is plenty of help as Salopek and Hessan walk and talk. Salopek describes the people who come and go along this part of the route as engaging in a public conversation, just to vanish into the horizon once their part is done.
For a significant part of Salopek’s journey, he travels along the Silk Road, which was a network of trade routes that connected China and the Far East with the Middle East and Europe.
Horses were first domesticated in Kazakhstan, which means the first cowboys were there too. Salopek decides to look for a horse here to use as a pack animal. He is committed to completing his journey on foot, or by boat when required. As it turns out, while Kazakhstan’s citizens cling to their heritage with horses, few have seen or touched a live horse. Salopek does manage to find a horse breeder, and a horse is eventually delivered to him, but it’s likely not the one Salopek chose.
Unfortunately, Salopek’s trek was sidelined for a significant amount of time because of the Covid-19 pandemic. He has, however, resumed his journey and as of earlier this month (November 2021), he was in China’s biodiversity hotspot situated in the Gaoligong Mountains, near China’s border with Burma. To give you an idea of the massive biodiversity of the area, there are about 5,000 species of plants, 700 species of animals, and 1690 different insects! Several new plant species are discovered in the area each year. Salopek reminds us that while we were all focused on the climate change summit in Glasgow, the United Nations 15th biodiversity conference was held in China this year, and it was equally as important as the climate change summit.
The Out of Eden Odyssey
Paul Salopek, a journalist though National Geographic, orchestrated a 24,000 mile journey of journalism. This journey, called Out of Eden, was a ten year long experience where Salopek traveled from Africa on the path of the migration of human life.
In this blog, I will be choosing three magnificent places throughout Salopek’s journey that really caught my attention- the first place being Israel, specifically Jerusalem. Jerusalem holds so much historical beauty, especially in the realm of religion. On this virtual journey, every viewer has the opportunity to take a “walking tour” of Paul Salopek’s pathway through Jerusalem and see his adventure.
The next place on Paul Salopek’s journey that caught my attention was Jordan. Jordan, like Israel, holds historical and religious significance. The specific area within Jordan that held my interest was Gohr Al Safi. This location is featured in the article Shards. Gohr Al Safi is home to the ruins of the Christian Monastery that belonged to Lot, a righteous man of God. This monastery is located at the lowest point of the world: 1,378 feet below sea level. The article shares that there are many mosaic restorers that spend their days trying to piece back together the monastery. This is amazing because it shows that there are people that deeply care about the historical and religious significance of this place and that they hold it in high esteem.
Faridcot, Punjab, India was my third place of interest. The article, Walking Through a Youthful Exodus in India, brings up a very intense issue in rural India- the need for escapism. To my surprise, Salopek shares that most drug abuse in India is in rural communities and that 70 percent of drug abusers come from rural backgrounds. That is certainly not the case in America, as the opioid epidemic is rampant within urban areas and less prominent (but still very existent) in rural communities. Drug abuse is not the only form of escapism that plagues the people of Punjab, the dire yearning to literally escape and leave their country is a relevant form of escapism as well. Tens of students every day would approach Salopek to practice their English skills. This English skills need to be proficient in order for these students to gain visa access and emigrate. This article was very interesting, but it is always disheartening to hear of devastating living conditions and what people in those areas need to do/ feel the need to do in order to escape and be free.
This Out of Eden experience was very informative and incredible. It is always important to be aware of the things that are going on around the world, for these nations, though they are far, are homes to our brothers and sisters. The Out of Eden walk speaks light into culture, social issues, history, and so much more. Check it out for yourself, it is worth it.
Diane Hoffman
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