Mirror To Damascus

Colin Thubron is an acknowledged master of travel writing and the winner of many prizes and awards. He first visited Syria in 1965 and his portrait of its capital city <i>Mirror to Damascus</i> was published to critical acclaim in 1967. He has also written about Lebanon Cyprus and Russia. From these early experiences developed his classic travel books: <i>Behind the Wall</i> (winner of the Hawthornden Prize and the Thomas Cook Travel Award) <i>The Lost Heart of Asia</i> <i>In Siberia </i>(Prix Bouvier) <i>Shadow of the Silk Road</i> and <i>To a Mountain in Tibet</i>. Colin Thubron was President of the Royal Society of Literature from 2010 to 2017. <p><b>A 50th anniversary edition of Colin Thubron's celebrated first book a portrait of Syria's capital city with a new introduction by the author.</b><br><br>Described by the author as simply 'a work of love' <i>Mirror to Damascus</i> provides a rich and fascinating history of Damascus from the Amorites of the Bible to the revolution of 1966 and is also a charming and witty personal record of an extraordinary city.<br><br> In explaining how modern Damascus is rooted in immemorial layers of culture and tradition Colin Thubron explores the historical artistic social and religious inheritance of its people. Along the way he shares unforgettable stories about the enterprising travellers of bygone days.<br><br> <i>Mirror to Damascus</i> is a unique portrait of a city now obscured by recent upheavals by one of the most indefatigable and popular of travel writers.</p> One of the oldest most mysterious and fascinating cities in the world has found a worthy biographer: a rare event and one not to be missed One of the most subtly beautiful books about a city I have ever read Colin Thubron writes in a classical style of grave beauty with an intense feeling for place and people From the earliest legend to the latest coup <i>Mirror to Damascus</i> reflects every discoverable facet of the city... a quite exceptional travel writer One of the great merits of Mr Thubron's admirable book is that he balances this tribute to a place of which he is clearly very fond with the harsh facts of history... he was always moved by the best motives - curiosity and affection