Talks
John PilkingtonA Stroll through the Axis of Evil
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John`s talk is titled `A Stroll through the Axis of Evil`; Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran are in the news for all the wrong reasons. Starting in Beirut, John will unravel a picture quite different to the news stories as he followed a winding route via the Euphrates, the Caucasus and the Valley of the Assassins to finish on the Persian Gulf. John Pilkington has been called “one of Britain’s greatest tellers of travellers’ tales”.
John Pilkington has been called “one of Britain’s greatest tellers of travellers’ tales”.
In 1983, after journeys in Africa and Latin America, he completed a 500-mile solo crossing of the western Nepal Himalaya, and told the story in his first book, Into Thin Air. His interest in Asia grew further with the opening in 1986 of the border between Pakistan and China, making it possible – for the first time in forty years – to retrace virtually the whole of the Silk Road. John was one of the first modern travellers to do so, and he wrote about the journey in An Adventure on the Old Silk Road. This was followed in 1991 by An Englishman in Patagonia, recounting eight months spent exploring the southernmost tip of South America.
In 2000 he became one of only four people in modern times to walk the 1,600-mile Royal Road of the Incas in the Andes of Ecuador and Peru. In 2003 he explored the Mekong River and, with two Tibetans, reached and mapped its source at over 17,000 feet. In 2006 he turned his attention to the Sahara Desert, and joined a camel caravan carrying salt for 450 miles from the mines of Taoudenni to Timbuktu.
He is familiar as a broadcaster with the BBC World Service and with Radio 4, for whom he has made adventure travel documentaries has contributed to From Our Own Correspondent. John writes occasionally for The Sunday Times, The Independent and Geographical magazine. In 2006 the Royal Geographical Society presented him with the Ness Award for his work in popularising geography and the wider understanding of the world.
John Pilkington is a loyal friend of GNE and has told us about his various travels in beautifully illustrated talks on several occasions.
When he last visited GNE he was preparing for another long trip, to complete the part of the Old Silk Road he was unable to cover on his previous trip to the area.
He promised to come back and tell GNE all about it.
John started his trip later than originally planned and has literally only just returned home. We are very pleased that he is willing to come over to tell the GNE branches all about his latest adventures.
A Stroll through the Axis of Evil
Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran are in the news for all the wrong reasons. Starting in Beirut, John unravelled a picture quite different to the news stories as he followed a winding route via the Euphrates, the Caucasus and the Valley of the Assassins to finish on the Persian Gulf. He enjoyed unbridled hospitality from a spectacular variety of people - Druze, Mennonites, Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, Azeris and both Shi`ite and Sunni Iranians - and found families and whole communities working together to survive the harsh climate and political strife.