Democracy in Arabia.

This article presents information about the author Charles Glass's journey through Greater Syria from Alexandretta in southern Turkey to Aqaba on the Red Sea for his book "Tribes With Flags." It ended halfway when kidnappers abducted him in Beirut. A few days after the September 11, 2001 attacks, he went back to finish the trip from Aqaba to the spot on Beirut's coastal highway where the kidnappers took him. Author's guide Ahmed Amrin, took him for coffee in a small park and while returning he was kidnapped. Mr. Amrin had served in the Jordanian army, which included military studies in Great Britain, before moving to Aqaba to become a tour guide in a country without tourists.