Beyond that Last Blue Mountain (Hardback) - Harriet Sandys

Was £20 Now £15 You save £5

Enter your postcode and we'll provide you with your delivery & collection options.

  • Free Delivery on orders over £50*
  • Free Same Day Click & Collect
  • Delivery: In stock

Shop more...

Description & Specifications

Silk weaving in Afghanistan, bartering in Peshawar and snipers in Bosnia, Harriet Sandys reveals her remarkable travels in her memoir Beyond that Last Blue Mountain.

Harriet's parents hoped that, after leaving boarding school and doing `the Season', she would meet and marry a suitable young man. But she was to disappoint them. Just after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, she set off for Peshawar to see for herself the plight of thousands of displaced Afghan refugees. Determined to do something about their dire situation, Harriet set up a small silk weaving project for illiterate Turkmen refugees, and was sent by UNESCO to Mazar-i-sharif to work with Afghanistan's last remaining silk ikat weavers. During those years she was arrested by the KHAD, narrowly missed being blown up, survived acute bacterial meningitis in a Kabul hospital, and rescued an abandoned pi-dog puppy who became her devoted companion. At the end of the first Gulf War she travelled with the Peshmerga in the newly-liberated Iraqi Kurdistan. Then in 1994 she joined a group of unemployed builders and decorators driving convoys of food and aid from Croydon to the Muslim enclaves in Bosnia Herzegovina. Much has been written about conflicts in these countries, by war correspondents, diplomats and military personnel, but this is a different story. It is about young woman from a sheltered and privileged background travelling and working alone, in and around war zones, frequently with no financial or practical support, at a time of increasing Islamic fundamentalism. Harriet left her traditional, comfortable home and chose to live a life of adventure and danger helping refugees who had nowhere else to turn. She continues to raise money for charity through her business selling oriental textiles and remains friends with the refugees she helped in Afghanistan. However, she is now married, to just the sort of husband her parents always hoped for.

About the Author

Harriet Sandys was born in Cumbria and lived a sheltered and rural life near Lake Windermere until the age of 18. In her 20s Harriet travelled alone to Afghanistan to see for herself the plight of the refugees. Having trained as an oriental carpet restorer in London, she spent her time in the bazaars and learnt to speak Dari. Over the next 15 years she would travel alone across the Middle and Near East, sourcing textiles for her business and starting the silk weaving project for refugees in Afghanistan. She now runs her own business selling oriental textiles and decorative items in Somerset, where she lives with her husband. She is a world-renowned authority on silk ikat and oriental carpets and has spoken at the Society for Oriental and African Studies and the Royal Society for Asian Affairs.

Contributor:
Harriet Sandys
Imprint:
Medina Publishing Ltd
Publisher:
Medina Publishing Ltd
Release Date:
04 Sep 2018
Binding:
Hardback
ISBN13:
9781911487173

Delivery

Options to suit you

At Jarrolds we want to ensure you get your order in the most convenient way for you, so we offer..

  • Free standard delivery on most orders over £50*
  • Express and Nominated options, including Sunday delivery from £5.95*
  • Free click and collect from our stores for many items

More about delivery

Help & Advice

Need extra help?

We're always happy to answer any questions or queries you might have, please get in touch using one of the methods below.

  • Live chat
    Monday to Friday (between 9.00am - 5.30pm)
  • Call us - 01603 660 661

View more contact details

Returns

How to return a purchase

At Jarrolds we want to ensure you're delighted with your order so if for any reason you are unhappy with your purchase, you can return most items to us in new and unused condition within 30 days of receiving them for a full refund*.  

More about returns