He had a desire to discover civilizations that had been around for millenniums, stopping first in Istanbul, and then Cappadocia, Anatolia, Persia and Afghanistan - much like the route Nicolas Bouvier traveled a few years prior.

"When I flip through the book's pages (Vers l'Orient, publ. Xavier Barral, Paris 2012), I realize the chance that I had to go through the tribal regions that sit between Afghanistan and Pakistan, areas that are now extremely dangerous. In the mid-fifties, arms dealers sat next to melon shops (the best in the world), and every tea house was a haven where I was always welcomed with a hospitality that has long been forgotten in Europe."

Marc Riboud’s photographs of the Middle East expose the feeling of other-worldliness felt by Westerners. Yet this sense of solitude is then revealed to be only a mirage: the Silk Road turned out to be a trove of rich encounters which helped inspire the photographer in his work.

Through his images, we discover young men proudly posing with their guns, old men with their turbans on horsebacks, veiled women following the nation's strict rules, camel caravans, intrepid turtle crossing roads, and trucks painted like toys.

Marc Riboud captured the strange beauty of these areas in the desert as well as the strength and grace of their inhabitants.