In 1935, acclaimed author and explorer Freya Stark landed on the coasts of South Arabia, intent on becoming the first woman to venture alone into the country's interior -- and to the ruins of Shabwa, the city of the Queen of Sheba -- by way of its ancient Incense Road. With her devoted servant Awiz and guides clothed only in indigo paint, she traveled by donkey, car, and on foot through desert and mountain villages beset by poverty, warring tribes, and illness. It is a story filled with veiled brides, Arab camelmen, sultans and sheikhs.
