The road mentioned in the impressively thorough Bowers Museum exhibition “Secrets of the Silk Road” is not silk or even a road, but a series of trade routes crisscrossing the mountains and deserts of China. The routes allowed individuals unfazed by (or unaware of) the vicious terrain to travel from as far west as Europe and the Mediterranean to as far south as Somalia and Java. As East met West and places in between (Persia, India and Egypt, among others), nomads could find a new home; traders could buy and sell rare goods for import/export; and entrepreneurs could set up food shops, brothels and rest stops to cater to the basic needs of the... More >>>