Diary Of A Journey Across Arabia PDF Download

Reprint of the classic account of Sadleir's memorable Journey across Arabia from east to west, which is his greatest claim to distinction. In the annals of Arabian travel, the name of George Forster Sadleir holds an honoured place, but it is known to few outside the narrow circle of historico-geographers, and even to them little or nothing is known of Sadleir's life, apart from the Diary of his trans-Arabian journey. He has no place in the D.N.B., but research shows that he has been undeservedly forgotten. In 1819 Sadleir made his memorable journey across Arabia from east to west, which is his greatest claim to distinction. It was the first recorded crossing of the Peninsula by a European and a feat of Arabian travel unequalled for nearly a hundred years or, to be exact, until Captain Shakespear's great journey in 1914. The journey, though of great value to geographers, interested Sadleir very little; he was, like Ibn Batuta, ''the traveller of Islam" and perhaps the greatest traveller of all time, a geographer malgre lui. His Diary was the report of a soldier trying to carry out certain orders. He was, indeed, the most objective of travellers. His own feelings and speculations were not within the terms of reference. In spite of illness and hardships of all kinds intense heat, lack of water, incompetent guides, exasperating delays and forced marches - he kept his Diary with scrupulous care, noticing the names of villages and tribes and the physical features of the country. He estimated the distances covered each day by the time spent on the march. This reprint of the 1866 edition of Sadleir's Diary of 1819 has benefitted from the inclusion of an introductory essay by F. M. Edwards which first appeared in The journal of the Royal Central Asian Society, vol. 44 (1957). Part of the Oleander Classics series, this title has been reproduced using the highest-quality modern scanning technology. This is done in order to keep important works from the Press's 50-year history from going out of print. In this way, the invaluable resources provided by this and other books in the series remain available for general readers, academics and other interested parties.