William Cowpur Prime

Passages of Eastern Travel William Cowpur Prime

This narrative of a nineteenth century American visiting Egypt was originally serialized in 1856. We join the narrator as he journeys from Malta to Alexandria on a steamer in search of graves to plunder. Reveries of the ancients abound as 19th century Egypt is described and explored. From Alexander to Cairo, Shopping in the Bazzar and Attending a Dervish service thrill American eyes. The system of justice in Cairo makes an American shudder. Then up the Nile to the second cataract in a small Nile boat, clashing examples of Arab and Christian ways. Hunting for dinner and lazing on the boat, we find small incidents that interrupt the placid current of life are magnified into great events. And on to Luxor and Karnak, to explore the city of palaces. The Americans meet governors and officials along the way with examples of business being negotiated the Arab way: with plenty of Baksheesh. Then a brief visit to Nubia and a Nubian village. A good look at mid nineteenth century Egypt from an American perspective.