Traveling the Incense Route: From Arabia to the Levant in the Footsteps of the Magi (Tauris Parke Paperbacks)

Fantastic book by an intrepid traveller. Barbara Toy wrote several books on her solo travels with a Land Rover through the world. This book is the account of her solo travel along the frankincense route from Yemen to Jordan, in the early 1960s when Toy was in her late fifties. She traverses war-torn Yemen in her Land Rover, then crosses into rapidly modernizing Saudi Arabia. Toy does a terrific job in weaving history into her travelogue. Her encounters with locals, fellow travellers, her description of landscape and adventures put her in the great traditions of british travel writers (she was born in Australia, though). Her courage of traveling along as a woman through deeply traditional islamic lands demand respect. The reaction of locals towards her are surprising and sometimes hilarious. A really wonderful read.

No it was very difficult to follow. Subject matter very interesting but was difficult!!