Book Review - The Slow Road to Tehran by Rebecca Lowe:

 

In 2015, Rebecca Lowe spent 11 months cycling from London to Iran on what was part fact-finder, part act of Stakhanovite endurance.  She's a journalist with extensive experience in The Middle East.  And probably, here this is the first in many points of exploration. At different times, different empires have defined the spot at where Europe ends and what we know as The Middle East (first used in 1900 by Thomas Edward Gordon) begins.  

And Lowe is honest about the misgivings and both family and fixers.  She eats where she can, but drinking is possibly more important in 44-degree heat. You can almost taste that, as much as the metre-long kebabs.  Her panniers include GPS, a mobile phone and a laptop.  Thankfully, she leaves the ukulele. She's reliant on the kindness of strangers and is at constant threat of either assault or harassment by some of them.   

That is the real key to this book's enjoyability.  Lowe comes across as an engaging, knowledgeable guide to countries that are frequently viewed by us as rogue states where religion is weaponised in acts of hatred. What she finds is that most people just want to be safe, happy and free. And she's absolutely right in saying: we created all that for political power, an illusory form of safety and cheap oil. It's a human book, with a granular, sand-coloured level of research. 

 

However, it's the characters in this book that stand out.  The Egyptian medical students who use English textbooks as they're easier to understand, the bisexual Iranian woman who campaigns for gay rights and the sadly numerous people at constant threat of arrest and torture for merely speaking out against their own government.  

I should also mention the other character in this book.  Her bike Maud (named after a female traveller).  You'll gasp as Maud sends Rebecca into a ditch.  You'll wince as she crashes, crushing a pint of milk against her laptop.  Slow punctures are written with the tension of painful conversations and a week-long wait for a vital part for a bike chain is tense, gorgeous and ultimately satisfying. 

Those seven days are spent secretly partying with Iranian youth, attending a wedding, before ultimately finding out it is rude to immediately accept an invitation; unless someone waives your obligation to refuse three times.

In short though, Lowe has created a book which could have been a leaden, two-wheeled slog.  She's instead created something with kindness, propelled by human energy and literary skill. Accept her invitation to travel.