An unforgettable journey through the Middle East that follows the history of the miraculous and promise-filled Hejaz Railway.Just over a century ago, it was possible to leave Damascus by train and head south, into the desert, towards the holy city of Medina. The laying of 800 miles of track at the dawn of the twentieth century offered a political and military lifeline for the ailing Ottoman Empire, and revolutionized the Hajj pilgrimage from a forty-day overland or...

A compendium of fascinating and evocative new writing on railway travel and history. Telling of little known journeys and uncovered histories on railway routes around the world - from the UK, Europe and Africa to North America, the Middle East and Asia.From Myanmar's highlands to the British Pennines, from slow travel between coffee plantations in Borneo to a cross-continent odyssey on African railways, from the pioneers of the American West to European trains in war, this is a new...

What happens when you swap the nine-to-five for two wheels and a journey of a lifetime?Terrified of the prospect of a life spent behind a desk, without challenge or excitement, Leon takes off to cross America on an overloaded bicycle packed with everything but common sense.Over five months and 6000 miles, he cycled from New York to Seattle and then on to the Mexican border, facing tornados, swollen river crossings, wild roaming buffalo and one hungry black ...

A fascinating journey down the Tigris River—the lifeblood of human civilization—in search of history and hope.Starting at the source of this storied river, where ancient Mesopotamians and Assyrian kings had their images carved into stone, explorer Leon McCarron and his small team will journey through the Turkish mountains, across north-east Syria and into the heart of Iraq.Along the way, they will pass through historic cities like Diyarbakir, Mosul, and Bag...

A compendium of fascinating and evocative new writing on railway travel and history. Telling of little known journeys and uncovered histories on railway routes around the world - from the UK, Europe and Africa to North America, the Middle East and Asia.From Myanmar's highlands to the British Pennines, from slow travel between coffee plantations in Borneo to a cross-continent odyssey on African railways, from the pioneers of the American West to European trains in war, this is a new...