Travels in Central Asia,

Important Silk Road narrative of a journey through the Caspian to Khiva, Bokhara, and Samarkand.

In 1861, with a grant of 1,000 florins from the academy Vambery set out on his travels, 'his major intention being to make a study of the Turco-Tatar dialects of Central Asia.' Disguised as a Sunni dervish under the name Resit Effendi, he travelled across the Caspian, through the Kara Kum desert to Khiva, where he had two audiences with the khan. Crossing bandit-infested territory, Vambery reached Bokhara where he remained for three weeks, avoiding detection by the suspicious Emir despite a lengthy 'interrogation,' and leaving laden with gifts.

From Samarkand he passed through Kerki to Herat 'which he found in ruins after a recent Afghan attack,' and where he had an interview with the new ruler, the 16-year-old son of the Afghan king. He reached Tehran in January 1864 having joined a caravan of pilgrims route to Mashhad and travelled directly to London where he was treated as a celebrity, the first European to have undertaken such an expedition.