La Montagne des Autres—Alpinisme en Pays Kurde, by Bernard Amy.

Paris: Arthaud, 1972. 239 pages, 26 photos, 4 maps.

In southeastern Turkey, close to the frontiers with Syria, Iraq and Iran, lies a fascinating range, the Cilo Dag, which rises to some 13,000 feet. These comparatively little explored mountains are interesting in themselves, but much of their attraction comes from their remoteness from all but the proud and independent inhabitants of the region, the Kurds.

The well known French climber, Bernard Amy, and some friends visited Kurdistan in August of 1969 and made some remarkable ascents. They soon found that in the Cilo Dag “one can not live except with the Kurds. The climber is assured not only of discovering new mountains but of doing it side by side during his whole stay with the tribes of the region.” Consequently Amy has given us not only the story of difficult ascents in a remote area, but also a detailed highly interesting account of the Kurds. Appendices on the light expedition, of climbing in the Cilo Dag and an extensive bibliography complete the volume. Four maps give important details. There are 26 excellent photographs both of the peaks and of the Kurds. I hope that American climbers will soon turn to this region which has been sadly neglected by them. In making their plans, they will have to lean heavily on La Montagne des Autres.

H. Adams Carter