The Middle East is one of the world’s most complex and troubled hot-spots, as well as the birthplace of three major religions and a cradle of civilization. Despite this, it seems we don’t often hear or read much about the region outside of news of protests and conflicts. But of course, perhaps that is the exact reason why as regional instability keeps many visitors and travelers away.
That is why Levison Wood’s Arabia- A Journey through the Heart of the Middle East stands out, as the British explorer goes on a journey through the entire Arabian peninsula – 13 countries that include neighboring Somalia and Djibouti for good measure.
Starting off in Syria, Wood goes in a clockwise direction to Iraq, then the wealthy Gulf states, Oman and Yemen, which forces him to detour across the Red Sea to Somalia. After getting back to the Arabian peninsula, Wood enters Saudi Arabia, then Israel, Jordan, and Syria again. He ends in Lebanon, exhausted but exhilarated. In a way, Wood is following in the footsteps of his early 20th-century countrymen, the legendary TE Lawrence aka Lawrence of Arabia, and Richard Burton.
Predictably, Wood’s stay in Syria, which was undergoing a devastating civil war when he was there, is fraught with danger and his time in Iraq, where he passes through territory recently occupied by ISIS, is just as risky.
For some of these countries such as the Gulf oil states like Kuwait, Wood gives little coverage as his stay there is very brief and uneventful. His time in Oman and Yemen are more fascinating, though a potential danger to his life in the latter forces him to chance taking a junk to Somalia. Wood also gets to travel in Saudi Arabia, a rare experience given the country until recently forbade tourists. As a non-Muslim, he is however banned from going to Mecca and Medina, Islam’s holiest places. There is an amusing encounter with a Saudi flower tribe, whose men wear flowers on their heads but will readily knife anyone who insults them.
I’ve read Wood’s previous book on walking the Nile, and his journey in Arabia is similar in terms of passing through war zones and remote areas. One big difference is that much of his journey in Arabia is done in a vehicle, which is not surprising as Wood travels through one of the hottest areas in the world, the Arabian Desert. The prose is a little sparse and simple at times, but Wood is honest in expressing exhaustion or disillusionment, including with his life.
While the beginning of his trip is full of danger and discomfort, things wind down appropriately once he gets to Israel. His time in Israel and Jordan make him sentimental, as he enjoys Christmas in Bethlehem with his family and friends. In the end, Wood fulfills his quest of traveling around the Arabian peninsula and finishing at the ancient ruins of Byblos in Lebanon.
The book could have been longer and it did leave me wanting more since at times, it comes off more as a personal journal. However, Wood deserves credit for coming up with the idea of traveling around the Arabia peninsula and pulling it off despite the risks and his personal fears.
