The Oxus in Afghanistan's High Pamir is one of the greatest rivers of the world, and also one of the least known.
Running through the core of Central Asia, it is unusual in a myriad of ways - the most surprising of which is that it
never reaches the sea. Through the centuries, the `majestic' Oxus has been the source of legends - the tale of Sohrab and Rustum is the most epic, so memorably captured in verse by the Victorian poet Mathew Arnold. For explorers and travellers in Central Asia, the Oxus provided an enduring mystery - where exactly was its source? Discovering this was a challenge taken up by such eminent men as Lord Curzon and Sir Francis Younghusband, and became a subject of heated debate. In 2008 Bill Colegrave and two colleagues set out to find the true source and settle the argument for once and all. No easy task - but they succeeded. Halfway House to Heaven is a vivid account of this quest, and also tells of the author's previous precarious visits to one of the most unstable regions of the world.
