One place I'd like to explore but probably never will in this lifetime is the Northwest Frontier of Pakistan. Its scenery is spectacular and its history, bloody. The main route through the region is Karakorum Highway that winds through some of the world's most rugged terrain to the ancient mountain cities of Gilgit and Chitral where the local tribes play a form of polo. My dear wife spent time in the late 1980s working in Peshawar and traveling to see one of those polo games. For now, I have to be content with books.
1. To the Frontier, Geoffrey Moorehouse (1984). Winner of the Thomas Cook Award for best travel writing of 1984 Moorehouse sent three months on foot and local buses traveling to Peshawar, the Khyber Pass ending in the far north at the lonely outpost of Gilgit hear the Chinese border. Bought at Dog Ears Books in Northport, Michigan.
2. Beyond the North-West Frontier: Travels in the Hindu Kush and Karakorams, Maureen Lines (1988). A single woman traveling alone through rugged terrain and on horseback. Book is arranged in stages along different segments of the remote roads. Wonderful black and white photos, maps and sketches. Place of purchase--uncertain.
3. Pakistan: Land of Mystery, Tragedy and Courage, I.G. Edmonds (1975). A short history of Pakistan from before Alexander the Great to shortly after its creation ending in the mid-1970s. Bought used at Dog Ear Books, Northport, Michigan.
No comments:
Post a Comment