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An Arabian Princess Between Two Worlds: Memoirs, Letters Home, Sequels to the Memoirs, Syrian Customs and Usages (Arab History and Civilization. Stu)

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In the XIX century many western painters tried to describe the "lost world" of harems and sultanian courts. But those paintings were only imagination, because generally the westerns were not allouded to enter in those places. Instead, these "Memoirs" are a genuine source for having an idea of an islamic court of the XIX century. Furthermore the unicity of this book is due to the fact that it is written by a woman, the daughter of the Sultan Said bin Sultan of Oman, who escaped away from Zanzibar with a german trader and married him. The diary of Salme Reute was published many times and in different places. The edition by E. Van Donzel is more accurate and annotated than others. In it we find old photographs and other written materials on Zanzibar and Salme collected by the editor in different european archives.