Page 43 - creative spark 2020

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27 JULY 1037
Dear Diary,

Yesterday I travelled to a market in Merv. Most people
(Persians) here are muslims. There are mosques everywhere here.
I really adore the sound of the morning chants coming from the
mosques, ah, how soothing they are. Here, they speak Persian.

I only speak Arabic as well as my native Chinese, so I had
some problems communicating. Luckily, many of the lovely people
here know Arabic. Even a small boy asked me a question in Arabic
yesterday.
I consider myself lucky for being able to speak Arabic.
Many people speak it in Persia. What does that mean? I can buy
more carpets and sell even more silk! I hired a Persian designer to
turn some of my silk into clothing, and sold them for some lovely
money. I really love Merv with all of my passion. The people treat us
Chinese nicely. They are very friendly, and seem interested in our
culture. I taught a priest to speak basic Chinese, and gave a mother
a book of Chinese lore for her child! The priest can speak Chinese
now, and the child is drawing pictures of the Jade Dragon. I also
talked to a poet about Confucianism, and he was all ears. His
bearded jaw dropped out of fascination and...mind peace?
Yesterday I met him in a market. He was teaching his friends what
I had told him! It is truly fascinating how so many things, other than
goods and money, can travel through the Silk Road. This road truly
is a river of culture of humanity.