Helmsley Arts Centre

the arts for everyone in Ryedale

7.30pm

A Stroll Through the Axis of Evil

Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran are often in the news for all the wrong reasons. Starting in Beirut, broadcaster and writer John Pilkington unravelled a picture quite different from the news stories as he followed a winding route via the Euphrates, the Caucasus and the Valleys of the Assassins to finish on the Persian Gulf. He met a spectacular variety of people - Druze, Maronites, Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, Azeris and both Shi'ite and Sunni Iranians - and to his surprise found families and whole communities working together to survive the harsh climate and political strife.
John has been called "One of Britain's greatest tellers of travellers' tales". In this return visit to the Helmsley, he'll enlighten and inspire us with his latest story and show some truly stunning photography of the region, touching on a hair-raising incident or two along the way.

£14