Author Archives: Caravan Tales

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning is the greatest little work on idle wandering that I have encountered. In 1934 England times were tough and jobs were scarce so what was a young man to do, Laurie Lee set out with a small pack and his violin and made for Spain. This is aContinue reading “Laurie Lee”

Ludovico Varthema travelled in interesting times. Varthema departed Italy for the Indian Ocean region in late 1502 and arrived in 1503. A few years prior, in 1498, Vasco da Gama had arrived in the Indian Ocean via sea and circumnavigating Africa. Da Gama’s hope was to gain control of the Indian Ocean spice trade thatContinue reading “Ludovico Varthema”

Better known as the father of history, the Father of Travel Writing could well be a title bestowed upon Herodotus. Herodotus left us one only work, untitled, but familiar to many as simply The Histories. It is an account of the Eastern Mediterranean and the wars between the Persian Empire and the Greek cities thatContinue reading “Herodotus”

During the time that Marco Polo was mucking about in China another traveller was making a journey that would take him far from home. Rabban Sauma started from Karakorum, the capital of Ghengis Khan’s empire, and travelled the silk routes to the far west to Constantinople, Rome, Paris and Bordeaux. He met with kings andContinue reading “Rabban Sauma”

Of course no list of travel accounts would be complete without Marco Polo. His story is considered the quintessential story of world travel, few are unfamiliar with at least the basic outline of his adventure. He departed Venice in 1271, travelled to China and returned with tales of wonder, wealth and a noodle recipe. TruthContinue reading “Marco Polo”

Always playing second fiddle to the more familiar Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta logged more miles, visited more countries, travelled for more years and offers us a story that surpasses Polo in pure entertainment. Polo’s only jump was that he left Venice fifty five years prior to Ibn Battuta’s departure from Tangiers in 1325. The listContinue reading “Ibn Battuta”

Late in the twelfth century, far to the west in the Fatimid kingdom of Spain a young secretary to the Governor of Granada was offered a cup of wine by his employer. This seemingly innocuous offer has provided us with one of our great travel stories from medieval times. The sincere and devout Muslim declinedContinue reading “Ibn Jubayr”

PDF Download Angkor Wat in Cambodia receives hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists yearly.  Access to the site is easy, the international airport receives direct flights from eight Asian nations and anyone who has arranged a visa and prepared themselves with anti malarial medication can arrive for and a enjoy a short jaunt before movingContinue reading “To an almost certain death: Following Henri Mouhot to Angkor”

Read Full Article In the eighteen sixties a twelve year old French boy from Bordeaux set out on his own without the permission or knowledge of his family. He did not get too far, only to a nearby town where he found employment in the service of a travelling umbrella salesman, his brother managed, ratherContinue reading “The First Dromomanian”