Book Review: The Places in Between by Rory Stewart - Page 2

While he eventually convinces (pays) them to return to Herat and leave him to continue to Kabul on his own, Stewart is also occasionally accompanied or escorted by villagers along his trek. He even ends up with a full-time companion, a retired fighting dog "the size of a small pony" that is earless, tailless and has more gums than teeth. Stewart names him "Babur." Together they face the toughest part of the journey, through deep snows, blizzards and mountain passes. At times Stewart must almost literally drag Babur along. Yet even Stewart borders on giving up the journey — and his life — in deep snow about four weeks into his journey.

Stewart, a Scot who spent time with the British diplomatic service, knows a couple Persian dialects and Urdu, a language common to Pakistan and India. This enables him to communicate as he travels from village to village, relying upon that "medieval etiquette" for shelter and lodging. Many villagers are simply struggling to survive and are subject to the shifting and often unclear political or tribal alliances. While some villages appear relatively unscathed from years of warfare, others have been severely damaged or traumatized. The effects of war appear even in geographic descriptions. Afghans refer to many places and locations by some tragic or brutal event that occurred there, not by physical attributes.

Warfare's impact on cultural history is also apparent. The world was well aware the Taliban destroyed the famous Buddhas of Bamiyan. But it doesn't take politics or religious doctrine to lose irreplaceable pieces of heritage. The scrabble for existence is enough.

Stewart believes he comes to a site that may be the remains of Turquoise Mountain, the long-lost capital of the 12th-century Ghorid Empire. Instead of being excavated and studied, local Afghans are rapidly tunneling and digging to find any artifacts they can sell for a few dollars to traders. They make no effort to map out the city, let alone preserve the buildings or artifacts. Their frustrations, according to the area commandant, are days in which they dig a pit ten meters wide "and didn't find anything worth anything." (Stewart currently is the chief executive of the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, a program combining historical preservation with teaching youth traditional Afghan building and craft skills.)

Article Author: Tim Gebhart

Tim Gebhart lives in Sioux Falls, SD, where he practices law in order to provide shelter for his family, his dogs, and his books. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and his blog de guerre is A Progressive on the Prairie.

Visit Tim Gebhart's author page — Tim Gebhart's Blog