The Cruel Way: Switzerland to Afghanistan in a Ford, 1939

239 Pages·2013·17.05 MB·English

by  Ella K. Maillart

THE CRUEL WAY
bul Y ch r······· 1' ..... _ ..... ~~s---1 \SINKI NC ~"{ .. . ..) ...... c:. -\ ..... '"10 ..... _ ...... INDIA ~
n
KaGeneva to 1939 Mat> of itinel'8l' Sca\e320 miles an i1\) 1iashlcent 0 oIIhara o oS ..... rkand 0. ". ' IIII!!!!I!!'!!!~ _ ~.'" 1{ TSHwitEzei rnlCa an RFdo tUrod A,E 1fg9Lh3a9 nWistaAnY
B _
~l'
r
a
:
t
)
i
a
h
C
~ ELLA K. MAILLART

)
A
I With a New Foreword by JESSA CRISPIN
S
R
E
P
(
~N
A
R
I

)
.
R
.
S
.
S
.
U
(
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
A
Chicago and London
I

S

S

U II

R
THE CRUEL WAY
Switzerland to Afghanistan
in a Ford, 1939
ELLA K. MAILLART
With a New Foreword by JESSA CRISPIN
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
Chicago and London
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637
Copyright © Ella K. Maillart, 1947
Foreword © 2013 by Jessa Crispin
All rights reserved.
University of Chicago Press edition 2013
Printed in the United States of America
All photographs are by Ella K. Maillart (following pages 22, 86,
and 207) and are reproduced courtesy of © Musée de l’Elysée,
Lausanne
22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 1 2 3 4 5
ISBN- 13: 978-0-226-03304-4 (paper)
ISBN- 13:978-0-226-03318-1 (e- book)
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data
Maillart, Ella, 1903– 1997.
The cruel way : Switzerland to Afghanistan in a Ford,
1939 / Ella K. Maillart ; with a new foreword by Jessa
Crispin.
pages : illustrations ; cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-226-03304-4 (paperback : alkaline paper)
— ISBN 978-0-226-03318-1 (e- book) 1. Afghanistan—
Description and travel. 2. Iran—Description and travel. 3.
Schwarzenbach, Annemarie, 1908– 1942—Travel. I. Crispin,
Jessa. II. Title.
DS352.M18 2013
9159.0441092—dc23
[B]
2013006679
o This paper meets the requirements of ANSI Z39.48-1992
(Permanence of Paper).
To
CJ!ruSTINA
In Memoriam
"You are seeking a 'New World'. I know one that is always new because
it is eternal. 0 adventurers, conquerors of Americas, mine is an adventure
more difficult and more heroic than all vours. At the cost of a thousand
sufferings worse than yours, at the cost of a long death before the fact, I
shall conquer this world that is ever young. Dare to follow me and you
will see!"
SAINT TERESA
(ISIS-IS82)
"Nay, be a Columbus to whole new continents and worlds within you,
opening new channels, not of trade but of thought. Every man is the lord
of a reulm beside which the earthly empire of the Czar is but a petty state,
a hummock left by the ice. Yet some can be patriotic who have no SELF
respect, and sacrifice the greater to the less. They love the soil which makes
their graves but have no sympathy with the spirit which may still animate
their clay."
HENRY DAVID THOREAU
(I817-1862)
". . . the healers of the soul have found to be true: that to make manifest
to the mind what is in the heart is to ease suffering. This itself I think is
part of a cosmic process, serving the purposes of soul for which the universe
exists, a process by which we are ever becOIning more self-consdous, drawing
nigher to the depths in ourselves and the true in being. Every step, even
if painful. by which we gain a profounder self-consciousness brings with
it a wisdom which is compensation for our grief and whose dawning indicates,
as I truly believe, the absolution of our sin."
lE.
(Foreword to MORS et VITA)
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I THE IDEA I
2 THE START 6
3 ITALY 12
4 YUGOSLAVIA 16
5 SOFIA 23
6 ISTANBUL 31
7 BLACK SEA 35
8 PONTIC RANGE 42
9 BAYAZIT 48
10 AZERBAIJAN 56
II ROADS 65
12 NIKPEH 71
13 SULTANIEH 77
14 TEHERAN 81
15 GUMBAD-l-KABUS 87
16 KHORASSAN 96
17 MESHED 104
18 ABBAS ABAD IIO
19 TltE BORDER II6
20 HERAT 122
21 BALA MURGltAU 131
22 SHIBARGAN 140
23 TURKESTAN 149
24 POL-I-KltUMRI 155
25 DO-AU 166
26 BAMIAN 173
27 BAND-I-AMIR 179
28 BEGRAM 186
29 KABUL 193
30 MANDU 202
ENVOI 209
210
DATES
2II
BIBLIOGRAPGY
212
HEIGHTS AND DISTANCES
INDEX 213
.,\

,~.\,\\\'. I " ... , I Il\t ~,~l" ,~~ AB
J
N
U
P
F O R E W O R D
By Jessa Crispin
When one goes about reintroducing a forgotten book to a
contemporary audience, it can be hard to avoid that slight
disorientation associated with all time travel. Ella Maillart’s
N , \ " ! ...... ? Twhhee Crer uHeli tWleary w baesl ojunsgt sg teot tain dgi fsftearretnedt .w Ao rwldo rtlhda nw hoeurres .A Afg whoarnldi-
stan could be described as Maillart does as being “hardly al-
zni A tered by the West.”A world with fewer heavily guarded bor-
a
Gh ders. There would be so much in our world to show the
0 sharp- eyed woman who wrote The Cruel Way if she could be
/, ''lT here now. Like smoothies. Smartphones. Designer yoga pants.
B E (S "~ " ': Y ~v-~. /::? uena eraOs,f b cuot ubrosoek gs rtehaatt hbaovoek bs eaerne icna cpiarcbulela toifo ntr sainnsccee tnhdeiinr gd etbhuetirs
'Z U :', If}",-: ,'" ~ ~~i'/~~:,.! '. Chaman o Q, pAnrorocwhb. aeTbrh lhye yah vkaenv ebo ewaen hn eo iawns ivteoitr e stdtiam yt oein oa slftl yittlh.e Aew nibtnheas tt hK peaa rcrehtniaeinns gafeo a ron fdd ae I cfsraaodbceeksl
)
and a new do, but their insides stay the same. Their reputa-
--
. tions precede. They need no introduction.
.
.
. It’s been a while since we’ve seen Maillart in the States.
.
.
. And as a result there’s something a little bit . . . off about her.
-.
............ OAa fhttae,l riet a’sol lnf, osshet lehf’-esa rcw tfuraiuattllietz.n aA taino dbn o aoat gkfi a rtihsnta sgtt lcathoneuc eldb ya obcuek dcdroiosutpilld loe hdf a wdrdaorlwy. ntSe htlole.
.- should sit comfortably beside the hundreds of novels, some
-
t i ! f : I : l I • Sct6z/lWt1~ A P l I \ ! i I .' . .•.. ' J • ••••••••• '"""'-H" .~~ l~\~ ---.-.......... .... .. " ofiwiattan ihlmfctoo te uwemtn htlrOhraganayri npttaci nhb hlrdm ageoj eohw oastwu ocikknabrr sibynino t.pvoe oegeStr?y kirhe a,oU y enlnc sen ll h.wauae eerYroxbnglontuf.cee uilauWn rd asnmcg whhoaw abaeluae brenvjlldodorel .essu u p,haSd rtllrh en sebhe oeenlywe ey tmrspr yaasai osetiyolegeosl ffdissh n te c a’ttgesso hn sesvmaiiidveodn e rpmnegtnyha ,s e tn yeebhmley vieeoka eo i ruepnrmi,y, rti tewct o“hhakrWhrba aeewetotdh rovuap aeifrltatt osl aa rdoarItl-

home, intensely alive, without masters, unlimited by national-

N
)
A •'
A
I
S
R R
E .
I <P
F O R E W O R D
By Jessa Crispin
When one goes about reintroducing a forgotten book to a
contemporary audience, it can be hard to avoid that slight
disorientation associated with all time travel. Ella Maillart’s
The Cruel Way belongs to a different world than ours. A world
where Hitler was just getting started. A world where Afghani-
stan could be described as Maillart does as being “hardly al-
tered by the West.”A world with fewer heavily guarded bor-
ders. There would be so much in our world to show the
sharp- eyed woman who wrote The Cruel Way if she could be
here now. Like smoothies. Smartphones. Designer yoga pants.
Of course great books are capable of transcending their
eras, but books that have been in circulation since their debuts
probably have an easier time of it. Anna Karenina and Isabel
Archer have been invited to all the best parties for decades
now. They know how to stay in style with the change of a frock
and a new do, but their insides stay the same. Their reputa-
tions precede. They need no introduction.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Maillart in the States.
And as a result there’s something a little bit . . . off about her.
Oh, it’s not her fault. And at fi rst glance you could hardly tell.
After all, she’s written a book that could be distilled down to
a tale of self-a ctualization against the backdrop of war. She
should sit comfortably beside the hundreds of novels, some
of which win very large awards, released every year, that also
fi t that description. You could also say it’s a memoir about a
woman making an external journey alongside the more vital
internal journey, learning about herself and the outer world
along the way. She would have plenty of company in that par-
ticular bookstore shelf as well. She might even be picked for
the Oprah book club. When she writes things like, “What I
am trying to be? Unencumbered by possession, everywhere at
home, intensely alive, without masters, unlimited by national-