Hailed as a classic upon its first
publication in 1934, The Valleys
of the Assassins firmly established
Freya Stark as one of her generation's
most intrepid explorers. The book
chronicles her travels into Luristan,
the mountainous terrain nestled between
Iraq and present-day Iran, often with
only a single guide and on a shoestring
budget.
Stark writes engagingly of the nomadic
peoples who inhabit the region's valleys
and brings to life the stories of
the ancient kingdoms of the Middle
East, including that of the Lords
of Alamut, a band of hashish-eating
terrorists whose stronghold in the
Elburz Mountains Stark was the first
to document for the Royal Geographical
Society. Her account is at once a
highly readable travel narrative and
a richly drawn, sympathetic portrait
of a people told from their own compelling
point of view.
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