The Southern gates of Arabia by Freya Stark

Book set in Shibam, Yemen. Reviewed on 2020/06: https://www.instagram.com/p/CA6zh4DAL78/

I actually enjoyed reading some parts of this book. Although I’m still unsure how it all comes together at the end. #britishscholar and #explorer extraordinaire, #freyastark decided to go find the mystical city of #shabwa in modern #Yemen in the 1930s. Ultimately she fails to reach the city. Instead she wrote this book about her travels and the cities, people, towns, #wadis she found along the way. Clearly the process, the path marked her even more than any final goal could have done. My issue here is with sometimes the tone of the book. #stark alternates from outsider to insider without realizing her inability to completely detach herself from her own prejudices and perceptions. Regardless, it reads quickly and smoothly considering the repetitiveness of her observations and the depths of her #historicalannotations. #thesoutherngatesofarabia#hadhramaut #frankincense #shibam#Makalla #شِـبَـام #حضرموت #ٱلْمُكَلَّا#hadrami #sabeans