The southern gates of Arabia

To begin this review, I would like to state that my copy of this book is a vintage (1945) cerise Penguin edition. It is in what I would call fragile condition, its spine significantly worn and friable, with very thin and delicate pages. The type is very small, and the line-spacing very close. In short, it was very hard to read! This may have affected my review!

I have a huge amount of admiration for Freya Stark, and what she achieved in terms of travel throughout her life. This is the second book she published, and covers the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsular - modern Yemen. The area at the time though was complex with Yemen being split off into the Aden Protectorate (East and West) and provinces in the north being fought over with Saudi Arabia, and the entirety split into Bedouin clan lands.

In this book, Stark proposes to travel to the ancient city of Shabwa, rumoured to be the capital of the Queen of Sheba, located on the high Hadramaut plateau. Shabwa was also renowned in antiquity as the source of frankincense. In fact the Incense Route forms a part of her journey, although I struggled with the geography of this - more below.

Travelling however she is able, by donkey, camel, on foot and in vehicles she shows her persistence and bravery. No doubt Stark is able to endear herself to the people - she speaks Arabic well, she maintains an honest respect for their culture, observing their behaviours and being careful not to offend, but preserve their dignity. In this way she is afforded unprecedented access to the women in the harims as well as political and religious leaders in each area she passes through. These people of power, Bedouin clan leaders etc assist her on her way, providing guides and assistance, although this extends only as far as their power - and Yemen at the time is fragmented into Bedouin clan territories.

It is not a simple read - not withstanding the above description of my physical copy, the text has its own complexity - it is dense, the repetitive and similar names in Arabic are a handful, and placenames and geography are confusing. The map, such as it was in my copy, is woefully inadequate - I could find barely any of the places she visits on it, yet it tried to demonstrate the Incense Route and a great number of historical sites. The reader should not expect to learn much about Freya Stark herself - the focus here is all outward. In fact she never really shares her motivation in reaching Shabwa - other than that in recent time, no European before her has.

There were eight pages of black and white photographs, which were very good - a range of subjects from ruins and landscapes to portraits and people. I am always glad of the inclusion of photographs, especially when they are mentioned as having been taken during the narrative.

I don't think it is too bigger spoiler to advise that she falls short of completing her journey to Shabwa. Catching measles, dysentery, and then what she believes is malaria, but turns out to be worse, the last third of the book shows her persistence in travelling at all, and sees her progress slow then stop. Laid up in Shibam, she believes her time is up, extracting promises that she won't be buried for at least a half day after she dies (she was concerned with being buried if she was to faint) and writing a farewell letter, before she was saved by the arrival of a doctor, and then airlifted by the RAF to Aden.

Stark was to return to Southern Arabia in following years, and published her account of the region in three books - this one The Southern Gates of Arabia: A Journey in the Hadhramaut (1936), followed by Seen In The Hadhramaut (1938) and A Winter in Arabia (1940).

4 stars