Customer Reviews

Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petraea and the Holy Land

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Mr. Sthepens was a great traveler and writer too, he made easy to follow his travels and gave his very personal point of view ot those days. In particular I like his graphic description of the conditions that people lived in the past. I recomend it to everybody all ages.

At the very beginning of Stephens' travelogue, he explains to the careful reader the methodology he used to validate the legitimacy of his writing. I thought it brazen of him, and since he falsified this "rationalization for writing" under such a guise, at times I did not know whether to believe him or not. He did have a quaint deadpan, tongue-in-cheek demeanor.
I thought it funny that just after our returning from Poughkeepsie, (New York) I was reading about his traveling through Poughkeepsie!
Little nuances such as "... with all the extravagance of Eastern hyperbole..." (page 233) dot the pages.
Throughout the book, there are many wonderful learning experiences such as "...I remember I had a long discourse about the difference between the camel and the dromedary. Buffon gives the camel two humps, and the dromedary one; and this, I believe is the received opinion, as it had always been mine; but, since I had been in the East, I had remarked that it was exceedingly rare to meet a camel with two humps. I had seen together at one time, on the starting of the caravan of pilgrims to Mecca, perhaps twenty thousand camels and dromedaries, and had not seen among them more than half a dozen with two humps. Not satisified with any explanation from European residents or travelers, I had inquired among the Bedouins; and Toualeb, my old guide, brought up among camels, had given such a strange account that I never paid any regard to it. Now, however, the sheik told me the same thing, namely, that they were of different races, the dromedary being to the camel as the blood-horse is to the cart-horse; and that the two humps were peculiar neither to the dromedary nor the camel, or natural to either; but that both are always born with only one hump, which, being a mere mass of flesh, and very tender, almost as soon as the young camel is born a piece is sometimes cut out of the middle for the covenience of better arranging the saddle; and, being cut out of the center, a hump is left on either side of the cavity; and this, according to the account given by Toualeb, is the only way in which two humps ever appear on the back of a camel or dromedary. I should not mention this story if I had heard it only once; but, precisely as I had it from Toualeb, it was confirmed with a great deal of circumstantial detail by another Bedouin, who, like himself, had lived among camels and dromedaries all his life; and his statement was assented to by all his companions. I do not vie this out as a discovery made at this late day in regard to an animal so well known as the camel; indeed, I am told that the Arabs are not ignorant of that elegance of civilized life called "quizzing." I give it merely to show how I wiled away my time in the desert, and for what it is worth.2 In spite of Stephens' information, zoologists still classify camels as Dromedary (one hump) and Bactrian (two humps)." (Pages 241-242).
I never quite understood the evacuation and continuous abandonment of Petra until Stephens stated: '...in reference to the interpretation of the prophecy, "None shall pass through it for ever and ever,'I can say that I have passed through the land of Idumea..."(Page 306)."...because the Bedouins would always be lying in wait for travelers..." (Page 266.)
Do absorb the explanation and vivid description of POOLS OF SOLOMON on page 327 and The traditions of prayer at The Wailing Wall on pages 368-369.
I had just gotten half-way through this book the night (5-27-02) my father own died, and how I wished that I could be able to share my findings, my questions I need answered, and discuss this book with him!

I'm so glad that I found this book after having been to Egypt and Jordan/Petra because this book has given me insight into the original means of transportation within the Middle East. Stephens' writing style is pure poetry and is a true joy to read. The English language has evolved, but has not improved since his day. To read this book is a true treat for the mind and adventurer.

After having had a private guided tour where we did not have to secure a boat that had been scuttled to save it from indentured service to the Pasha, and we did not have to obtain camels and goods as well as questionable guides that might slit our throats in the desert for our money, I could appreciate our accommodations much more.

To have been an adventurer then was much more of a true adventure. While I may have had a massage on the top deck of the cruise ship on the Nile at dusk, which made me feel like Cleopatra, I by no means was an adventurer of Stephens' stature and could appreciate the true effort it was to make the same trip 150+ years ago.

The Bedouins of today are not much different than the days of yore. We did not have to sneak into Petra from over the mountains, but did sit down to coffee and tea provided by them. They still live in tents, but many are now driving top end Mercedes instead of camels. :)

After reading that he shot a pigeon at Denderah and shot out an eye of Hathor, I had to go back and look at my pictures to see if I could find that statue at the temple!

If you go to Egypt or Petra, I recommend reading this book after the trip because it has much more meaning then.

This book is a true treasure and I can see why a book written by a man who was born over 200 years ago is still in print! I can only hope that it will stay in print for another 200 years so that "modern" people can appreciate the arduous travails of yore.

What a fascinating account of travel as it was back when only a few people, other than the Bedouin locals, had ever seen Petra, the rose-rock city carved out of rock thousands of years ago.

I traveled through Jordan to Petra last year, in an air-conditioned, luxury bus. Even so, it had its dangers. The Bedouin driver was, in the words I used at the time, a maniac. Our Jordanian guide was also Bedouin, making me think about the similarities to travel years ago, when the rare traveler in the area also had Bedouin guides and camel drivers. We had a wild ride on the way as we drove through the mountains, which was just an updated version of the experiences the author had all those years ago. In front of our bus was a Toyota truck with a camel in the back. Our driver amused himself by honking at the camel to scare it. Some of our passengers moved back in the bus and hid their faces hoping we would survive. I sat there with wide eyes in semi-terror, hoping nothing was coming through the pass from the other direction, because we were taking up both sides of the road! Then the driver found another Toyota truck with 2 camels in it and drove faster, chasing and then tailgating the truck around the curves, passing other cars as we went through the mountains where you couldn't see what was coming around the curve, laughing maniacally as he drove. I was thankful to arrive there and back in one piece. I would also not have wanted to go off on my own.

My point is, travel there is STILL not exactly civilized, but I wouldn't have traded that experience and would love to go back!

We ate in a luxury hotel/restaurant that made me think of the movie, Casablanca. Some of the people around us were just like the people we see every day. Others looked as if they had just dismounted from their camel and had left their caravan parked outside as they met friends in the lobby to catch up on news they had missed while they were traveling in the desert for weeks or months.

In the years when John Lloyd Stephens visited the area though, he camped out under the stars with his Sheik guide and an ever-changing group of Bedouins in their camel caravan, some friendlier than others. The description of their faces makes you almost feel the experience as he was going through it. There were times when his own group provided more danger to him than the protection they were supposed to have provided. Then there was his description of having taken ill as he arrived in Akaba (Aquaba), where visitors were rare and to be followed and stared at, even to the point that 40 or so of them surrounded him and went with him as he was taken to his room so he could be sick in private. The crowd stayed with him, when he was too sick to object, all night long!

What an amazing adventure!

His description of seeing Petra for the first time was exactly what I was hoping for. The author's traveling partner, Paul, was basically jumping up and down and waving his arms at seeing what we call "The Treasury" as most of us see it after traveling through the Siq. They had gone in another way, even after he had been told there WAS no other way, but took off on his own when his guides were resting, located, and went into the Siq so he could see what it was like. Well, it was dangerous. Not at all like today, it had a stream of water flowing through it, so he was carried by a Bedouin, who at one point went as far as he was willing to go and ran away in fear, knowing of the dangerous people ahead just waiting for travelers. As they went back in through the Siq as most of us do now, they got to experience seeing the carved buildings for the first time as the Siq opens up into the most spectacular view! When I first saw it I felt very much like the traveling partner, Paul, who jumped up and down and waved his arms in excitement and joy, but instead, I had my camera ready to record that moment so I can enjoy it for the rest of my life.

All through my travels, I wondered what it must have been like 100 or so years ago. I wondered who would have been brave (or stupid) enough to take on an adventure like that. John Lloyd Stephens has described it in detail!