To Samarkand

Pretend to walk the Ancient Silk Road through more than 150 ancient locations across three routes. This app counts daily steps along a path from Turkey to Samarkand or Chang'an (modern Xi'an) to Samarkand or Turfan to Samarkand -- or in reverse direction. You choose which route to walk. When you finish one, it is saved and you can walk another.

Now the app includes a new pre-Silk Road through Italy, including Naples, Rome, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Venice.

The app gives you shareable certificates for a number of milestones and has a simple trading module for fun. See how many precious manuscripts you can obtain on your trip!

Each location has an image (often of ruins), and the app shows your route through more than two dozen real maps.

When you get to the end of a journey, the certificates and manuscripts collected are saved, and you get champagne bubbles.

Just for fun, exercise, and a little learning.

REQUIRES iPHONE HEALTH APP Ignores duplicates between watch and phone.