Turkestan Solo

Despite the title, the first half of this book details the journey Ella Maillart took with four Russian companions from Moscow to Kirghiza, (through Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan) where her companions are to climb mountains. Taking place in 1932, Maillart took every opportunity to accompany them, pleading and cajoling to get permits, calling in favours to get equipment, and using ‘foreign journalist' as her reasoning. The inevitable tangle with Russian bureaucracy is eventually conquered, at least enough for her to join the mountaineers, albeit not to climb.

Her companions are an able group, Volodya, Auguste, Mila and Capa, although each comes down with fever at some point which adds a few days delay to the journey. Maillart if not exempt from illness herself, but they avoid any major issues. Accompanied by guides and at times translators, they travel in trying conditions through rough and complicated terrains, staying with local people in their small yurt communities (called Aul's). The good will to feed and house guests is part of the Kirghiz culture, much the same as most of Central Asia.

Throughout the journey Maillart provides historical and political background - never very in depth, and perhaps not enough to understand the situation fully, but enough for basic context. She shares the trials and tribulations of the journey, the interactions with her companions (including the sometimes awkward Capa) but is reasonably spare with her words - she is apt to cut a conversation, or a story short and move on to another event. There is not a lot of unnecessary text in this book, but she does manage to describe the settings very well, and shares the interactions with the local people as a priority.


Upon reaching Alma Ata (Almaty) in Kazakhstan, her companions return to Moscow, leaving her to pursue her solo travel. She has ruled out Chinese Turkestan as an option, rebuffed at every enquiry about border crossing to China, so sets out on the train for Tashkent. Maillart needs no time to find her feet, she is well accustomed to making her own way, and relished her freedom. She quickly makes acquaintances and continues her habit of interviewing exiles from Moscow. She makes a good fist of the history, not just here but in the remainder of her travels, but it is a complex history with lots of players.

A flight to Samarkand breaks the monotony of her train journeys, often in the most simple class - hard deck with the other people who don't have the (communist) political connections to secure tickets. In Samarkand she visits the many wonders, describing them well, before moving on to Bokhara and after some weeks there by vastly overloaded paddle boat up the Amul Darya (Oxus River) to Turt Kol (Turtkul) and thus Khiva. From there downriver to Khodjeili (Khodzheyli) where she sets off overland again, on horse cart heading towards the setting off point across the Kyzylkum Desert to Kazalinsk (Kazaly) in Kazakhstan. By camel caravan this part of the journey is undertaken, 300 miles shared with a family. At one point they cross a frozen arm of the Aral Sea. Looking at the map provided (which is fairly substandard unfortunately) the sea is its full, round shape, unlike now as the inland sea has has been sucked dry by irrigation, and it has become a dessicated part of the desert (on the Uzbekistan side, the Kazakhstan side has been partly restored).

At each step explanations and descriptions of the hardships of food, accommodation and onwards travel permissions. Finding space on boats, arranging carts, finding a family who travel through the desert. Arrested for a shot time, her boots stolen just before entering the desert, being let down by people promising rides and other disasters are offset by being given a thick warm coat (send the money when you sell it again) and many other individual acts of generosity.

The sudden ending of the book fits with the sparse writing, abruptly days end and the reader is partway through the following day, conversations end part way through. It takes a little to adjust to the writing style, the unusual turn of phrase or word sequencing - perhaps this is the translation, or perhaps it is true to the writing style.

Maillart is an incredible traveller, an inspiration for those who fear the intrepid, fear risk, fear consequences; but one can't help wonder how much is pure determination and how much is incredible luck!

4.5 stars, rounded down.