In a world full of macho, early twentieth century male explorers, lovely Rosita Forbes stood alone. The famed English woman went everywhere, and saw everything, in any perilous portion of the world that met her fancy. For example, though Afghanistan was supposedly closed to outsiders, the elegant Rosita hired a car, and had herself chauffeured from Kabul to Samarkand in style. In need of new adventures, the intrepid female explorer decided to penetrate the infamous wastes of the Libyan deserts. At stake was an interview ...
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In a world full of macho, early twentieth century male explorers, lovely Rosita Forbes stood alone. The famed English woman went everywhere, and saw everything, in any perilous portion of the world that met her fancy. For example, though Afghanistan was supposedly closed to outsiders, the elegant Rosita hired a car, and had herself chauffeured from Kabul to Samarkand in style. In need of new adventures, the intrepid female explorer decided to penetrate the infamous wastes of the Libyan deserts. At stake was an interview with the mysterious leader of an obscure Muslim sect. Yet more important to Rosita was the need to discover, not some minor potentate, but the legendary lost city of the Sahara, Kufara. What followed can only be described as a classic 1920s adventure complete with a dashing Egyptian noblemen, a cast of notorious camels, and their noisome crew. And though Secret of the Sahara is full of the political observations and interesting interviews that made Rosita a justifiably famous travel writer, the ever-dashing English woman also regales her reader with poetic passages about the beauty of the desert world she had wandered into. Here is Rosita Forbes at her best, speaking to nomads, dining with desert royalty, or uncovering enough stories to fill two books. Luckily the best tales are still gathered here. Secrets of the Sahara remains a delightful work, still fresh and charming after all these years, just like its beautiful adventuress of an author.
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