Freya Stark Quotes

A collection of quotes by Freya Stark.

Freya Stark (1893-1993) was an English explorer, travel writer, and diplomat. She was born on January 31, 1893, in Paris, France, to British parents. Stark developed a deep passion for travel at a young age, influenced by her father's travels and stories. Despite facing personal tragedy with the death of her parents and a failed marriage, she pursued her adventurous spirit.

Throughout her life, Stark embarked on numerous expeditions across the Middle East and other remote areas. She explored and documented regions that were largely unknown to the Western world, including parts of Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Freya Stark's writings resonated with readers as she captured the beauty of these lands while also shedding light on their cultural and historical significance.

Her extraordinary career as a travel writer produced numerous acclaimed books, such as "The Valley of the Assassins" and "The Southern Gates of Arabia." Renowned for her evocative and poetic descriptions, Stark's writing style gave readers a vivid sense of her experiences and the places she visited.

In addition to her explorations, Stark served as a diplomatic representative in the Middle East during World War II and was awarded the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in recognition of her important contributions. Freya Stark remained an influential figure in both the exploration and literary world until her death on May 9, 1993, at the age of 100. Her legacy continues to inspire both travelers and writers alike.

Curiosity is the one thing invincible in Nature.

Curiosity is the one thing invincible in Nature.

The beckoning counts, not the clicking latch behind you

The beckoning counts, not the clicking latch behind you

Travel Inspirational

Christmas... is not an external event at all, but a piece of

Christmas... is not an external event at all, but a piece of one's home that one carries in one's heart.

If we are strong, and have faith in life and its richness of

If we are strong, and have faith in life and its richness of surprises, and hold the rudder steadily in our hands. I am sure we will sail into quiet and pleasent waters for our old age.

Perhaps the best function of parenthood is to teach the youn

Perhaps the best function of parenthood is to teach the young creature to love with safety, so that it may be able to venture unafraid when later emotion comes; the thwarting of the instinct to love is the root of all sorrow and not sex only but divinity itself is insulted when it is repressed. To disapprove, to condemn --the human soul shrivels under barren righteousness.

Pain and fear and hunger are effects of causes which can be

Pain and fear and hunger are effects of causes which can be foreseen and known: but sorrow is a debt which someone else makes for us.

Absence is one of the most useful ingredients of family life

Absence is one of the most useful ingredients of family life, and to dose it rightly is an art like any other.

The slightest living thing answers a deeper need than all th

The slightest living thing answers a deeper need than all the works of man because it is transitory. It has an evanescence of life, or growth, or change: it passes, as we do, from one stage to the another, from darkness to darkness, into a distance where we, too, vanish out of sight. A work of art is static; and its value and its weakness lie in being so: but the tuft of grass and the clouds above it belong to our own travelling brotherhood.

The great and almost only comfort about being a woman is tha

The great and almost only comfort about being a woman is that one can always pretend to be more stupid than one is and no one is surprised.

I have met charming people, lots who would be charming if th

I have met charming people, lots who would be charming if they hadn't got a complex about the British and everyone has pleasant and cheerful manners and I like most of the American voices. On the other hand I don't believe they have any God and their hats are frightful. On balance I prefer the Arabs.

There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are di

There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.