British journalist Marozzi debuts with a glib, often
self-deprecating account of his three-month, 1,150-mile camel trek
across the Libyan Sahara Desert. The now-33-year-old author was
reporting in the Philippines when he started planning his
impractical journey. Six years previously, Marozzi had accompanied
his father on a visit to the Libyan capital city of Tripoli and
could not put the sights, smells, and sounds from that trip out of
his mind. While there he had visited a rare English-language
bookstore and purchased an account of an early-19th-century British
desert expedition into the Libyan Sahara. Reading the high-spirited
tale back in London, Marozzi relates, "I felt the pull of the
desert and started to dream of a similar journey by camel." The
fantasy did not become a reality until, in 1999, his long-time
friend, a Dorset farmer who liked to travel, agreed to make the
journey. "Neither of us knew the first thing about desert travel,"
the author confesses. So they read books and interviewed desert
veterans, while Marozzi studied Arabic with a tutor. "Although one
of the expressions he recommended for use in Libya helped put us
under hotel arrest for a week," the author remarks, "another had
the benefit of saving us several hundred dollars when procuring a
desert guide in Tmissah." The account of the journey itself is as
gripping as it is funny. Even with lots of advance study and the
employment of experienced guides, it's hard work riding camels
through a desert that is blazingly hot by day and freezing cold at
night, parched in most places but wet at oases, and unforgiving at
every time and place. (It can be dangerous, too.) Along the sandy
route, Marozzi works in material on Libyan history as well as
current politics, with Gaddafi receiving dozens of mentions.
Unfailingly interesting and downright refreshing: travel-writing
for true adventurers as well armchair ones. (Kirkus Reviews)
'"In one of Tripoli's only English-language bookshops I picked up the book that thrust the desert before me in all its guises. Here was silence and loneliness, the glory of wide African skies, unbroken plains of sand and rock, loyalty and companionship, adventure treachery and betrayal."'
For six years after reading the account of the British North African expedition of 1818-20, Justin Marozzi had longed to cross the Libyan Sahara. Captivated by the beauty of this little-known country on his first visit to Tripoli, he vowed to return to explore its vast desert along the old slave-trade routes. 'South from Barbary' – as nineteenth century Europeans knew North Africa – is the compelling story of his 1,500 – mile journey.
Setting off from Tripoli, Marozzi and his travelling companion, Ned, headed first to the ancient oasis of Ghadames on an improbable mission to purchase camels and find a guide willing to forego the comforts of a four-wheel drive for the hardship of an extended camel trek. Marozzi and Ned had never travelled in the desert, nor had they ridden camels before embarking on this expedition. Encouraged by a series of idiosyncratic Touareg and Tubbu guides, they learnt the full range of desert survival skills, including how to master their five faithful camels.
The caravan of two explorers, five camels with distinctive personalites and their guides undertook a gruelling journey across some of the most inhospitable territory on earth. Despite threats from Libyan officialdom and the ancient natural hardships of the desert, Marozzi and Ned found themselves growing ever closer to the land and its people.
More than a travelogue, 'South from Barbary' is a fascinating history of Saharan exploration and efforts by early British explorers to suppress the African slave trade. It evokes the poetry and solitude of the desert, the companionship of man and beast, the plight of a benighted nation, and the humour and generosity of its resilient people.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
