Traveling Through Egypt From 450 B.C. to the Twentieth Century

by Manley, Deborah; Abdel-Hakim, Sahar

• ISBN13: 9789774248016
• ISBN10: 9774248015
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-05-15
• Publisher: The American University in Cairo Press

Summary

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(156)
1. Egypt: An Overview	5	(12)
The Geography of Egypt, c. 450 B.C.
Herodotus	5	(1)
The Boundaries of the Country, c. 960
Ebn Haukal	6	(1)
The Rising of the Water, 25 B.C.
Strabo	7	(1)
How the Nile Changes the Country, c. 1050
Naser-e Khosraw	7	(1)
Two Seasons, 1767
Charles Thompson	8	(1)
The Climate of Egypt, 1882
Samuel Cox	8	(1)
The Delights of Nile Water, 1826
John Carne	9	(1)
Nile Water, 1825
Dr. R.R. Madden	9	(1)
Notes along the Nile, 1910
Pierre Loti	9	(2)
Characteristics of the Soil, c. 1200
'Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi	11	(1)
Papyrus, the Paper of Egypt, 1908
Elbert Farman	11	(1)
The Commerce of the Country, c. 1000
al-Mugaddasi	12	(1)
The Food of the Country, c. 1200
'Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi	12	(1)
Dress of the Male, 1844
Edward Lane	13	(1)
Dress of the Poorer Women, 1812
Dr. Charles Meryon	13	(1)
The World of Women of Means, 1914
Elizabeth Cooper	14	(1)
Trying to Explain Some History, 1913
Rudyard Kipling	14	(1)
The Benificence of Egypt, c. 1000
al-Mugaddasi	15	(2)
2. Arriving in Egypt: At Alexandria and Elsewhere	17	(12)
As the Nile Flows into the Mediterranean, 1806
F.R. Chateaubriand	17	(1)
Alexandria, c. 960
Ebn Haukal	18	(1)
The Day of Our Landing, 1183
Ibn Jubayr	18	(1)
Passing through Egypt, 1843
Fanny Pratt	18	(1)
Coming from the Desert, 1483
Friar Felix Fabri	19	(1)
Sleepless in Alexandria, 1857
William. C. Prime	20	(1)
A Guide to Alexandria, c. 1000
al-Mugaddasi	21	(1)
Some Features and Antiquities of Alexandria, 1183
Ibn Jubayr	21	(2)
A Tourist's History, 1779
Eliza Fay	23	(1)
Muhammad 'Ali's Alexandria, 1813
Dr. Charles Meryon	23	(1)
Alexandrian Sightseeing, 1849
Samuel Bevan	24	(1)
Alexandrian Street, 1833
Robert Curzon	24	(3)
What to Wear? 1819
John Fuller	27	(1)
On Our Way, 1840
Sarah Haight	27	(2)
3. The Nile Delta	29	(14)
The Delta, c. 960
Ebn Haukal	30	(1)
Through the Towns and Villages, 1183
Ibn Jubayr	30	(1)
Visiting a Village, 1812
Dr. Charles Meryon	30	(1)
Ramadan in Lataifa, 1992
Amitav Ghosh	31	(1)
Evidence of the Past, 1908
Elbert Farman	32	(1)
Two Sides of Rosetta, 1819
John Fuller	32	(1)
Damietta, c. 1000
al-Mugaddasi	33	(1)
Damietta, 1908
Elbert Farman	33	(1)
Ancient Boats, c. 450 B.C.
Herodotus	34	(1)
Boats and Boatmen on the Nile, 1844
Edward Lane	34	(1)
The Sailing Boats of the Nile, 1819
John Fuller	35	(1)
Lake Manzala, 1908
Elbert Farman	35	(1)
Tinnis, a City, c. 1000
al-Mugaddasi	35	(1)
Water and Money, c.1050
Naser-e Khosraw	36	(1)
Bird Life in the Delta, 1868
Reverend A.C. Smith	37	(1)
Night Monsters, c. 450 B.C.
Herodotus	38	(1)
"The Field of Victory," 1908
Elbert Farman	38	(1)
The End of the Mahmudiya Canal, 1836
John Lloyd Stephens	38	(1)
The Father of Rivers, 1833
Robert Curzon	39	(1)
Women along the Banks of the Nile, 1819
John Fuller	39	(1)
Pleasures and Ennui, 1842
W.H. Bartlett	40	(1)
First Sight of the Pyramids, 1848
Harriet Martineau	40	(1)
By Train to Cairo, 1883
Gabriel Charmes	41	(2)
4. Cairo: Mother of Cities	43	(28)
Cairo, c. 1000
al-Mugaddasi	43	(2)
Mother of Cities, 1326
Ibn Battuta	45	(1)
A City of the Earth, 1913
Rudyard Kipling	45	(1)
The Cities that Make Up Cairo, c. 960
Ebn Haukal	46	(1)
Somewhere to Stay, 1855
Richard Burton	47	(1)
Water and Minarets, 1868
Reverend A.C. Smith	48	(1)
Canals Cut through the City, 1039
Naser-e Khosraw	48	(1)
The Citadel above Cairo, 1819
John Fuller	49	(1)
Looking down across Cairo, 1834
Hon. W.E. Fitzmaunce	50	(1)
The Mosques of Cairo, c. 1000
al-Mugaddasi	51	(1)
The Great Mosque of Sultan Hassan, 1857
William C. Prime	51	(1)
The Splendid Mosque, 1846
Isabella Romer	52	(1)
The Buildings of Cairo, c. 1200
'Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi	53	(1)
Streets, Houses, and Palaces of Cairo, c. 1612
George Sandys	54	(2)
The Sultan's Banquet, c. 1050
Naser-e Khosraw	56	(1)
The Ever-changing Streets, 1865
Lady Herbert	56	(1)
The Bazaars of Cairo, 1839
P.D. Holthaus	57	(1)
Ancient Coins, 1801
Edward Daniel Clarke	58	(1)
Cries in the Market, 1844
Edward Lane	58	(1)
Cries in the Streets, 1970
Elizabeth Warnock Fernea	58	(1)
The Bognio, 1783
James Capper	59	(1)
The Baths of Cairo, c. 1200
Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi	60	(1)
A Changing City, 1970
Elizabeth Warnock Fernea	61	(1)
The Gardens of Cairo and Memorials of Jesus, 1839
P.D. Holthaus	62	(1)
The Rise of the Nile: The Nilometer, 1833
Robert Curzon	63	(1)
The Nilometer, c. 1000
al-Mugaddasi	64	(1)
Celebration, 1826
John Carne	64	(2)
The Country Prospers, 1817
Captains Charles Irby and James Mangles	66	(1)
Cairo in Festive Mood, 1863
G.A. Hoskins	66	(1)
The Tombs of the Caliphs, 1873
Gabriel Charmes	67	(2)
Visiting the Dead, 1326
Ibn Battuta	69	(1)
Cairo in the Evening, 1873
Gabriel Charmes	69	(2)
5. Pyramids and Sphinx	71	(16)
The Spell of the Pyramids, 1956
Leonard Cottrell	71	(1)
The Wonders of the Country, c. 1200
Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi	72	(1)
The Construction and Cost of the Pyramids, c. 450
B.C. Herodotus	72	(1)
How a Pyramid is Built and Unbuilt, 1825
Edward Lane	73	(1)
Extravagance, c. 50
Pliny the Elder	74	(1)
Wonders of the World, c. 1000
al-Mugaddasi	74	(1)
Abu'l Haul, the Sphinx, c. 1200
Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi	75	(1)
The Sphinx, 1852
Dean Arthur Penrhyn Stanley	76	(1)
The Sphinx and the Sepulchres, 1882
Samuel Cox	76	(1)
Pyramids and Sphinx, 1835
Alexander Kinglake	76	(1)
The Terrors of the Interior of a Pyramid, c. 1612
George Sandys	77	(1)
Into a Pyramid, 1737
Captain Frederick Norden	78	(1)
Where Is the Queen? 1882
Samuel Cox	79	(1)
Astronomical Correctness, 1834
Hon. W.E. Fitzmaurice	79	(1)
Lifted to the Summit, c. 1865
Mrs. M. Carey	80	(1)
From the Summit of the Great Pyramid, 1825
Edward Lane	81	(1)
As Old Cheops Has Done, 1843
Countess Hahn-Hahn	82	(1)
Celebrating on High, 1843
Dr. Richard Lepsius	83	(1)
Innocents Abroad, 1870
Mark Twain	84	(1)
Lotus and Pyramid, 1927
Constance Sitwell	85	(2)
6. The Fayoum	87	(10)
The Fayoum, c. 1000
al-Mugaddasi	87	(1)
Cairo to the Fayoum, 1873
Murray's Handbook	87	(1)
A Land Created, c. 1000
al-Mugaddasi	88	(1)
Joseph's Canal, 1985
William Golding	89	(1)
Looking down across the Fayoum, 1836
Charles Rochfort Scott	89	(1)
Collecting Dewdrops, 1813
James Silk Buckingham	90	(2)
Sailing toward the Temple of Jupiter Ammon, 1819
Giovanni Belzoni	92	(1)
The Labyrinth? c. 450 B.C.
Herodotus	93	(1)
Working at the Labyrinth, 1843
Dr. Richard Lepsius	93	(1)
Seeking the Bedouin, 1914
Elizabeth Cooper	94	(1)
History and Science, 1875
Bayard Taylor	95	(2)
7. Arrangements for Traveling up the Nile	97	(18)
Up Nile, c. 960
Ebn Haukal	97	(1)
Just an Excursion, 1819
John Fuller	98	(1)
The Firman, 1737
Richard Pococke	98	(1)
Things Useful for a Journey in Egypt, 1847
Sir John Gardner Wilkinson	98	(2)
Hints to Ladies, 1846
Harriet Martineau	100	(1)
The Dahabiya, 1873
Amelia Edwards	101	(2)
Nile-boat Prayers, 1842
Sophia Poole	103	(1)
Esprit du Nil, 1873
Amelia Edwards	103	(1)
At Home on the Nile, 1849
Florence Nightingale	104	(2)
Onboard a River Steamer, 1863
Lucie Duff Gordon	106	(1)
Instructions to the Managers of Cook's Nile Steamers, 1892
John Mason Cook	107	(2)
South by Train, 1873
Gabriel Charmes	109	(1)
On the Boats, 1990
Deborah Manley	110	(1)
Only on the River, 1836
John Lloyd Stephens	111	(1)
Melancholy and Invaders, 1851
George Melly	111	(1)
Tracking, 1873
Amelia Edwards	112	(1)
The Khamsin, 1849
Florence Nightingale	113	(1)
Wind-bound, 1836
John Lloyd Stephens	114	(1)
8. The Journey to Luxor	115	(14)
The Constant Change of Scene, 1833
Robert Curzon	115	(1)
Egyptian Harmony, 1868
Howard Hopley	116	(1)
Nile by Night and Dawn, 1845
Eliot Warburton	117	(1)
Communications with the People, 1814
Captain Henry Light	118	(1)
So Much to See, 1848
Harriet Martineau	118	(1)
Tombs of Beni Hassan, 1852
Dean Arthur Penrhyn Stanley	119	(1)
Life in the Grottoes, c. 1865
Mrs. M. Carey	119	(1)
Nefertiti Lived Here, 1930
Mary Chubb	120	(1)
The Temple of Hermopolis at Minya, 1813
James Silk Buckingham	121	(1)
Asyut and Explorations, 1836
John Lloyd Stephens	122	(1)
Timseach! Timseach! 1845
Eliot Warburton	123	(1)
The Love of Abydos, 1908
Douglas Sladen	124	(1)
Luncheon with Osiris, 1904
William Jarvie	124	(1)
Donkeys to Dendera, 1822
Frederick Henniker	125	(1)
Approaching Dendera, 1902
Sir Gaston Maspero	125	(1)
Coming upon Dendera by Night, 1829
Jean Francois Champollion	126	(1)
Ikhmim: A Wondrous Thing, 1183
Ibn Jubayr	126	(3)
9. Luxor: Both Sides of the Nile	129	(28)
Luxor-Ancient Thebes, 1846
Cuthbert Young	129	(1)
A Hundred Gated Thebes, 1817
Captains Charles Irby and James Mangles	129	(2)
The Struggle to Visit Thebes, 1737
Captain Frederick Norden	131	(1)
Good Morning, Luxor! 1873
Amelia Edwards	131	(1)
Luxor Temple: Grandeur and Craft, 1844
Prince Puckler-Muskau	132	(2)
Life at Thebes, 1850
Florence Nightingale	134	(2)
Modern Life Overshadows the Past, 1910
Pierre Loti	136	(1)
Karnak at Last, 1799
Vivant Denon	137	(1)
Karnak, 1813
Henry Light	138	(1)
Karnak in Silence, 1873
Amelia Edwards	138	(2)
Dining at Karnak, 1930
Princess Marta Bibescu	140	(1)
Antique Makers, 1855
William C. Prime	141	(1)
Protectors of the Tombs, 1792
W.G. Browne	141	(1)
Temples on the Other Side, 1819
John Fuller	142	(1)
Medinet Habu and the Tombs, 1799
Vivant Denon	142	(3)
Preparing to Collect the 'Young Memnon,' 1817
Giovanni Belzoni	145	(1)
The Great Statue of the Ramesseum, 1852
Dean Arthur Penrhyn Stanley	146	(1)
To the Valley of the Kings, 1904
William Jarvie	146	(1)
To the Valley of the Kings, 1938
H.V. Morton	146	(1)
'Belzoni's Tomb,' 1819
John Fuller	147	(1)
Entering a Tomb, 1888
E.W. Merrick	148	(1)
Making a Mummy, c. 450
B.C. Herodotus	148	(1)
The Tombs of the Private Thebans, 1836
Lord Lindsay	149	(1)
Mummies Unearthed, 1819
John Fuller	150	(1)
Resurrection Men, 1825
Anne Katherine Elwood	151	(1)
Lodging in the Valley, 1829
Jean Francois Champollion	151	(1)
Treating with the Mummy-snatchers, 1873
Amelia Edwards	151	(1)
The Mummy's Hand, 1938
H.V. Morton	152	(1)
Walking above the Valley, 1927
Annie Quibell	153	(1)
On the Other Side, 1927
Constance Sitwell	154	(3)
10. Toward and at Aswan	157	(14)
Upper Egypt in January, 1836
William Ramsay	158	(1)
Raising the Water from the Nile, 1844
Edward Lane	158	(1)
Armant: Ancient Hermonthis, 1846
Cuthbert Young	159	(1)
The Sailors Enjoy Esna, 1842
W.H. Bartlett	160	(1)
The Barrage at Esna, 1907
Douglas Sladen	161	(1)
Edfu, the Ancient Apollinopolis Magna, 1827
The Modern Traveller	161	(2)
Edfu Seen with Clarity, 1927
Constance Sitwell	163	(1)
Go to the Other Side, 1847
John Gardner Wilkinson	163	(1)
Kom Ombo Observed, 1817
Dr. Robert Richardson	164	(1)
Observed at Kom Ombo, 1848
Harriet Martineau	164	(1)
Approach to Aswan: The Country Changes, 1817
Dr. Robert Richardson	165	(1)
Nearly Five Hundred Miles up the Nile, 1843
Countess Hahn-Hahn	165	(1)
Life on the Nile, c. 960
Ebn Haukal	166	(1)
Doing Business at Aswan, 1879
Villiers Stuart	166	(1)
The Cataract Hotel and the Invalid, 1899
W.E. Kingsford	167	(1)
The Tourists Make Their Mark, 1902
Sir Gaston Maspero	168	(1)
The Monastery of St. Simeon, 1799
Vivant Denon	168	(1)
The Brassy Landscape of Nubia, 1927
Constance Sitwell	169	(2)
11. Beyond the Cataract and into Nubia	171	(26)
The Cataract Bars the Way, 1777
Claude Etienne Savary	172	(1)
Geographical Outline of Nubia, 1833
Reverend Michael Russell	173	(1)
Into Nubia, 1897
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle	174	(1)
An Engineer at the Cataract, 1859
Isambard Kingdom Brunel	174	(1)
The Rush of the Cataract, 1836
Lord Lindsay	175	(1)
Delayed, 1817
Dr. Robert Richardson	176	(1)
Whose Flag is This? 1855
John Gadsby	176	(1)
Animal Life, 1792
W.G. Browne	177	(1)
The Chameleon as a Pet, 1836
William Ramsay	177	(1)
Locusts, 1827
Robert Hay	177	(1)
Philae, 1825
Dr. R.R. Madden	178	(1)
Philae, 1852
Dean Arthur Penrhyn Stanley	178	(1)
The Island of Philae, 1833
Robert Curzon	179	(1)
To Philae after the Dam, 1908
Sir Gaston Maspero	180	(2)
The Temple of Kalabsha, 1848
Harriet Martineau	182	(1)
Graffiti of the Romans, 1819
John Fuller	183	(1)
Weather on the River, 1817
Giovanni Belzoni	183	(1)
At Derr, c. 1865
Mrs. M. Carey	183	(1)
The People of the Country, 1836
William Ramsay	184	(1)
I Fell in with..., 22nd March, 1813
John Lewis Burckhardt	184	(1)
On First Entering the Temple at Abu Simbel, August 1, 1817
Giovanni Finati	185	(1)
The Great Temple at Abu Simbel, 1817
Captains Charles Irby and James Mangles	186	(1)
Digging at Abu Simbel, 1836
David Roberts, RA	187	(1)
Night in the Temple, 1862
Reverend John William Burgon	187	(1)
Celebrating at Abu Simbel, 1855
William C. Prime	188	(1)
Creatures Come down to Drink, 1817
Captains Charles Irby and James Mangles	189	(1)
Climbing the Colossi, 1848
Harriet Martineau	189	(2)
Days at Abu Simbel, 1873
Amelia Edwards	191	(2)
Words from the United Nations, 1960-63
UNESCO	193	(1)
At the Second Cataract, 1927
Constance Sitwell	193	(1)
The Great Rock at Abu Sir, 1836
Lord Lindsay	194	(1)
Hub of the Universe, 1913
Rudyard Kipling	195	(2)
12. To Suez and Sinai	197	(16)
Through the City of Qolzom (Suez), c. 1050
Naser-e Khosraw	197	(1)
Music and Sail from Luxor to the Red Sea, 1843
Dr. Richard Lepsius	198	(1)
Across the Red Sea, 1908
Elbert Farman	199	(1)
Where Was the Crossing? 1846
Lord Castlereagh	199	(1)
Water, Flora, and Fragments, 1871
Samuel Manning	200	(1)
Walking through the Valley of the Cataract, 1836
Lord Lindsay	201	(1)
Prospects of Sinai, 1843
Dr. Richard Lepsius	202	(1)
The Convent of St. Catherine, 1871
Samuel Manning	203	(1)
Entering the Convent, 1871
E.H. Palmer	203	(2)
A Problem Shared, 1897
Agnes Lewis Smith	205	(1)
On Pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain, 383
Egeria	205	(2)
From the Holy Mountain, 1879
Isabella Bird	207	(1)
Passing through Egypt, 1783
James Capper	208	(1)
At the Opening of the Suez Canal, 1869
Jabez Burns and Thomas Cook	208	(3)
Through the Suez Canal, 1875
Isabel Burton	211	(1)
Looking toward the Other Side, 1926
Constance Sitwell	211	(2)
13. The Deserts of Egypt	213	(18)
The Caravan to Mecca Starts, 1836
John Lloyd Stephens	213	(1)
The Camel, 1834
Hon. W.E. Fitzmaurice	214	(1)
How to Travel, 1183
Ibn Jubayr	214	(1)
The Adventure of the Takhtrouan, 1826
Anne Katherine Elwood	215	(1)
More Advice to Women Travelers, 1848
Harriet Martineau	216	(1)
A Day in the Desert, 1871
E.H. Palmer	216	(1)
Night in the Western Desert, 1923
Ahmad Hassanein	217	(1)
Englishmen and Arabs in the Desert, 1835
Alexander Kinglake	218	(1)
People of the Desert, 1818
Frederic Cailliaud	219	(1)
Visiting the Monastery of Baramous, 1833
Robert Curzon	220	(1)
Creatures of the Desert, c. 450 B.C.
Herodotus	221	(1)
Arriving from India, 1823
Moyle Sherer	221	(1)
Looking down from a Desert Monastery, 1833
Robert Curzon	222	(1)
Into the Desert to the Oasis and Beyond, 1834
Mohammed Ibn Umar	223	(2)
The Great Oasis of the Libyan Desert: al-Kharga, 1909
Norma Lorimer	225	(1)
Daily Routine in a Desert Town, 1923
Ahmad Hassanein	226	(1)
Mirages and My Camel in the Nubian Desert, 1848
Dr. Richard Lepsius	226	(1)
Mines and Ancient Greeks in the Eastern Desert, 1818
Frederic Cailliaud	227	(1)
Coming out of the Desert, 1823
Moyle Sherer	227	(1)
Seeing, Narrating, Feeling Egypt, 1977
William Golding	228	(3)
The Travelers: Brief Biographies	231	(16)
Bibliography	247	(6)
Index of Travelers	253