Travels in Nubia

by John Lewis Burckhardt

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1819. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... DESCRIPTION OF A JOURNEY FROM UPPER EGYPT THROUGH THE DESERTS OF NUBIA TO BERBER AND SUAKIN, AND FROM THENCE TO DJIDDA IN ARABIA. PERFORMED IN THE YEAR 1814. After my return from a journey along the banks of the Nile towards D6ngola, in the spring of the year 1813, I remained in Upper Egypt, waiting for an opportunity to start with a caravan of slave traders, towards the interior parts of Nubia in a more easterly direction. A numerous caravan had set out from the neighbourhood of Assouan, only a few days before my return there from Mahass; and it was the last which performed that journey in the year 1813. About this time, a robber named Naym, Shikh of the Arabs Rebatat, who inhabit the country of Mograt, (c DEGREESlLbJ yi DEGREES jib DEGREES on the banks of the Nile, three days N. W. from Goz, had begun to infest the caravan route; several parties of traders had already been plundered by him, and the abovementioned caravan shared the same fate on its return to Egypt in October 1813. Naym was killed in December by a numerous armed caravan from Sennaar; and the roads then became safe. The traders, however, still delayed their departure. They were apprized that the southern countries on the borders of the Nile, were severely suffering from famine; the crops of Dhourra had failed from a scanty inundation, and such was said to be the effect of famine, that the poor Negroes had killed each other, for a few measures of Dhourra. The merchants foresaw that the expense to be incurred in feeding their slaves would eat up all their profits, and therefore determined to wait till the next harvest. During this time I had established my principal quarters at Esne, which is three days journey from Daraou, the place from whence the caravan takes its departure. Not wishing to be much

382 pages, Paperback

First published February 6, 2010

About the author

Johann Ludwig (also known as John Lewis, Jean Louis) Burckhardt (November 24, 1784 – October 15, 1817) was a Swiss/English traveller and orientalist. He wrote his letters in French and signed Louis. He is best known for rediscovering the ruins of the city of Petra in Jordan.

During his residence in Syria, Burckhardt visited Palmyra, Damascus, Lebanon and made a series of other exploratory trips in the region. One of these trips, in what is now modern-day Jordan, resulted in his 'discovery' of the extensive and unique ruins of Petra which had been undiscovered for nearly a millennium. Unsatisfied with the magnitude of this discovery he was determined to carry on with his original aim to uncover the source of the River Niger. Thus he in 1812 went to Cairo with the intention of joining a caravan to Fezzan, in Libya.

Burckhardt temporarily abandoned this goal to travel up the Nile as far as Dar Mahass; and then, finding it impossible to penetrate westward, he made a journey through the Nubian desert in the character of a poor Syrian merchant, passing by Berber and Shendi to Suakin, on the Red Sea, whence he performed the pilgrimage to Mecca by way of Jidda. At Mecca he stayed three months and afterwards visited Medina.

After enduring privations and sufferings of the severest kind, he returned to Cairo in June 1815 in a state of great exhaustion; but in the spring of 1816 he travelled to Mount Sinai, whence he returned to Cairo in June, and there again made preparations for his intended journey to Fezzan. Several hindrances prevented his prosecuting this intention, and finally, in April 1817, when the long-expected caravan prepared to depart, he was seized by dysentery[2] and died on 15 October. He had from time to time carefully transmitted to England his journals and notes, and a copious series of letters, so very few details of his journeys have been lost. He bequeathed his collection of 800 volumes of oriental manuscripts to the library of Cambridge University.

Reviews

[Mo'Men Said · Rating 5 out of 5]

the best book to read to know about that period of the Nubian history
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt