The Places in Between

I'm reading Rory Stewart's The Places in Between.  It's about his walk across Afghanistan in 2002.  Very interesting.  I found the passage from which he derives the title:  "I told him Afghanistan was the missing section of the walk, the place in between the deserts and the Himalayas, between Persian, Hellenic, and Hindu culture, between Islam and Buddhism, between mystical and militant Islam."

I'm also reminded of the description of Afghanistan given to me by my friend, Keith Conrey, who traveled in Afghanistan back in the mid-70s.  He was entranced by the sights and the smells, much of which remains with him today.

This book is one of 34 I downloaded onto my Kindle before departing home.  While overseas, I won't have a chance to acquire more books on the Kindle; that will have to wait until I get back home in March 2010 for a couple of weeks.

I'm looking forward to visiting and working there.  But first, it's off to Iraq.