GREECE by Peter Feinnes .  

A THING OF BEAUTY.

Feinnes is a travel writer.  Our guide on this trip through Greece takes us along with every local God, myth and their place in history.  The author carries with him a guide book on Greek mythology.

But this travelogue through a country of fascinating ancient history is finally a treatise on the environment and human carelessness.The gods may not survive us. 

However the good news is, as Feinnes observes, that in areas of Greece where goats no longer roam and have eaten anything they chose, trees are growing again.  As the Gods of nature intended, seeds are sprouting and growing where they have the opportunity. 

 Imagine Greece green again.  It may just be the God or Goddess of Hope that Feinnes was searching for.

MORROCO by Laurence Osborn. 

THE FORGIVEN.

Where do I start?

THE FORGIVEN by Laurence Osborn is definitely not a travelogue. 

It is peopled with Europeans, a mysterious Yank and a variety of Moroccan tribal folk,silent servants to the very rich.  A pair of rich colonial types are hosts for the most indulgent party indeed.  We find ourselves on the  almost inevitable journey through the heat and sparseness of desert country and ancient traditions.  All guests are seen as just temporary invaders.  

I got very engrossed in this dramatic book - enough to make me peruse a map.  In  my reading experience, I have not encountered such party offerings as all or any drugs, booze etc available. All this with the local boys and servants available to serve.  Anything goes.  

The stylish hosts are a striking contrast to the stoic humble citizens of the isolated Moroccan region.  The storyline has a party guest involved in an accident which brings us to consider honour, revenge, justice for the poor.  Made into a film, this book is equally gripping.