Back to Istanbul: On Foot across Europe to the Great Silk Road

After trekking nearly 7,500 miles, from Istanbul, Turkey to Xi’an, China, French travel writer Bernard Ollivier thought he had put the Silk Road behind him—enough for a retiree to rest on his laurels! But that was before meeting his now-partner-in-life Bénédicte Flatet. Why, she asked, hadn’t he set out from France? After all, the city of Lyon was once Europe’s silk capital.

Now, at seventy-five years old, Ollivier decides to lace up his walking boots and head out to complete his Silk-Road...