Traveling Through Egypt: From 450 B.C. to the Twentieth CenturyDeborah Manley, Sahar Abdel-Hakim To travelers, Egypt is a place of dreams: a country whose lifeblood is a mighty river, flowing from the heart of Africa. Along the fertile fringe of its banks an astonishing civilization raised spectacular monuments that our modern minds can hardly encompass. For centuries this past dominated travelers' minds - yet the present and its great buildings too engaged their interest and admiration and gave them pleasure. The experience of Egypt has over the centuries inspired travelers to write of what they saw and tried to understand. These travelers' observations are part of the history of modern Egypt, for seeing ourselves through others' eyes helps us to understand ourselves. The compilers of this anthology have selected records of travelers from many countries and cultures over many centuries, and, mainly using the Nile for a pathway, here offer these travelers' observations on the many facets of Egypt. The collection includes extracts from the writings of Herodotus, Strabo, Ibn Hawkal, al-Muqaddasi, Pierre Loti, Rudyard Kipling, Florence Nightingale, and many more. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
The Rising of the Water 25 B C Strabo | 7 |
Dress of the Male 1844 Edward Lane | 13 |
At Alexandria and Elsewhere | 17 |
A Tourists History 1779 Eliza | 23 |
The Nile Delta | 29 |
The Sailing Boats of the Nile 1819 John Fuller | 35 |
Mother of Cities | 43 |
The Journey to Luxor | 115 |
Both Sides of the Nile | 129 |
Temples on the Other Side 1819 John Fuller | 142 |
Resurrection Men 1825 Anne Katherine Elwood | 151 |
Kom Ombo Observed 1817 Dr Robert Richardson | 164 |
Animal Life 1792 W G Browne | 177 |
Weather on the River 1817 Giovanni Belzoni | 183 |
Creatures Come down to Drink 1817 | 189 |
A City of the Earth 1913 Rudyard Kipling | 45 |
Ancient Coins 1801 Edward Daniel Clarke | 58 |
Pyramids and Sphinx | 71 |
Lifted to the Summit c 1865 Mrs M Carey | 80 |
The Fayoum | 87 |
The Labyrinth? c 450 B C Herodotus | 93 |
Hints to Ladies 1846 Harriet Martineau | 100 |
Onboard a River Steamer 1863 Lucie Duff Gordon | 106 |
Amelia Edwards | 112 |
Hub of the Universe 1913 Rudyard Kipling | 195 |
Walking through the Valley of the Cataract 1836 Lord Lindsay | 201 |
A Problem Shared 1897 Agnes Lewis Smith | 205 |
Through the Suez Canal 1875 Isabel Burton | 211 |
A Day in the Desert 1871 E H Palmer | 216 |
Brief Biographies | 231 |
Bibliography | 247 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abu Simbel al-Muqaddasi Alexandria Amelia Edwards ancient appearance Arabs bank bazaars beautiful Bedouins boat buildings built cabin Cairo called camels canal caravan Cataract chamber colours columns covered deck desert distance donkeys dress East Edward Lane Egyptian entered eyes Fayoum feet Fostat gardens Giovanni Belzoni granite hand Harriet Martineau head height Herodotus hour hundred Ibn Battuta Ibn Jubayr India island James Mangles John John Fuller journey Karnak lady lake land light London looked Luxor miles morning mosque mountains mummy night Nile Nubia painted palace palms passed Philae plain propylon Pyramids reached Red Sea rising river rock round ruins sail sand scene sculptures seen shore side Sinai square stand steamers stone Suez Sultan temple Thebes tombs town traveled in Egypt trees valley village visited Wady walked walls wind wonder wrote