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Smelling the Breezes: A Journey through the High Lebanon in 1957
"For God's sake don't take a gendarme with you. That's asking for trouble. People won't have any confidence in you at all, and you will find yourself being shot at on principle. Pin your faith of Arab hospitality, drink only spring water and watch out if you meet a man by himself high up in the mountains. He's probably an outlaw, and what he will want is cigarettes, food and news, and if you give him those you should be all right."
This was the considered opinion of our quarter in Beirut on the walk we proposed to take with our children through the high mountains of Lebanon. Yes in spite of this warning and the natural hazards of a 300-mile trek with four children in country that was practically waterless ad infected with serpents and scorpions, Ralph and Molly Izzard arrived safely at their journey's end.
This was the considered opinion of our quarter in Beirut on the walk we proposed to take with our children through the high mountains of Lebanon. Yes in spite of this warning and the natural hazards of a 300-mile trek with four children in country that was practically waterless ad infected with serpents and scorpions, Ralph and Molly Izzard arrived safely at their journey's end.
270 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
About the author
Ralph Izzard
16 books1 followerRalph William Burdick Izzard, OBE (27 August 1910 – 2 December 1992) was an English journalist, author, adventurer and, during World War II, a British Naval Intelligence officer.
As a journalist, Izzard spent virtually his entire career with one newspaper, the Daily Mail. After rising to the position of Berlin bureau chief, he remained a star of the paper for 31 years. The stories he covered took him from Egypt to Algeria, Lebanon to Kenya, Korea and beyond.
In addition to his duties with the Daily Mail, he wrote four books chronicling his experiences in India, Nepal and the Middle East. He is best known for the most famous of his exploits, when, as portrayed in his book The Innocent on Everest, he set out on his own, without a compass or map, to pursue John Hunt's 1953 Everest expedition to its base camp at 18,000 ft.
During World War II, Izzard served with distinction as an officer with British Naval Intelligence and 30 Assault Unit. He received several awards and was appointed an OBE. His tour of duty took place under the command of Ian Fleming, who based elements of his first novel Casino Royale and its protagonist James Bond on Lieutenant Commander Izzard and a card game in which he found himself playing poker against covert Nazi intelligence agents at a casino in Pernambuco, Brazil.
As a journalist, Izzard spent virtually his entire career with one newspaper, the Daily Mail. After rising to the position of Berlin bureau chief, he remained a star of the paper for 31 years. The stories he covered took him from Egypt to Algeria, Lebanon to Kenya, Korea and beyond.
In addition to his duties with the Daily Mail, he wrote four books chronicling his experiences in India, Nepal and the Middle East. He is best known for the most famous of his exploits, when, as portrayed in his book The Innocent on Everest, he set out on his own, without a compass or map, to pursue John Hunt's 1953 Everest expedition to its base camp at 18,000 ft.
During World War II, Izzard served with distinction as an officer with British Naval Intelligence and 30 Assault Unit. He received several awards and was appointed an OBE. His tour of duty took place under the command of Ian Fleming, who based elements of his first novel Casino Royale and its protagonist James Bond on Lieutenant Commander Izzard and a card game in which he found himself playing poker against covert Nazi intelligence agents at a casino in Pernambuco, Brazil.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 3, 2023
Travelling anywhere with a small child is an adventure in its own right, whether you are just heading to the beach for a day out or contemplating a small holiday. The thought of going on a 300-mile walk around Lebanon with four small children, and two donkeys is enough to send a chill down my spine.
However, some people are made of much sterner stuff than I am and two of them are Ralph and Molly Izzard. In 1957 they embarked on this venture around the country. Their walk would take them through villages and towns and along some pretty precarious paths and up into the pastures in the hills where men herded goats.
Their four blond children were a passport to a lot of warm hospitality. People were pleased to see them and wanted to hear why this British family had chosen to walk their little bit of the country. Izzard doesn’t paint a rose-tinted view of the country, rather you get to see things as they are in their slightly scruffy sun-bleached reality. The balance between the travel, the people and the meld of cultures is spot on.
I thought that this was a wonderful travel book. Molly, who wrote the majority of the prose is a sensitive traveller, open to new people and places whilst attending to the needs of her young family. Places and people are beautifully described, and the way that she has written it means that you feel like you are alongside the children and donkeys and walk the dusty roads on their trek. Very highly recommended.
However, some people are made of much sterner stuff than I am and two of them are Ralph and Molly Izzard. In 1957 they embarked on this venture around the country. Their walk would take them through villages and towns and along some pretty precarious paths and up into the pastures in the hills where men herded goats.
Their four blond children were a passport to a lot of warm hospitality. People were pleased to see them and wanted to hear why this British family had chosen to walk their little bit of the country. Izzard doesn’t paint a rose-tinted view of the country, rather you get to see things as they are in their slightly scruffy sun-bleached reality. The balance between the travel, the people and the meld of cultures is spot on.
I thought that this was a wonderful travel book. Molly, who wrote the majority of the prose is a sensitive traveller, open to new people and places whilst attending to the needs of her young family. Places and people are beautifully described, and the way that she has written it means that you feel like you are alongside the children and donkeys and walk the dusty roads on their trek. Very highly recommended.
October 9, 2023
I have absolutely adored this book, Molly Izzard, who wrote the bulk of this book, is an incredible writer, not only has she managed to get her 4 children safely through a 300mile walk through the Lebanese mountains she has managed to produce this incredible account of the journey, their hardships and the wonderfully hospitable people they met on the way. I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, I find it amazing how friendly and generous the people are in these lands, even when they have little left or their house is in ruins due to an earthquake they always take the time to chat, feed and find somewhere for the strangers to stay. The Izzard family met some of the most lovely people ever, Molly’s writing captures again and again how the fear melts away when they see the little blonde children absolutely knackered from a days walking.
A very good account has been given of this fine country that I knew nothing about before starting this book, it’s history, culture, religion, politics and sense of fun all are covered here, each house they turn up at instantly changes over to party mode, feasts commence, music and dance continues late into the night and plenty of banter as the Izzards are almost asleep on their feet. There is a sense of guilt at the beginning of being the recipients of such generosity, but they soon learn that it would be an insult to say no, so they share medicine, trinkets and cigarettes.
One of the most amazing things about this journey was the children, pretty sure if I attempted this walk with my kids it would soon change from a travelogue to a journal of how much they had whined and got on my nerves that day…I doubt we would have lasted the week. The kids come across as mastering this whole experience very quickly, easily learning to control the donkeys, talk to the locals and to fall asleep no matter how uncomfortable the sleeping area may be. There is a fine line between showing respect to the people you impose yourself upon and thinking of what is best for your kids, a line that the Izzards walked well.
Whilst this was a journey that wasn’t full of action and adventure (just the odd donkey falling down a mountain) it was still one of the biggest page turners that Eland Publishing have ever put out, so easy to read and not a dull moment to be had. There are a great many laughs, the personalities of the donkeys and scenes with the locals interacting with the kids, one particular bath time had me laughing where you could sense the mother hoping to escape the brutal scrubbing but having no such luck.
Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2023...
A very good account has been given of this fine country that I knew nothing about before starting this book, it’s history, culture, religion, politics and sense of fun all are covered here, each house they turn up at instantly changes over to party mode, feasts commence, music and dance continues late into the night and plenty of banter as the Izzards are almost asleep on their feet. There is a sense of guilt at the beginning of being the recipients of such generosity, but they soon learn that it would be an insult to say no, so they share medicine, trinkets and cigarettes.
One of the most amazing things about this journey was the children, pretty sure if I attempted this walk with my kids it would soon change from a travelogue to a journal of how much they had whined and got on my nerves that day…I doubt we would have lasted the week. The kids come across as mastering this whole experience very quickly, easily learning to control the donkeys, talk to the locals and to fall asleep no matter how uncomfortable the sleeping area may be. There is a fine line between showing respect to the people you impose yourself upon and thinking of what is best for your kids, a line that the Izzards walked well.
Whilst this was a journey that wasn’t full of action and adventure (just the odd donkey falling down a mountain) it was still one of the biggest page turners that Eland Publishing have ever put out, so easy to read and not a dull moment to be had. There are a great many laughs, the personalities of the donkeys and scenes with the locals interacting with the kids, one particular bath time had me laughing where you could sense the mother hoping to escape the brutal scrubbing but having no such luck.
Blog review: https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2023...
September 16, 2019
I loved this book. I grew up in Lebanon in the 1960s and this extraordinary journey with 4 young children in 1957 evokes beautifully that wonderful country at that time. I found the joint authorship awkward at times, one was never clear whose voice was speaking, but this did not detract from the whole. The descriptions of historical background also taught me more about the history and the ethnicity of Lebanon than I learned in 6 years of school there.
Highly recommended for lovers of a beautiful country that is sadly now so burdened.
Highly recommended for lovers of a beautiful country that is sadly now so burdened.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews