Immersive travel writing
There are a vast number of books that use a theme of travel as an exotic experience. From the ‘Histories’ of Herodotus, to Homer’s epic ‘Odyssey’, and Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist’.
The genre isn’t limited to travelogues, photographic journals, myth and fiction, there are also poetry and travel guides, and in today’s world you must also include blogs and vlogs.
The amount of knowledge accessible to this generation of traveller is colossal. You can even build entire monuments of LEGO before going to see them in person!
Yes, I too fell for the hype!
I really love LEGO! 💛
How accurate any of these following descriptions may be must be determined by the reader.
Included herein are some of my favourite passages about EGYPT – from a variety of sources.
Herodotus (c. 484-425 BC)
Histories, II:35.
“The Egyptians in agreement with their climate, which is unlike any other, and with the river, which shows a nature different from all other rivers, established for themselves manners and customs in a way opposite to other men in almost all matters: for among them the women frequent the market and carry on trade, while the men remain at home and weave…(and) the women make water standing up and the men crouching down.”
As a woman I find this passage immensely interesting, but I’m really not sure how women ‘make water’ standing up!
Anne Katherine Curteis Elwood (1796-1873)
Narrative of a Journey Overland from England, by the Continent of Europe, Egypt, and the Red Sea, to India, Including a Residence There, and Voyage Home, in the Years 1825, 26, 27, and 28. (1830)[1]
“Coffee, in beautiful little china cups, which would have delighted many an old dowager in England, in delicate stands, or saucers of filigree gold, was brought upon a silver waiter by the Mussulman Abdallah. From the window we looked over a garden of date-trees and saw Pompey’s Pillar; over a dusty, brown and undulating plain we beheld Cleopatra’s Needle… ‘’Twas strange, ‘twas passing strange,’ to see these objects; what we had so often read, and heard, and talked of; we could scarcely believe our own identity!”
Letter XIII, p. 112 describes the arrival in Alexandria and view from the residence of the Consul.
Me at Pompey’s pillar, Alexandria (January, 2015)
Photo by Garrett Donnelly
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)
Letters from Egypt: A Journey on the Nile 1849–1850 (1854) 📧
“From the terrace of the mosque[2] is what I would imagine is the finest view in the whole world. Cairo, which is immense, lies at its feet, a forest of minarets, domes and towers. The Nile flows his solemn course beyond, and the three Pyramids stand sharp against the sky. Here Osiris and his worshippers lived, here Abraham and Moses walked; here Aristotle came; here, later, Mahomet learnt the best of his religion…They are all gone in body; but the Nile and the Pyramids stand there still.” p.33
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes. Africa: Vol. XXIV. 1876–79.
(From Kéramos)[3]
And now the winds that southward blow,
And cool the hot Sicilian isle,
Bear me away. I see below
The long line of the Libyan Nile,
Flooding and feeding the parched land
With annual ebb and overflow,
A fallen palm whose branches lie
Beneath the Abyssinian sky,
Whose roots are in Egyptian sands,
On either bank huge water-wheels,
Belted with jars and dripping weeds,
Send forth their melancholy moans,
As if, in their gray mantles hid,
Dead anchorites of the Thebaid
Knelt on the shore and told their beads,
Beating their breasts with loud appeals
And penitential tears and groans.
Paulo Coelho
The Alchemist (1988)
“Although the vision of the date palms would someday be just a memory, right now it signified shade, water, and a refuge from the war. Yesterday, the camel’s groan signaled danger, and now a row of date palms could herald a miracle.” 🌴🌴
This is the protagonist’s description upon viewing the oasis at the Fayoum after crossing the Sahara.
Picture of the map from Coelho’s book showing the journey from Morocco to the pyramids of Giza.
Lonely Planet – Egypt
11th Edition (2010)
“Whether you’re watching the sun rise from the lofty heights of Mt Sinai (Gebel Musa) or the shimmering horizon from the comfort of a hot spring in Siwa Oasis, Egypt’s desert landscapes are endlessly fascinating – good thing, because they make up 95% of the country.”
A view of the desert from the edge of the Dakhla Oasis, Egypt (2017)
Laura Ranieri Roy
Fond remembrances, a February 2024 Pyramids Temples Alive Egypt Tour Recap – and a Few of My Favourite Things![4]
Falling under the spell of Isis at Philae
“It was when I arrived in Aswan that I truly fell in love. I got off the boat at Philae to witness the stunningly decorated pylons – Isis in all her glory shining on her magical island – and was fully astounded, amazed – and enraptured. It is such a rich and vibrant contrast to the bare-blanched pillars of the Acropolis in Athens.”
Photo: Hathor-headed, lotus columns at Philae (DA Donnelly, October, 2015)
The fascination with all things Egyptian has been bringing tourists, and writers there for thousands of years. There is so much content to draw from, including from ancient Egyptians themselves. There is plenty to discover in the writings about Egypt, that you may fall in love with it over and over. ❤️
PS I thought I had finished this draft when I saw a quote by Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz (1911-2006) shared by Nigel J. Hetherington on Twitter - I wish to share it here, as this is something I have felt for a very long time.
"Egypt is not a historic country; Egypt came first, then came history..."
Other Recommended Reading:
If you are interested in a History of the Tourist Guide in Egypt, I recommend this article by Heba Magdy Khalil (2021).[5]
You can also read my review of Amelia Edwards’ 1890 book, A Thousand Miles up the Nile, here.
[1] A free copy of Elwood’s letters are available online here for downloading: https://archive.org/details/narrativeajourn01elwogoog
[2] Nightingale is referring to the view from the Citadel in Cairo. I highlighted the bolded phrase.
[3] Full text of the poem can be read here: https://www.hwlongfellow.org/poems_poem.php?pid=307
[4] Ancient Egypt Alive – post from March 18, 2024. https://ancientegyptalive.com/2024/03/18/what-travel-to-egypt-once-twice-again-and-again/
[5] Khalil (2021) https://journals.ekb.eg/article_181255_72ca3019312fbcef479b7110dd8e09be.pdf
