{"product_id":"books-a-physician-on-the-nile-by-abd-albaghdd","title":"A Physician on the Nile","description":"Flora, fauna, and famine in thirteenth-century Egypt   A Physician on the Nile begins as a description of everyday life in Egypt at the turn of the seventh\/thirteenth century, before becoming a harrowing account of famine and pestilence. Written by the polymath and physician ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī, and intended for the Abbasid caliph al-Nāṣir, the first part of the book offers detailed descriptions of Egypt's geography, plants, animals, and local cuisine, including a recipe for a giant picnic pie made with three entire roast lambs and dozens of chickens. ʿAbd al-Laṭīf's text is also a pioneering work of ancient Egyptology, with detailed observations of Pharaonic monuments, sculptures, and mummies. An early and ardent champion of archaeological conservation, ʿAbd al-Laṭīf condemns the vandalism wrought by tomb-robbers and notes with distaste that Egyptian grocers price their goods with labels written on recycled mummy-wrappings.   The book's second half relates his horrific eyewitness account of the great famine that afflicted Egypt in the years 597–598\/1200–1202. ʿAbd al-Laṭīf was a keen observer of humanity, and he offers vivid first-hand depictions of starvation, cannibalism, and a society in moral free-fall.   A Physician on the Nile contains great diversity in a small compass, distinguished by the acute, humane, and ever-curious mind of its author. It is rare to be able to hear the voice of such a man responding so directly to novelty, beauty, and tragedy.  An English-only edition.","brand":"World of Books ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53674343629073,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781479820078.jpg?v=1781531345","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/products\/books-a-physician-on-the-nile-by-abd-albaghdd","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}