Duo promotes understanding of the situation in poor countries in travel lectures

They love adventure and they also like to talk about it: The two Micheldorf residents Ursula Forster and Oskar Lehner have been driving around the world in an off-road vehicle since 2016. On Wednesday, January 31st, they will start their three-part lecture series about their recent experiences in the Kirchdorf cinema: “On the trail of the Silk Road: Central Asia and Nepal” is the title of the lectures, which are being held in collaboration with the Cultural Institute of the Johannes Kepler University Linz .

After Forster and Lehner traveled for three years from Argentina to Alaska, they set off again in 2022 to cross Asia on the trail of the historic Silk Road. They spent the past year in Central Asia and Nepal.

Their journey took them over the Caucasus, through southern Russia to western Kazakhstan, where they witnessed the drying of the Aral Sea, one of the greatest man-made environmental disasters. Shortly after Turkmenistan reopened its borders, they traveled to this country, which is considered one of the most closed countries in the world. “What we found was a contrast of bitter poverty in the countryside and ostentation and pomp in the capital,” says Oskar Lehner, who worked for the UN and the OSCE in Central Asia for ten years.

In Uzbekistan, the duo spent several weeks in the ancient desert cities of Kiva, Bukhara and Samarkand, which were centers of advanced culture and science for many centuries. In Tajikistan they drove on the famous Pamir Highway through the Pamir Mountains, known as the “Roof of the Earth”. They then crossed the Pamirs on foot with guides and pack mules. “It was fascinating to hike for days over this high plateau at an altitude of 4,000 meters without seeing anyone,” says Ursula Forster. The highlight of the trip through Kyrgyzstan was a ten-day ride in the far east of the country and contact with the semi-nomads.

The two world travelers then spent the autumn in Nepal. “In addition to the beautiful landscape, I was impressed by the incredible ethnic and cultural diversity,” says Forster.

During their travels, Ursula Forster and Oskar Lehner try to understand as much as possible about the social, political, cultural and religious characteristics of the host countries: “Especially in a globalized world, in view of global climate change and migration flows, it is important to understand the situation in other countries “In our lectures we not only want to share our impressions and experiences, but also create understanding for the difficult situation in which many countries find themselves.”

“On the trail of the Silk Road: Central Asia and Nepal”

Ursula Forster and Oskar Lehner Part 1: Wednesday, January 31st: Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan; Part 2: Thursday, February 15: Uzbekistan and Tajikistan; Part 3: Wednesday, March 20th: Trekking in Nepal. All lectures with free admission in the Kirchdorf cinema at 5 and 8 p.m.

• Maps at: reservation.kinokirchdorf.at

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