Kazan residents to cycle 5k km to Istanbul to support Russia’s accession to the UNESCO project
54 days of cycling along the Great Silk Road to the palace of the Turkish sultans
This morning, two Kazan residents — an experienced tourist and a “first-time traveller” — set off on a cycling trip to Istanbul. “We’re not expecting difficulties, but we’re prepared for anything!” they said before the start. The cyclists will have to travel not only across plains, but also through the mountainous regions of the North Caucasus, Georgia and Turkey. Once, these roads formed part of the Great Silk Road. How the idea was “born somewhere deep in the soul” and what UNESCO has to do with it — in a report by Realnoe Vremya.
“A first-time traveller sets off on a 5,000 km journey”
In the morning of 4 July, there was a crowd near the walls of the Kazan Kremlin: from here, two Kazan residents set off on a cycling trip to Istanbul — Valery Smorchkov, associate professor at the Volga University of Physical Culture, Sport and Tourism and author of the Telegram channel Velo Valera, and Alexander Lokalov, an employee of the Capital of Tatarstan’s Committee for Children and Youth Affairs. The travellers are already on their way. Over the next 54 days, they will cover 5,000 km through the Lower Volga region, the North Caucasus, Georgia and Turkey.
As the travellers told Realnoe Vremya, the idea came to Valery Smorchkov after he visited Istanbul. The experienced tourist began to wonder whether he could reach the city he had grown fond of by bicycle. Planning the large-scale journey took four years.
“At first, I needed to buy a new bicycle, assemble it literally from scratch, then [prepare] the gear and plan the route. It’s like producing a film. I just had to mature for this journey. Usually, ideas come quickly, but this one was really born somewhere deep in the soul,” said Valery Smorchkov.
He planned the journey on his own, drawing on over 10 years of travel experience. The lecturer at the Volga University of Physical Culture has cycled across all of Tatarstan and completed classified routes through the Zailiysky Alatau (Kazakhstan), the Southern Urals, and to the Dyatlov Pass.
For Alexander Lokalov, however, this cycling trip will be his first. “It’s an experiment — a first-time traveller is setting off on a 5,000 km journey to Istanbul,” said Timur Apelov, creator of hiking and cycling routes and author of the Telegram channel Tim Explores the World (Tim Otkryvaet Mir).
I was in the army, and I needed to figure out what to do next, where to go. I was just sitting on a chair when the thought came to me: why not travel across Russia by bicycle, since I don’t have permanent housing or transport?” recalls Alexander Lokalov. “After I was discharged, I met Yuryich (Valery Smorchkov — ed.). That thought wouldn’t leave me alone. I asked, ‘So, are you going this summer?’ He says, ‘Yes, to Istanbul.’ I replied, ‘I’m coming with you.’ We just agreed on it verbally, but for some reason I had absolute confidence that we would go.”
To support Russia’s accession to the UNESCO project The Great Silk Road
Among the cities the travellers will visit are Makhachkala, Derbent, Grozny, Vladikavkaz, Tbilisi, Batumi, and Bursa. The final destination is the ancient Topkapi Fortress, which for centuries served as the residence of the rulers of the Ottoman Empire. The Kazan residents plan to return home by plane.
The travellers also have an educational mission. The route follows the Great Silk Road. “Our goal is to study it and promote it,” Valery Smorchkov emphasised.
He recalled the idea voiced several years ago to include these segments in the transboundary UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site The Great Silk Road. The Kazan residents’ cycling journey is an expression of support for this initiative. Today, the participating countries include Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and China — but not Russia. Yet, as early as 2017, researchers from Kazan Federal University (KFU) developed a roadmap for including the northern sections of the ancient route in The Great Silk Road.
In addition, the travellers will give lectures and hold workshops in the cities along their route. Valery Smorchkov will speak on the topic of cycle tourism. Alexander Lokalov, a sports psychologist by profession, will also share his expertise. The topic is particularly relevant in the current political climate. “We’ve been excluded from many of the most popular international competitions, and many athletes have experienced a psychological decline. I think it would be great if we use this time not for self-pity and sadness, but for preparation [for future events], so that we can return to the world stage with full force,” he said.