In the mountains, travelers were reduced to the speed of men on foot. Here, the ancient English sense … - Rory Stewart

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The worst time to take a survey is in the middle of a cataclysmic event.

Rory Stewart

In the mountains, travelers were reduced to the speed of men on foot. Here, the ancient English sense of journey, 'a day's travel' (French journee), meant the same as the Old Persian word farsang, 'the distance a man could travel on foot in a day,' and the territory was in effect ungovernable.

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Democracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a state of mind. It is an activity.

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The question shouldn't be what we ought to do, but what we can do.

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I do a lot of work with policymakers, but how much effect am I having? It’s like they’re coming in and saying to you, ‘I’m going to drive my car off a cliff. Should I or should I not wear a seatbelt?’ And you say, ‘I don’t think you should drive your car off the cliff. ’ And they say, ‘No, no, that bit’s already been decided—the question is whether to wear a seatbelt. ’ And you say, ‘Well, you might as well wear a seatbelt. ’ And then they say, ‘We’ve consulted with policy expert Rory Stewart and he says. . . . ’

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I found incredible kindness, dignity and hospitality in both Iraq and Afghanistan - am only alive because of it - the most worthwhile lesson of a twenty month walk to these countries was a deepening appreciation of the kindness of strangers.

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I had been walking one afternoon in Scotland and thought: Why don't I just keep going? There was, I said, a magic in leaving a line of footprints stretching across Asia.

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