Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Mecca: v. 1 by Sir Richard Francis Burton

Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Mecca: v. 1 by Sir Richard Francis Burton

Impelled by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure and aided by an extraordinary facility in Eastern languages, Sir Richard Burton (1821-90) was one of the great traveler-explorers of history. He was the first European to enter the capital of Somaliland and the first to discover the Great Lakes of Central Africa. He was also an Orientalist of the first rank.
But it is for his pilgrimage in 1853 to Mecca and Medina and the most sacrosanct shrines of Islam that Burton is best known -- and for his celebrated book that recorded his experiences during the journey. Successfully posing as a wandering dervish, he gained admittance to the holy Kaabah and to the Tomb of the Prophet at Medina and participated in all the rituals of the Hadj (pilgrimage). He is still one of the very few non-Moslems to visit and return from Mecca.
Above all, Burton was a sharp observer -- of character, customs, and physical surroundings. These pages contain a treasury of material on Arab life, beliefs, manners and morals; detailed descriptions of religious ceremonies, mosques, temples, etc.; and a variety of ethnographic, economic, and geographical information. Whether telling of the crowded caravan to Mecca, engaging in minute analysis of Bedouin character, waxing lyrical about a desert landscape, or reporting conversations with townsfolk or fellow pilgrims, Burton gives us a vivid picture of the region and its people.
Along with his thorough familiarity with the cultures and languages of the Middle East, Burton exhibited a resourcefulness and presence of mind that were to serve him well along the way. These qualities saw him through many a taut situation in a country where violence was easily kindled. And they permitted him to get to and into places a man with less enterprise would never have dreamed of going.
This book's value to historians of culture and religion, Orientalists, and other scholars is obvious. Yet it is as a great classic of travel that it has attracted such a wide audience. Burton's highly personal style, vigorous opinions, and his matter-of-fact humor against a backdrop of constant hazard and possible exposure have delighted tens of thousands of readers for more than a century. This reprint gives today's readers an opportunity to enjoy this unique work.

Sir Richard Burton was a diplomat, orientalist, and eccentric. He was a gifted linguist, and his command of the Arabic language allowed him to blend in among the Arabs. In 1853, he performed Haj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim is expected to make, at a period when such an act by a European may have resulted in death. During his stint as a Foreign Office official, he published a number of travel books, but he is most known for his unexpurgated translation of The Arabian Nights. He worked on a translation of The Perfumed Garden for the last fourteen years of his life, but Lady Burton burnt it after his death.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780486212173
ISBN 10	0486212173
Title	Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah and Mecca: v. 1
Author	Sir Richard Francis Burton
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Dover Publications Inc.
Year published	2000-02-01
Number of pages	959
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.