Travel literature review: A Winter in Arabia

Oct 6, 2010 11:12:32 PM

Note: Javascript is disabled in your browser.
To see the gallery in all its glory, you'll need to enable Javascript.

View gallery

A Winter in Arabia by Freya Stark

Rating: 4 out of 5

Reviewed by Dianne Schallmeiner

Dianne Schallmeiner is an editor at Lonely Planet. She lived on the Arabian Peninsula for three years and has been coordinating editor on the last two editions of Lonely Planet’s Oman, UAE & the Arabian Peninsula. She plans to one day retrace one of Freya Stark’s journeys into Arabia.

In 1936, Freya Stark embarked on a journey in search of Shabwa—the ancient capital of Hadhramaut, a historical region in what was then Southern Yemen. Along with a female archaeologist and a female geologist, Stark travelled through remote and often dangerous country—territory rarely visited by foreign men, let alone foreign women. A Winter in Arabia is Stark’s account of this trip.

The small group passes through various towns in the region before settling in the small village of Hureidha. While the archaeologist and geologist spend their days working in the field, Stark is left to handle the domestic tasks, where she has the opportunity to observe the small intricacies of Arabian life—the relationships, the social mores, and the complex cultural ways of the people she comes into close contact with.

While Stark’s surroundings are beautifully observed—the changing light of the wadis, the exotic smells and sounds, the intricate landscapes—for me, it is the never-ending cast of characters that come into her life that makes this book such a fascinating read. As she is often sick, Stark spends a lot of the winter in bed, holding court. Visitor after visitor traipses to her bedside, seeking medication, mediation, counselling, news from Britain, or just a good gossip. Stark, well-practised in the Arab art of hospitality, accepts these guests graciously.

A Winter in Arabia: a journey through Yemen isn’t an easy read. It is slow and contemplative and it took me awhile to settle into the narrative. Interestingly, although the book was written from notes taken in 1936, many issues confronting Stark will resonate with travellers today—in particular Stark’s concern that the traveller does not ‘corrupt’ or seek to change the local culture: ‘We are in a proud country, still new to Europeans…and the hope that I cherish is that we may leave it uncorrupted, its charm of independence intact.’

Stark became known as one of the greatest travel writers and explorers of the 20th century. She wrote more than 20 books on her life and travels, was awarded a Cross of the British Empire in 1953 and was named a Dame of the British Empire in 1972. She died in 1993, aged 100.

Publishers: Please send titles to be considered for review to:
Digital Editorial Department
Lonely Planet
Locked Bag 1
Footscray, VIC 3011
Australia

Like this? Sign up to get our best articles by email

Comments

8 October 2010 5:49PM dreamsailing Report this comment
This is indeed a fabulous book. Freya had a great philosophy on life which is expressed throughout and she very much sought to understand the similarities as well as the differences between her own culture and that of the Arabs. She admired their ability to follow their hearts and live for the moment: "We too often compelled to see two roads and take the worse one, are by that fact enslaved". She must have felt the restrictions imposed upon women in that era, but she pushed the boundaries to the limit successfully and without confrontation. There is much to be learnt from this book for everyone who wants to travel quietly and with grace.