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Sven Hedin (1865-1952) was one of the world's greatest explorers. His travels through Russia, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Central Asia, China and Tibet led to some of the most important discoveries and achievements of their kind. He produced the first detailed maps of vast parts of the Pamir Mountains, the Taklamakan Desert, Tibet, the Silk Road and the Himalayas. He was the first to unearth the ruins of ancient Buddhist cities in Chinese Central Asia and in 1899 he discovered the ancient Chinese garrison town of Lou-Lan in the Taklamakan. The many manuscripts he found there are of huge historical importance. His great goal - never realised - was to reach the forbidden city of Lhasa. His books, which include "Through Asia", "A Conquest of Tibet", "A Journey through Persia and Mesopotamia", "Transhimalaya", and "My Life as an Explorer" have been excerpted, translated and published in dozens of languages throughout the world. |
