The British diplomat Sir Valentine Chirol (1852-1929) wrote a memoir entitled Fifty Years in a Changing World (New York: Harcourt and Brace, 1928). Among the areas in the Middle East that he visited or commented upon were Egypt, Syria, Ottoman Turkey, Persia and the Persian Gulf. He also has some interesting observations on India, Japan, the Balkans, Berlin and Russia. Of particular interest is his commentary on Egypt in 1876 before the British occupation. Below is an example of that.
Category Archives: Travel
A Wolff in Shepherd’s Clothing, #3
Dervish; photograph by Sevryugin Anton (1830 – 1933),
the official photographer of the Imperial Court of Iran
In the early 19th century there was a florescence of Protestant missionary interest in saving Muslim, Jewish and other kinds of Christian souls in the Middle East. This thread continues excerpts from one of the earliest accounts from the 19th century, that of Joseph Wolff (1795-1862), a convert from Judaism to Christianity. In 1837 he published a diary of his travels. Like a number of Christians visiting the Muslim world, Wolff is more impressed by Muslim sobriety and devotion in their ritual than he is by the Christians he sees:
There is also an intriguing encounter between the Christian missionary and a Kurdish Muslim dervish:
Chalk one up for the Kurdish dervish over the atheists of Europe.
A Wolff in Shepherd’s Clothing, #2
In the early 19th century there was a florescence of Protestant missionary interest in saving Muslim, Jewish and other kinds of Christian souls in the Middle East. This thread continues excerpts from one of the earliest accounts from the 19th century, that of Joseph Wolff (1795-1862), a convert from Judaism to Christianity. In 1837 he published a diary of his travels. Here are the passages related to a brief stop in several of Yemen’s ports:
to be continued…
King Tut’s Tomb in Color
Nice site with photos of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb in 1922.
Baghdad and Iraq in 1901
The British traveler Sir Edgar Collins Boehm was one of many travelers up the Persian Gulf and elsewhere more than a century ago. His narrative is rather meager, but he does include several photographs of Iraq, which I note below:
Traditional Seafaring in the Gulf
The online event “Under the Sails – Maritime Conversation on Trade and Seafaring. Perspectives from Iran and Kuwait” held on May 26, 2021 is now available to view on Youtube. This is a fascinating set of interviews with both Kuwaiti and Iranian ship captains of the past. It is well worth watching.
The Shrine of Nabi Hud
One of the most impressive architectural sites in Yemen is off the beaten track in the Hadramawt, about 90 miles north of al-Mukalla. This is the shrine of the pre-Islamic prophet Nabi Hud. The local mosque is build around a giant boulder. Hud has a surah in the Qu’ran named after him. For a video on the annual pilgrimage to the shrine, click here. I visited the shrine in 2005 and took these photographs.