In 2015, as the Syrian War raged and the refugee crisis reached its peak, Rebecca Lowe, a journalist specialising in human rights, set off on her bicycle from London to Tehran.
Driven by a desire to learn more about this troubled region, to challenge Western myths and misconceptions about the Islamic world and explore Britain’s shared history with the Middle East, her 11,000-kilometre journey took her through Europe to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, the Gulf and finally to Iran.
It was an odyssey through landscapes and history that captured her heart, but also a deeply challenging cycle across mountains, deserts and repressive police states that nearly defeated her. Plagued by punctures and battling temperatures ranging from -6 to 48C, she was rescued frequently by farmers and refugees, villagers and urban elite alike, and relied almost entirely on the kindness and hospitality of locals.
Rebecca joins us at the ATFF to tell her story of one woman, one bike and one richly entertaining, perception-altering journey across the Middle East.
Rebecca Lowe is a freelance journalist from London who specialises in human rights and the Middle East. Her new book, The Slow Road to Tehran, tells the story of her journey from the UK to Iran by bicycle.