Beyond The North-West Frontier, travels in the Hindu Kush and Karakorams

Maureen Lines

Published by The Oxford Illustrated Pers, hardcover with dust jacket, illustrated.

Beyond The North-West Frontier is the culmination of many months of travel over a number of years by the author into the remote lands of the Hindu Kush and Karakorams of Pakistan, and of her eisits to the Kalash valleys of Birir, Rumbur and Bumburet, high on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border, where she now stays for several months of the year.

While the book tells of her journeys into the better-known places such as Peshawar, Landi Kotal, Dir, Chitral, Gilgit, Chilas and Hunza, and also describes her time spent travelling with the nomads to their summer pastures high above the Khagan Valley, her ride along the Old Silk Road to Kashgar, and her trek from the ancient kingdom of Khapalu to Hushe – it is the arduous treks over the Lowarai, Shandur, Babusar and Khunjerab Passes, on foot or horseback, by wagon or jeep that bear witness to this woman's stamina and resourcefulness.

And while these remarkable travels by a single woman would alone merit a book, a delightful bonus is the detailed account of the author's sojourns with the 'Kafir' Kalash. For it is here that Maureen pauses to live and work with the people in the intimacy of their homes and so is able to give us a unique insight into their daily lives. The Kalash number only 4,000 people and are the last in this vast region to withstand conversion to Islam. They live today as they have done for centuries, making few ti concessions to the twentieth century – which is why the author's account of her stay with them is so interesting.
Maureen Lines' compellingly intimate black and white photographs complete this remarkable book.
UK