The Lycian Shore - Couverture souple

'There are not so many places left where magic reigns without interruption and of all those I know, the coast of Lycia was the most magical.' Lycia, on the southwestern coast of Turkey, is an ancient land steeped in mystery, myth and legend. Home to the fiery chimera and to the great heroes Sarpedon and Penderus; heartland of worship for the goddess Leto and her children Apollo and Artemis; old ally of Troy, lure to conquering Cyrus and Alexander and to centuries of travellers, artists and writers - Lycia, part of the 'Turquoise Coast' now attracts more tourists to her glimmering shores than any other part of Turkey. In the early 1950s, following the trail of ancient Persian and Greek traders, Freya Stark set out by boat to explore the Lycian coast. She was guided by the traces of Lycia's rich history and cultural heritage. For all those who now follow in her wake, there can be no better, more evocative or knowledgeable guide to this, Turkey's most enchanting coast. 'Freya Stark remains unexcelled as an interpreter of brief encounters in wild regions against the backdrop of history.' - The Observer; 'One of the finest travel writers of our century.' - The New Yorker; 'A Middle East traveler, an explorer and, above all, a writer, Freya Stark has, with an incomparably clear eye, looked toward the horizon of the past without ever losing sight of the present. Her books are route plans of a perceptive intelligence, traversing time and space with ease.' - Saudi Aramco World

Freya Stark, along with Gertrude Bell, was the greatest woman traveller of the 20th century - she was also one of the finest travel writers and inspired a whole generation who followed her. Here, she combines her sense of adventure with a unique eye for history and landscape.
The account narrates her journey by boat along the coasts of Turkey southward from Smyrna around the islands and headlands where the ruins of Greek cities and temples lie almost undisturbed beneath flowers and aromatic shrub: Halicarnassus, site of the Mausoleum; Cnidus, once the home of the famous statue of the naked love goddess; Patmos, refuge of St John the Divine - and so on and on over the stormy and crystalline summer seas.