Author(s): JUBBER NICHOLAS

Travel Literature

In 1177, Pope Alexander III wrote a letter to the elusive King of the Indies, otherwise known as Prester John. The person who was selected and set out to deliver this letter into the hand of Prester John was never heard of again. 824 years later, armed with a copy of Pope Alexander's letter, Nick Jubber set out from Venice with the intention of somewhat belatedly completing Master Philip's mission. Over the next four months he would travel by bus, train, tractor, and horse-drawn cart around the Eastern Mediterranean, through the Middle East and North Africa before homing in on Ethiopia and the closely-guarded tomb of a medieval king who legend links with the mythical, mystical figure of Prester John.