CAIRO ANTHOLOGY: 200 Years of Travel Writing

Cairo became a leading city of Egypt in the medieval period as power shifted away from Alexandria, with a history encompassing the Pharaonic, Early Christian, Arabic, Medieval and Modern. In the early 19th century tourism began to dominate Cairo's economy and this fascinating pocket anthology covers the past 200 years which saw a huge surge in travel writing. The Citadel is one of the glories of the country, celebrated as much as the Pyramids which stand on the opposite bank. Harriet Martineau in the mid 19th century wrote that "in the evening the beauty is beyond description", and as a social reformer she is impressed that the mosques are home to the "houseless poor". Florence Nightingale comments that the view from the Mosque built by the ruler Muhammad Ali is the finest in the world, but almost a century later Baedeker's Guide remarks that the city looks yellowish grey from there, possibly enveloped in a haze. The bazaars and streets of the city are irregular and Murray's 1897 handbook encourages the visitor to regard this in a romantic light, while Lady Lucie Duff Gordon invokes the Arabian Nights. In 1834 Alexander Kinglake visited the slave market, although the trade was in the process of being outlawed. The Pyramids are introduced by the ancient writer Herodotus, and they prompt Lord Byron to muse "what are the hopes of man?". Novelist Norma Lorimer writes that on the road to the Pyramids "you will find the most extraordinary mixture of ancient and modern life Designed on cream paper stock and beautifully illustrated with line drawings and archival photographs. 150pp.