"Readers of Stark's reissued works...will find a writer who endows everyone in her field of vision with the heightened interest that she felt herself." -- "The New Yorker" "Her books make Stark a remarkable figure under any circumstances. Having been a woman whose roamings through Middle Eastern deserts and mountains put her in the top ranks of the fabled Royal Geographical Society makes her more so." -- Richard Bernstein, "The New York Times" "It was rare to leave her company without feeling that the world was somehow larger and more promising. Her life was something of a work of art... The books in which she recorded her journeys were seductively individual... Nomad and social lioness, public servant and private essayist, emotional victim and mythmaker.' -- Colin Thubron, "The New York Times" "Dame Freya's was a passionate imagination, and her embrace of landscape was fierce... [She] was often called a "travel writer." The adjective, however, limits the accomplishment." -- "The New Y

Promotional Information

In the early 1950s, following the trail of ancient Persian and Greek traders, Freya Stark set out by boat to explore the Lycian coast. For all those who now follow in her wake, there can be no better, more evocative or knowledgeable guide to this, Turkey's most enchanting coast.

Table of Contents

Illustrations Maps Foreword by Colin Thubron 1. The Voyage of Elfin 2. Chios: The Defeat of Athens 3. Samos: The Double Code 4. Patmos to Calymos: Time 5. Island Pirates: Adventure 6. Cos to Halicarnassus: Captivity 7. Cnidus: The Persian Governor 8. The Doric Peninsula: Decadence or Transition 9. Loryma: The Persia Gold 10. The Rhodian Peraea: Civilisation and the Middle Class 11. Caunus: Alexander's Road 12. Xanthus: The Lycian Federation 13. Aperlae: Loyalty and the Mercenaries 14. Myra: The Fold 15. The Chelidonian Cape: Magic 16. Chimaera to Phaselis: The Pool of Time Dates References Bibliography Index

About the Author

Freya Stark (1893-1993), 'the poet of travel', was the doyenne of Middle East writers and one of the most courageous and adventurous female travellers in history. She explored Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Southern Arabia, where she became the first western woman to journey through the Hadhramaut. Usually solo, she ventured to places few Europeans had ever been. She received the title of Dame and her many, now classic, books include Travels in the Near East, A Winter in Arabia, The Southern Gates of Arabia, Alexander's Path, Dust in the Lion's Paw, East is West and Valleys of the Assassins.

Reviews

She has written the best travel books of her generation and her name will survive as an artist in prose.
*The Observer*