Description

(The first book to mention Kuwait in English) Translated into English by Robert Heron. With notes by the translator; and illustrated with engravings and maps. Carsten Niebuhr was a member of King Frederick V of Denmark’s scientific exploration of Egypt, Arabia and Syria in 1761. Niebuhr was the most junior member of the expedition, but an eager student, and he acquired skill in surveying, geography, mathematics and Arabic in preparation for the journey. In the first two years of the expedition, the group traveled to Alexandria, up the Nile, Suez, Mount Sinai, Jeddah, Mocha, Yemen, and Bombay. By that point, all of the members of the expedition save Niebuhr—who had adopted native dress and eating habits—perished of disease. He then continued the expedition alone for several years, expanding his trip to encompass Bombay, Muscat, Bushire, Shiraz, Persepolis, Babylon, Baghdad, Mosul, Aleppo, Cyprus, Palestine, and Constantinople, finally concluding his trip in Copenhagen in 1767. Famous for his map of the Yemen which Niebuhr calculated by traversing the country and measuring the distances mile by mile. For the next century it served further European explorers of Arabia. Niebuhr’s map of the Arab Gulf is the earliest map to mention Kuwait, and he is also one of the first to call the country “Yemen” instead of “Arabia Felix.” First published in German in 1772 as Beschreibung von Arabien, it was then published in Copenhagen in French in 1773. First edition in English of Niebur’s journeys through the Middle East and beyond, with three large folding maps depicting the greater part of the province of Yemen, the Red Sea, and the Persian gulf, as well as ten engraved plates showing Niebuhr on his travels, various scenes of life in Arabia, and landscape views. Rebound in half calf over marbled boards, raised bands; maps repaired. Light tear on the crease of the map of A small nick to the top end of the marbled board cover (only surface damage). Half Leather | Very Good First Edition - II Volumes | Pages 455 & 439