In 1956, journalist and photographer Milli Bau embarked on a journey to explore the countries of the Silk Road traveling in a VW T1 bus converted into a house on wheels. It was not until 1974 that she returned to Germany after spending longer periods of time in Iran and China – taking home with her countless texts, objects, and more than 15,000 photographs.
Her journey took the following incredible course: It began with a boat trip on the 1st of January, 1956, from Hamburg to Beirut and continued by van along the old Silk Road to Xian (China). She traveled to Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal until she reached China. Milli Bau spent a longer period of time in some locations but only passed through others.
The tales of her journey are accompanied by photographs which she took with a twin lens Rolleiflex. Holding the camera in front of her belly, she portrayed her subjects up close to achieve a proximity and, by doing so, a particular intimacy characteristic of her photographs. Diary notes along with journalistic and political reports on the stations of her journey provide a comprehensive account of her endeavor. The publication is a document of contemporary history written by a traveling journalist who left Germany in the 1950s and found herself in the world.
Arranged in chronological order retracing her route, the photographs form an extensive photographic collection about the regions of the Silk Road in the period between 1956 and 1974. These photographs document almost 20 years of cultural and contemporary history as well as the political and social changes in the same time. Excerpts from her own texts accompany the collection and put it in contemporary context. Milli Bau is an outstanding example of the life of a woman who should not be forgotten.