Winds of the Steppe Quotes

“I’m beginning to think that there’s either something about their rank that quickly fattens them up or that bosses are chosen on the basis of weight.”
― Bernard Ollivier, Winds of the Steppe: Walking the Great Silk Road from Central Asia to China

“Beginning in 712 CE, the year the Arabs captured Samarkand, Islam progressively grew to become the region’s only religion, all the way up to the early twentieth century. Prior to their arrival, however, both Zoroastrianism (which was a state religion in Persia) and Nestorianism were well established. The conquerors, realizing just how important trade and money were between the two rivers, decreed that anyone who converted to Islam would be exempt from taxation. A brilliant idea—too brilliant, in fact! So many people renounced their former religion that, in just a few short years, the treasury ran dry. So they decided to levy a new tax, resulting in public outcry and unrest that finally settled down around the year 750.”
― Bernard Ollivier, Winds of the Steppe: Walking the Great Silk Road from Central Asia to China

“Prior to the days of the Soviets, a woman could be repudiated for any reason. Her jewels, inherited from her mother, were therefore her only worldly possessions and her sole safety net and source of independence, should she need it. So she always kept them on her person. Although repudiation is now a thing of the past, brides continue the tradition by donning all their jewelry for the wedding.”
― Bernard Ollivier, Winds of the Steppe: Walking the Great Silk Road from Central Asia to China