CLEOPATRA'S WEDDING PRESENT: TRAVELS THROUGH SYRIA by Robert Tewdwr Moss

Robert Moss's Syria is a place of contrasts. From the legendary city of Palmyra and its mysterious carved deities to the collapsing mud-brick houses of the deserted back streets, Cleopatra's Wedding Present takes the reader on a journey that is exotic, scurrilous and thoroughly entertaining. Tewdwr Moss, a brilliant young writer who was murdered in London the day he finished the book, left this lyrical gem as his legacy. A memoir of his travels through Syria and his exploration into the region's culture and explosive politics, it conveys what so many Westerners find both fascinating and frightening in the Middle East. A chilling history of ethnic crimes, a picaresque adventure story; a colourful travelogue and a poignant romance, it captivates from the very first page.