A Winter in Arabia - Couverture souple

Stark, Freya

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1590206460 ISBN 13 : 9781590206461

Editeur : Overlook Pr, 2011

Synopsis

Edged by the fearsome Empty Quarter to the North, the Arabian Sea to the South and resting on layers of history that stretch back to the dawn of human civilisation, the Hadhramaut - heart of 'Arabia Felix', in what is now Yemen - is one of the wildest and most remote parts of Arabia, little-changed from when Freya Stark travelled there over 70 years ago. Tracing the ancient incense route, Stark set out to be the first westerner to discover the fabled lost city of Shabwa, which had captivated explorers and travellers for centuries. Though she journeyed through the canyons and mountains of the Hadhramaut extensively and by any means possible, Stark's goal was never reached, but the ending to her story was nevertheless - and in characteristic fashion - dramatic. Having caught measles whilst staying in a sultan's harem and with the region overrun by warring religious factions and bandits, she had to be evacuated by the Royal Air Force. Though Shabwa remained elusive, Freya Stark's remarkable journey ensured that her name would forever be associated with Arabia and her travels hailed as intrepid and adventurous as any undertaken by other great explorers of Arabia such as T.E.Lawrence, Richard Burton and Charles Doughty.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

One of the most unconventional and courageous explorers of her time, Freya Stark chronicled her extraordinary Travels in the Near East, establishing herself as a twentieth century heroine. A Winter in Arabia recounts her 1937-8 expedition in what is now Yemen, a journey which helped secure her reputation not only as a great travel writer, but also as a first-rate geographer, historian, and archaeologist. There, in the land whose "nakedness is clothed in shreds of departed splendor," she and two companions spent a winter in search of an ancient South Arabian city.

Offering rare glimpses of life behind the veil-the subtleties of business and social conduct, the elaborate beauty rituals of the women, and the bitter animosities between rival tribes, Freya Stark conveys the "perpetual charm of Arabia ... that the traveler finds his own level there simply as a human being."

Biographie de l'auteur

Freya Stark (1893-1993), 'the poet of travel', was the doyenne of Middle East travel writers and one of the most courageous and adventurous women travellers in history. She travelled extensively through Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Southern Arabia, where she became the first western woman to travel through the Hadhramaut. Usually solo, she ventured to places few Europeans had ever been. Her travels earned her the Founder's Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society and she was created a Dame in 1975. She received huge public acclaim and her many, now classic, books include Traveller's Prelude, The Valleys of the Assassins, Ionia, The Southern Gates of Arabia, Alexander's Path, Dust in the Lion's Paw and East is West. 'She has written the best travel books of her generation and her name will survive as an artist in prose.' - The Observer

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Overlook Pr
• Date d'édition: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1590206460
• ISBN 13: 9781590206461
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 320