The Southern Gates of Arabia: A Journey in the Hadhramaut (Modern Library (Paperback)) Paperback – July 24, 2001

I found this book absolutely fascinating as it described a time, only 70-odd years ago, when there truly were unexplored reaches, where legend and history still co-existed, and where a culturally sensitive and aware, and properly respectful traveler could find peaceful and fulfilling adventure. This book is even more interesting now, given the changes in the Middle East in the past ten years. Can one imagine making the same kind of journey in Yemen now? Of course not; it would almost be suicide. That time has long since been destroyed, everything about this book but its pure physical setting gone, so this memoir is even more poignant and compelling.Stark has an eye for detail, as jaundiced as it is with the unavoidable Orientalism of her time and socio-cultural context. This can be forgiven/overlooked, and she's a lot more fair and obliging when describing those she encounters than the majority of her contemporaries. She's at her best when describing the landscapes she is encountering, the stark desert and wadis, the unexpected lushness of the oases and tucked-away mountain crevices where all the shades of green burst forth.More than anything, what comes through in this book is Stark's grace and abiding respect for the people she meets. She has taken the time to learn their language, and is familiar with their culture, and takes pains to encounter them in terms that will make them comfortable. She does not attempt to bend anyone to a Western European point of view. This is not to say she is subservient or fawning; she most certainly stands up for herself when it is required. But throughout the book and on this journey, her continued success comes from her honesty tinged with her respect for the region and the people with whom she is interacting. This engenders respect for her in return.I found the three maps in the beginning of the book at first absolutely invaluable as references to Stark's locations and progress. I then found the maps to be absolutely infuriating, due to their black/white printing, the too-small script, the confusing order of the maps, the contradictory scales and place-name differences, etc. I ended up abandoning the book's maps and opening my unabridged atlas to Yemen and tracking her movement there. Editors: if you're going to offer maps in a book like this, make sure the maps are actually worthwhile and readable.Two scholarly additions to the book are good. Stark's appendix on the "Southern Incense Route of Arabia" is a fascinating account of exactly what she was looking for, and what brought her to the Hadramaut in the first place. It's her indirect formal scholarly statement of motivation. This appendix would have been well-placed as a foreword to this book, serving to establish her motivation and objective. Stark lists her sources, and they're offered as a listed bibliography immediately after the appendix. There is also an index, but for whatever reason, many of the persons and places in the text are not included, and there is no cross-referencing. For example, the names of individual wadis are placed in the index as "Sidun, Wadi," and are not cross-referenced with a "Wadi Sidun" entry.Bottom line: If you're one of the many readers newly interested in Islam, Arabs and the Middle East, and are looking for some context beyond the latest book on extremism or terrorism, something to add depth to what you think you understand, then this book will do you well. If you're looking for some insight into the cultures and traditions of Islam, this also will move you in that direction. If you're looking for a glimpse into a time when the West and Islam actually got along on a basis of mutual respect, this enjoyable book will tell you about it.

I found this book very interesting having recently visited Dubai. It gives an insight into the world of Arabia before it was spoilt by oil.I was impressed by the bravery of Freya Stark for venturing into this fairly unknown part of the world and am grateful to her for the knowledge.I am planning to buy another of her books

It arrived in time ...but folded at the edge as u see in the photo .. Am eager to read the book for it is about the government I live in ..Kingdom of Hudramaut ...

As a big fan of Thesiger and Villiers, I've been a little spoiled when it comes to Arabian travel writings. In contrast I found Freya Stark's writing style and journey incredibly boring. Her descriptions of events and people are uniformly vague and shallow. This is especially frustrating when she just glosses over some event or custom that I would have loved to know more about. For example, she mentions the fact that many of the Bedu she meets are dyed indigo to protect themselves from the sun, but never goes into detail about what to me is a very fascinating and little known practice. I haven't been able to find information about Beduin, or any other people, dying their bodies indigo in any other source so I was a big frustrated by this lack of depth. I guess its important to remember that Freya Stark's works are mostly just diaries, they weren't meant to be published as anthropological works, and so might not be very interesting to anyone but herself!!

One of the greatest travel stories ever written. One of my favorite books of all time. Better than most fiction of this type. Poignant, fascinating, absorbing. I was sad that it ended. I look forward to reading it again in a couple of years.

A woman travels through the then largely unknown Southern Arabia. There are some interesting depictions of the land and insights into its people.

Superb writing. Detailed and informative. Hope to find more of her work on kindle.

Difficult to read for a non-native,,,

There was nothing to dislike. It is a book therefore it is interesting to read.

Reluctant to finish Valley of the Assassins: this equally enthralling.

If the words "intrepid" hadn't already existed, we would have had to invent it to describe Freya Stark. She sets off into the wilds of Arabia with local guides and describes beautifully her adventures. She accepts people and local customs readily and finds delight in observing the small details of their lives. Sadly many of the places she describes will now be changed utterly by the modern world and the current wars being fought in the name of religion.

Not the best Freya Stark book possibly because she fell I'll during her travels. I found the lack of a map frustrating because I did not know where the places were, I did look them up on but some of the names have changed and some of the places are absolutely tiny so difficult to find.The writing is wonderful, if slightly repetitive. The goal of her journey seemed a bit vague and she did not succeed but this book is about the journey.

A wonderful window on a fascinating part of Yemen in the 1930's. Freya stark writes with insight,no doubt due to her undoubted skill in the Arabic language and ability to describe people and places. Her description of dress and attitudes to a Western woman travelling alone was particularly interesting as I had made a similar journey in 1997.The map of wadi Hadhramaut was poor.