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BURCKHARDT, John Lewis [1784-1817].. Travels In Arabia, Comprehending An Account Of Those Territories In Hedjaz Which The Mohammedans Regarded As Sacred.

4to. pp. xvi [i.e. xv], [1]errata, 478. with half-title. 1 folding engraved map & 4 folding engraved plans. full calf antique (some foxing, generally light but a little stronger on first few leaves, folding map lightly embrowned, offsetting from maps & plans). First Edition. Burckhardt travelled throughout North Africa and the Middle East for seven years under the auspices of the Association For Promoting The Discovery Of The Interior Parts Of Africa. A master of the Arabic language and the Islamic religion, he assumed the guise of an Arab using the name of Sheikh Ibrahim in his travels. His journals are invaluable for their observations on the Arab people and for his important geographical discoveries, including the site of Petra, Apameia, and the general structure of the peninsula of Mount Sinai. The present account of Burckhardt's journey to Mecca in 1814 and subsequent trip to Medina in 1815, edited by William Leake and William Ouseley, the third of five works published by the African Assocation after Burckhardt's untimely death in 1817, contains "the most accurate and complete account of the Hedjaz, including the cities of Mekka and Medina, which has ever been received in Europe. His knowledge of the Arabic language, and of Mohammedan manners, had enabled him to assumne the Muselman character with such success, that he resided in Mekka during the whole time of the pilgrimage, and passed through the various ceremonies of the occasion, without the slightest suspicion having arisen as to his real character." (Preface) Gay 3606. cfBlackmer 239.

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