Bangkok began as a small trading post situated on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River in the emerging Ayutthaya Kingdom. Prosperity for the Ayutthaya Kingdom came through trade with the nearby Chinese, Vietnamese, and Indians, as well as the distant French, Portuguese, and Dutch. This lucrative international trade transformed Krung Thep, as it is known in Thai, into a leading Asian metropolis.
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Kuala Lumpur was founded in the 1850’s to serve the needs of the local tin miners. The town barely survived floods, fires, gang warfare, and various outbreaks of diseases. Yap Ah Loy was installed by the British as the chieftain of the area during the 1870’s in an attempt to bring a degree of stability to the region. Under his leadership, Kuala Lumpur began to grow rapidly and emerged as Malaysia’s leading city.
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Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in Central Asia. It was known as Marakanda when Alexander the Great conquered it in 329 BC. Samarkand served as the capital for Timur when he ruled over the Timurid Empire in the 14th century and serves as his burial site. Samarkand was also one of the key cities along the Silk Road and through this position, grew into a prosperous trading city.
