The Minaret of Djam – Freya Stark

A slight account of Freya Stark’s travels in Afghanistan in 1968 with the aim of visiting the lonely Minaret of Jam in the days when intrepid travellers could travel across and around Afghanistan without a military escort, and many did en route to India and Nepal.

The visit to Djam itself is brief, and most of the book deals with the journey there, full of Freya Stark’s observations of people and terrain, and her musings and meditations on travel.

Amazon link: The Minaret of Djam – Freya Stark

The Southern Gates of Arabia: A Journey in the Hadramaut – Freya Stark

I tried to get into this, but the traumas of the new job meant that this travelogue just didn’t hit the right spot for a relaxing bed time read – the main factors conspiring against it both stem from its being written in the ?1930s? – the narrative style and the relaince on physical geography descriptions are both hard to get to grips with.

I’ll try again sometime when I’m more relaxed.

Buy it: Amazon link