The great silk road as crossroads of languages and cultures

International and intercultural relations have become important not just nowadays, but there were like this also in ancient times, when people used to cross borders and travel on recreational, religious and, of course, on commercial purposes. When speaking about the commercial relations, it is important to mention the Great Silk Road, which, having started from China and having crossed the borders of different countries, including Armenia, reached Europe thus becoming a unique bridge among different languages, religions, nations, cultures and civilizations. There are many characteristic features of cultures, and among them one of the most important ones are languages, as the language is one of best prisms through which the culture can be perceived. In this article the Great Silk Road is studied from the linguistic and cultural angles in order to show the relations between different countries. The special emphasis has been put on the words “vordan karmir” and “carpet” and, consequently, on the usage of this special red dye called “vordan karmir” in Armenian and carpets, particularly the oldest best preserved carpet of the world, the Pazyryk rug.