Silk Road Adventure, Origins

12^th May 1890,

Hallå!

My name is Sven Anders Hedin. I was born on the 19^th of February, 1865 in glorious Sweden, quite possibly the greatest nation in the history of the world! Ever since I was young boy growing up in the magnificent capital of Stockholm I have been fascinated with exploration and adventure. I still remember when I was 15^th years old, me and my Father Ludwig Hedin, the Chief Architect of Stockholm had gone down to the Stockholm harbour in order take part in the celebrations surrounding the triumphal return of the legendary Swedish Artic explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld. The whole city had come out to celebrate his triumphal return of his historic crossing of the North Sea Route. It was at that moment that I told my father that one day all of Sweden would one day come out celebrate my triumphal return!

I immediately began emerging my self in all aspects of exploration from geography and topography all the way to photography. I studied it all, and I excelled at it all!  In 1885 after graduating from Secondary school at the top of my class of course, naturally of course. I was hired on as a private tutor to accompany my acquaintance Erhard Sandgren on his trip to Baku (the modern-day capital of Azerbaijan). I remained in Baku for 7 months where I began learning 7 languages, English, Latin, French, Persian, Russian and Tatar. On the 6^th of April 1886 I set off on my first grand adventure by my self. I traveled throughout much of Persia, Mesopotamia, Turkey, and Bulgaria as well as the Caucasus mountain range all at the ripe young age of 20. I then set to work writing my first book Through Persia, Mesopotamia and the Caucasus a magnificent odyssey of adventure, history and geography that should be available for purchase where ever fine books are sold!

I then decided that upon on my return from Persia that it was time for me to pursue a higher level of education and from 1886 to 1888, I studied under the great geologist Waldemar Brøgger the subjects of geology, mineralogy, zoology and of course Latin. In December of 1888, I decided it was time to become a Candidate in Philosophy in Geographical Literature under the mentorship of the illustrious Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen at the University of Berlin. It should come of no surprise to any one that our great King Oscar the II, has selected and appointed me as the chief interpreter and vice consul of the Swedish Norwegian Mission and delegation to Naser Al Din, the Shah of Iran. What an adventure this shall be! My hope and aspiration is that I shall be able contribute to the little known knowledge of the geography of central Asia and be able to provide a reconnaissance report to our great King of the region that stretches from Russian Turkestan all the way to the great city of Kashgar. I shall not fail or disappoint!

Sources

Hedin, Sven Anders. 1916. Southern Tibet discoveries in former times compared with my own researches in 1906-1908. Stockholm: Lithographic Institute of the General staff of the Swedish army. http://books.google.com/books?id=DQAlAQAAMAAJ.

Hedin, Sven Anders, and J. T. Bealby. 1899. Through Asia. New York and London: Harper and Bros. http://books.google.com/books?id=8h4PAAAAYAAJ.

"Dr. Sven Hedin". 1903. Scottish Geographical Magazine. 19 (1): 1-4.

Pletcher, Kenneth. 2014. Explorers in the 20th and 21st Centuries: From Auguste Piccard to James Cameron. Chicago: Britannica Educational Publishing. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1220654.