Journeys Erased By Time The Rediscovered Footprints Of Travellers In Egypt And The Near East

Early travellers in Egypt and the Near East made great contributions to our historical and geographical knowledge and gave us a better understanding of the different peoples, languages and religions of the region. Travellers in this volume are a mixture of rich and poor, bravely adventuring into the unknown, not knowing if would ever return home.

This volume comprises a varied collection of seventeen papers presented at the biennial conference of the Association for the Study of Travel in Egypt and the Near East (ASTENE) held in York in July 2019, which together will provide the reader with a fascinating introduction to travel in and to the Middle East over more than a thousand years.

In this expansive new biography of George Reisner, Egyptologist Peter Der Manuelian examines the life and work of America's greatest archaeologist. Manuelian presents Reisner's undeniable impact and considers his life within the context of Western colonialism, racism, and nationalism. Pyramids with hidden burial chambers. Colossal royal statues and minuscule gold jewelry. Decorated tomb chapels, temples, settlements, fortresses, ceramics, furniture, stone vessels, and hieroglyphic inscriptions everywhere. This is the legacy of forty-three years of breathtakingly successful excavations at twenty-three different archaeological sites in Egypt and Sudan (ancient Nubia). George Reisner (1867-1942) discovered all this and more during a remarkable career that revolutionized archaeological method in both the Old World and the New. Leading the Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition, Reisner put American Egyptology on the world stage. His uniquely American success story unfolded despite British control of Egyptian politics, French control of Egyptian antiquities, and an Egyptian yearning for independence, all while his Egyptian teams achieved the fieldwork results and mastered the arts of recording and documentation. Reisner's lifespan covers the birth of modern archaeology. It also intersects powerfully with aspects of colonialism, racism, and nationalism, as Western powers imposed their influence on Egypt and sought to control the Suez Canal during especially the two World Wars. The wholesale export of dynastic Egypt's treasures to museums in London, New York, and Boston also raised issues of repatriation and cultural patrimony long before they became the hot topics they are today. Walking Among Pharaohs, by author and recognized Egyptologist Peter Der Manuelian, gathers unpublished documents from all over the world to present the untold story of one of the founding fathers of modern Egyptology and restore his place in the history of world archaeology, while not overlooking some of his cultural interpretations that may be easily rejected today.

Long distance travel and mass tourism are not recent phenomena. Papers from the 2015 ASTENE Conference in Exeter demonstrate that over the centuries many individuals and groups of people have left the safety of their family home and travelled huge distances both for adventure and to learn more about other peoples and places.

A varied and charming collection of 17 papers that bring something new about the people from many countries and backgrounds who traveled to, from and within Egypt and the Near East, either singly or as a group, and explored, observed and recorded, or stayed for a short period of time to improve their health or simply to enjoy the experience. While some travelers kept a diary or journal that has survived until today, others did not. Their travels have to be extracted from the wide range of manuscript sources that are thankfully retained in libraries and archives, or which still remain with their descendants. Sometimes, the name of a traveler is only contained in a few words within a single piece of correspondence or journal entry, yet from such small beginnings and through detective work to link the chance meetings between travelers with a location, or news of a shared event, it is often possible to chart part of a traveler’s journey and bring to life a person who has long been forgotten. These minor characters and their travails often bring a new perspective to well-known places and events.

Beautifully designed, the book interweaves text with lavish colour illustrations, many being the exquisitely detailed drawings and paintings made by artists and travellers recording their journey. Here, on a scale unmatched by any other modern publication and including many unfamiliar images, are hieroglyphics, wall paintings and mummies, portraits of both the explorers and the Egyptian people and scenes highlighting the magnificence of the great temples and the pyramids. Cairo had seen European soldiers and merchants since the Middle Ages, but of the great achievements of the ancient Egyptians only the pyramids were known. Gradually over the next 300 years, travellers ventured further, but the most exciting discoveries were made by Napoleon and his soldiers whilst on a military campaign. It was then that the marvels of ancient Egyptian civilization were truly rediscovered. Napoleon’s scientists documented all the great monuments in the Nile Valley, transforming what had been a military defeat into an extraordinary cultural triumph that greatly influenced European art, architecture and culture.

Early travellers in Egypt and the Near East made great contributions to our historical and geographical knowledge and gave us a better understanding of the different peoples, languages and religions of the region. Travellers in this volume are a mixture of rich and poor, bravely adventuring into the unknown, not knowing if would ever return home.