Traveller on Horseback

Recently read: A Traveller on Horseback; in Eastern Turkey and Iran by Christina Dodwell. New York, Walker and Company, 1989.

Miss Dodwell must be an amazing woman, although she probably doesn’t think so. She has written several books on her travels in China and Africa. Here she chose to travel in the mid-east by horseback and alone. She had acquaintances in a couple of places but otherwise was not averse to going it alone, speaking some of the local language (of which there were several) and dealing with the inhabitants of the towns and villages she came across. She seemed most interested in the ancient architecture of churches and castles, some built before Christ. Some that once were Christian churches are now mosques. This adventurous journey was taken during the war between Iraq and Iran. She was arrested and questioned more than once, propositioned at least once. But mostly she was welcomed, found lodging with the local headman or others and had an interesting journey. This was a book that seemed to fit my mood at the moment and I enjoyed it.