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TRAVEL WRITING THRU THE
CENTURIES
Adventures in Egypt and Morocco from the 1600’s to the turn
of the 20th century
Two years
ago I was offered a series of books published by the American University in Cairo Press.
The first set of books included poetry and diary excerpts from travelers
in Egypt from the 1700’s to the 19th century.
WOMEN TRAVELERS ON THE NILE (edited by Deborah Manley) is an
anthology of journal excerpts and stories written by women who were brave
enough to venture into a world that until then had mainly been explored by
men. Some of them accompanied their
husbands., others bravely ventured out alone, in the company of Egyptian
guides. Many of them ended up living in Egypt and contributed more insights
into Egyptian life, especially from a woman’s perspective. They learned Arabic and met both the poorer
women and the richest. Some of these
women were invited to join groups or to accompany their husbands. Some wrote
books about their travels, others made notes in journals.
I was
privileged in 2014 to be invited on a small travel journalist’s tour of Egypt
offered by the Egyptian Tourism in Ottawa, Canada. This was a dream come true for me. Not only had I been fascinated with Egypt and
Egyptian history for years, but I had recently completed on novel about
Alexander the Great (SHADOW OF THE LION)
which is partly set in Egypt at the time the city of Alexandria was being built
by Ptolemy 1st according to Alexander’s wishes.
Because of
my own unforgettable adventures on that 10-day trip, I was fascinated to read
the stories of these women who had journeyed, often alone, into the desert by
camel and lived in these ancient communities. Seeing Egypt through their eyes
was a real pleasure.
The women
travelers included Emily Anne Beaufort
(1826-1887) daughter of the creator of the Beaufort Wind Scale; Sarah Belzoni (1785-1970) wife of a
famous Egyptian explorer; Isabella Bird (1831-1904) one of the greatest
Victorian era travel writers; M.L.M.
Carey (1860-?) a writer an artist; Eliza
Fay (1756-1816) an adventurous woman who also accompanied her husband to
India in 1799, Marianne North (1830
-90) one of the most intrepid of the Victorian lady travelers. Mary Whatley (1824-89() who set up
schools for poor Egyptian girls, as well as many others.
ANCIENT EGYPT IN POETRY, is an anthology of Nineteenth Century Verse. (edited by
Donald P. Ryan) Intrigued by the history and ancient ruins of Egypt, many writers over the years have
visited Egypt, attracted by the adventure and ancient intrigue found in the
remarkable archaeological sites and the fascinating desert landscapes. During
the nineteenth century Egypt was in particular a popular destination for poets,
writers and artists.
Some of the
poets who traveled there whose work is included in the book are Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836-1907), an
American poet, newspaper and magazine editor and Civil War correspondent wo
visited Egypt in 1905; Charles Dent Bell
(1818-98) an Irish vicar who was inspired by nature; Robert Browning (1812-89) one of the greatest literary figures in
English language, Lord Byron
(1788-1824) one of the greatest Romantic Era poets; Mary Elizabeth Coleridge (1861-1907) noted for her compassion
toward the poor and uneducated; John
Keats (1795-1821) one of the great Romantic Era poets of England; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1897-82)one
of Americas greatest poets; Herman
Melville (1819-91) author of Moby
Dick and Typee; Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) noted
English poet and Alfred Tennyson (1809-92) poet laureate of the United
Kingdom.
These two
books are pocket-sized, quick-reads, making them handy to take along in your
purse or back-pack.
ARISTOCRATS AND ARCHAEOLOGIST: An Edwardian Journey on the Nile (edited by Toby Wilkinson and Julian Platt) is
a fascinating journal recording an Edwardian doctor’s journey on the Nile in
the winter of 1907 – 1908, complied of a series of letters that give a
first-hand account of the three-month trip, sites visited, passengers on board
and people encountered along the journey as well encounters with cultural and
class differences. The collection of letters was written by “Ferdy”, the great
uncle of Julian Platt. During the early 1900’s people often escaped the cold
dank winters of England and the many illnesses that often-ravaged Europe and
spent the winter months in warmer climes. “Ferdy”
(Ferdinand) A.F.R. Platt was a physician who accompanied the wealthy Duke
of Devonshire on a journey to Egypt. It’s a delightful read and includes maps
and itinerary notes and photographs of all Platt’s adventures as they cruised
the Nile.
The most
recent book I received from Cairo Press is another tiny gem, A MOROCCO ANTHOLOGY (edited by Martin
Rose). I found this book just as
intriguing as the Egyptian books as I have also traveled to Morocco several
years ago. It’s a book I’d like to have read before I made that trekking
journey into the foothills of the High Atlas from Marrakech.
Morocco has
four ‘imperial cities’ where the sultan’s court settled in past times. This
book includes visits to the various cities by adventurers, travel writers and
others to these fabled cities. Morocco had a French and Spanish colonial period
that lasted 44 years. Writer Edith Wharton
wrote “a country so deeply conditioned by
its miles and miles of uncitied wilderness that until one has know the
wilderness one cannot understand the cities”. This little book takes you on a journey to
each of these cities and explores the point of view of these travelers from
long ago.
Some of these contributors include Ali Bey Al-Abbassi (1767-1818) a
Spaniard from Barcelona, who visited Morocco between 1803-1805; Ellis Ashmea-Bartlett (1888-1931) a war
correspondent who worked for Reuters.; Paul Bowles (1910-0=99 an American
novelist, composer, musician, poet and translator; Walter Harris (1866-1933) a Times
correspondent who traveled in
disguise to meet sultans and rebels; Emily
Keen, Shareefa of Ouazzane (1850-1941) an English governess who married the
Grand Sheikh of Ouazzane’; Pierre Loti
(1850-1923) a French navel officer and novelist; Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) a diarist; Edith Wharton (1862-1937) American writer who won the Pulitzer
Prize for The Age of Innocence.
This books takes
you on an exotic journey to all of the imperial cities of Morocco and gives
some insight into what life was like back in the past from the journals of
these interesting writers.
