By Desert Ways to Baghdad

A curious partnership forms at the foot of an apple tree on a scorching midsummer day. One traveler, driven by a quest for better health and a scholarly fascination with comparative religions, carries a detailed map of Asia. The other, plucked from a quiet English farming district, offers practical grit and a willingness to learn the customs of any male attendant they might meet. Together they set out with a single, simple rule: choose a land reachable without crossing the sea and stay inland forever.

Their sights quickly fall on Asia Minor, a region that promises endless horizons once the Bosphorus or the Suez Canal are crossed. The narrator sketches the landscape with a Murray’s Handbook, while the companion plans visits to mosques, ancient tombs, and stone inscriptions, eager to rub away centuries of forgotten text. Early chapters weave lively observations of deserts, wells, and the quiet rhythm of daily life with scholarly notes on Hittite bas‑reliefs and Jacob’s Well.

The book balances vivid travel diary moments with thoughtful commentary, peppered with illustrations of maps, arches, and desert scenes. Listeners will feel the heat of the plains, hear the rustle of sand, and share in the anticipation of a journey that still has many uncharted paths ahead.