A Problematic Subject: Afghanistan in Two Contemporary Travel Accounts

Afghanistan has long been the subject of writing by British travellers. Robert Byron’s classic The Road to Oxiana, a twentieth-century text which has influenced several generations of travel writers, focuses on Afghanistan as a place of marvels, both in terms of culture and architecture. Bruce Chatwin’s open admiration for Byron led him to write the introduction to a late-twentieth century edition of The Road to Oxiana; he also wrote a recommendation of one of the books that this article disc..