Filmed and Edited by: Dennis Schmelz

Aboard the Orient Silk Road Express from Ashgabat to Almaty through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan along the legendary Silk Road trade route in Central Asia. An amazing train journey back in time, across three countries and several Unesco World Heritage sites. I’m still fascinated from the beauty of Bukhara, Khiva or Samarkand. These cities are like a fairy tale of 1001 night. Islam plays an important role, but is lived here in its original and peaceful way. The people are very friendly, obliging and always give you a smile. I have rarely felt so welcome and taken in as I do here. I hope you can feel this spirit in my new short film – Salam Aleikum (سلام عليكم)!