9 june 2016

As we said in previous posts, this year Valencia has been named  Capital of the Silk Road 2015-2020 by the UNESCO and the celebrations have already started. Since Wednesday 8 until Sunday 11 of June takes place the 2nd International Silk Road Cities  Meeting and the 12th Multaqa (“meeting in friendship” in Arabic) of the Three Cultures, under the slogan Silk and Peace.

The 2nd International Silk Road Cities started the night of the Wednesday 8 with great fireworks at the City Council Square. The fireworks symbolised different figures and highlighted the cultural exchange of this road.  During these days in Valencia, people could enjoy art and photography exhibitions, life silk treatment sessions, traditional music played with modern instruments, fashion shows and gastronomic events.

The Government joined the silk road’s boost naming Valencia 2016 Silk City, after a request of the Council with the support of all the parliamentary groups in Les Corts. The city is already part of the web map of the Silk Road created by the UNESCO along with other 35 countries:the commercial relationships created centuries ago are today commemorated through the socio-economic and cultural exchange.

The importance of the Silk Road is essential in the Valencian history and now we are trying to revitalise and flourish a new tourism interested in this road: the historical heritage of Valencia is a unique attraction in the world.

The first references to this Road are  twenty-two centuries old.  In 1987 the UNESCO started different projects for the study of this historical communications and intercultural exchange networks; the programme of the Silk Road of the World Tourism Organisation appeared for the first time in Indonesia in 1993.

Spain was introduced into this plan in 2015, being the 35th country to be part of it. The request was carried out by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism through the València-Mediterráneo UNESCO Centre and the Universitat de València.

More information about the Silk Road in Valencia through the social networks of the road.