Taklamakan Desert of water, accounts for the somewhat wide diurnal temperature variation. The Taklamakan Desert has very little water, therefore it is hazardous to cross. Merchant caravans on the Silk Road would stop for relief at the thriving oasis towns. It was in close proximity to many of the ancient civilizations — to the Northwest is the Amu Darya basin, to the southwest the Afghanistan mountain passes lead to Iran and India, to the east is China, and even to the north ancient towns such as Almaty can be found. The key oasis towns, watered by rainfall from the mountains, were Kashgar,
Story in the Public Square courage and to see the resilience and to see the dignity that some of the people that have gone through hell on earth, still can look you in the eye and want you to tell their story. Even though they know that they are not going to gain anything out of it and most likely none of their entire family, or clan or neighborhood, or city or country. But they still want to tell you their story. You still have to tell their story." On January 14, 2017, Story in the Public Square launched a new weekly PBS and SiriusXM