An account of one of Europe's earliest scientific explorations of Egypt, showing how Carsten Niebuhr laid the foundations of modern Egyptology.
When Roger H. Guichard Jr. discovered a French translation of the works of Carsten Niebuhr, sole survivor of the 1761-1767 Royal Danish Expedition to the Yemen, he was astounded. 'They were not just another dry account of one man's travels, but represented the record of a serious intellectual enterprise involving Enlightenment science, sacred philology, the Bible as history, 'Orientalism', Egyptology, and discovery'.
Having translated them from French to English, and then cross-referenced his translations with the original German texts, 'Niebuhr in Egypt' is not, as one might expect, simply a presentation of his translation. Instead Guichard offers his readers an account of the expedition's year in Egypt, with lengthy excursions into the several subplots - Enlightenment science, the Bible as history, and Egyptology - that he found so engaging in the original works.
This is not a scholarly work but would appeal to anyone with an interest in any of the areas mentioned or simply to anyone interested in this country's past and present.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Preface
1 Introduction
2 The Conceit
3 To the Orient
4 Alexandria
5 To Cairo
6 The Mother of the World
7 Government
8 Inhabitants
9 Commerce
10 The Delta
11 Manners and Customs
12 The Antiquities of Egypt
13 To Suez and Sinai
14 Afterward
15 The Results
Appendices
A Questions
B Keys to the Map of Cairo
Bibliography
Index
