The Road to Oxiana - by Robert Byron

The Road to Oxiana is a travelogue by British writer Robert Byron (1905–1941), chronicling his ten-month journey in 1933–1934 through Persia (modern Iran) and Afghanistan in search of the origins of Islamic architecture. Byron, an Oxford-educated art historian with a passion for Islamic culture, set out with his friend Christopher Sykes to trace the historical and artistic roots of Persian and Central Asian architecture. The journey begins in Venice, where Byron boards a ship to Cyprus, then proceeds through Palestine, Syria, and Iraq, before focusing on Persia and Afghanistan. Key destinations include Isfahan, with its stunning mosques like the Masjid-i-Shah; Herat, where he admires the Timurid minarets; and Mazar-i-Sharif, home to the Shrine of Ali. His quest culminates in the search for the “Oxiana” region, the ancient area around the Oxus River (Amu Darya), symbolizing the cultural crossroads of Central Asia.