Help us give the gift of education by supporting this initiative. This beautiful bookmark is part of the Truck Art Collection which has been inspired by the vibrant colours which can be found on the Trucks. Truck art is a popular form of regional decoration in South Asia, with Pakistani and Indian trucks featuring elaborate floral patterns and calligraphy. Pakistani decorated trucks servicing Afghanistan came to be known as jingle trucks by American troops and contractors. I have named this the Silk Route because the beautiful red colour resembles Poppies. The earliest reference to opium growth and use is in 3,400 B.C. when the opium poppy was grown in lower Mesopotamia (Southwest Asia). The Sumerians referred to it as Hul Gil, the "joy plant." The Sumerians soon passed it on to the Assyrians, who in turn passed it on to the Egyptians. As people learned of the power of opium, demand for it increased. Many countries began to grow and process opium to expand its availability and to decrease its cost. Its cultivation spread along the Silk Road, from the Mediterranean through Asia and finally to China where it was the catalyst for the Opium Wars of the mid-1800s. All bookmarks are made individually using locally handicrafts £1 is donated to the Yasmeen Lari Project to help the victims of flooding in Pakistan.
