Motoring With Mohammed 
Eric Hansen
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Vintage; 1st Vintage departures ed edition (February
4, 1992)
ISBN: 067973855X
Overall Rating: 4 Stars
Readability: 4 Stars
Content: 4 Stars
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Motoring With Mohammed is a strange tale of adventure. The book
begins on a stormy night on the Red Sea in 1978. The author hitched
a ride on a 48 foot sailboat which subsequently wrecked on Uqban
Island, a small spit of land belonging to Yemen. After being stranded
for nearly a week, the small group of sailors is rescued by a
dhow of Eritrean goat traders. Before leaving the Island, Hansen
buries his personal journals, compiled over seven years of continuous
travel, on the island. Nearly ten years later, for sentimental
reasons, Hansen decides to recover the journals he lost on Uqban
Island. Motoring With Mohammed explores Yemeni culture as Hansen
struggles through endless levels of bureaucracy in a vain attempt
to gain military clearance to return to Uqban Island. Aside from
the initial shipwreck, little exciting happens in the book. However,
Yemeni life is both mysterious and fascinating, inspiring the
reader to discover more about this rarely visited country. Motoring
With Mohammed is a comfortable read, not thrilling, but quite
satisfying.
