Cover of From Khartoum to Jerusalem

From Khartoum to Jerusalem

"In 2014, a collection of papers was found on eBay: a scrapbook, inside which was written 'Testimonial Book of Dragoman Solomon N. Negima'. The letters pasted into the testimonial book bear recommendations of Negima's services as dragoman — a combination of tourist guide and interpreter — in the Holy Land, from travellers of different nationalities, social classes, religions, genders and races. Using these reference letters, and the first-hand published and unpublished accounts of the travellers themselves, this book tells the stories of several such tourists, including the intrepid Victorian female traveller, Ellen E. Miller, and an African-American minister, Rev. Charles T. Walker, who had been born into slavery. Between the lines of others' letters, Solomon Negima's remarkable life story also emerges: from a German mission school in Jerusalem, to the British army in the Sudan, to a successful career as a dragoman in Palestine and Syria, and finally to comfortable retirement with his son, Aziz, and daughter, Olinda, at a Mormon mission in Jerusalem. The discovery of this unique scrapbook allows us an insight into the lives of individuals whose histories would otherwise be lost to us, and a new perspective on the history of travel in the Middle East."—Bloomsbury Publishing

Read more

In 2014, a collection of papers was found on eBay: a scrapbook, inside which was written 'Testimonial Book of Dragoman Solomon N. Negima'. The letters pasted into the testimonial book bear recommendations of Negima's services as dragoman - a combination of tourist guide and interpreter - in the Holy Land, from travellers of different nationalities, social classes, religions, genders and races. Using these reference letters, and the first-hand published and unpublished accounts of the travellers themselves, this book tells the stories of several such tourists, including the intrepid Victorian female traveller, Ellen E. Miller, and an African-American minister, Rev. Charles T. Walker, who had been born into slavery. Between the lines of others' letters, Solomon Negima's remarkable life story also emerges: from a German mission school in Jerusalem, to the British army in the Sudan, to a successful career as a dragoman in Palestine and Syria, and finally to comfortable retirement with his son, Aziz, and daughter, Olinda, at a Mormon mission in Jerusalem. The discovery of this unique scrapbook allows us an insight into the lives of individuals whose histories would otherwise be lost to us, and a new perspective on the history of travel in the Middle East

Audience
adult
Length
medium · 280 pages

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked From Khartoum to Jerusalem? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked From Khartoum to Jerusalem. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. Greetings from Antarctica Shares travelers, correspondence, travel
  2. France and the Grand Tour Shares travelers, travel, history
  3. Marco Polo and the wonders of the East Shares travelers, travel, biography
  4. The Text of Great Britain: Theme and Design in Defoe's Tour Shares travelers, travel, history

“If you want more of the same (biography), start with these.”

  1. Scrambles Among the Alps in the Years 1860-69
  2. My Ascent Of Mont Blanc
  3. American Traveler
  4. Endeavouring Banks

“If it was the travelers that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. Lifting the Veil: Two Centuries of Travelers, Traders and Tourists in Egypt
  2. The Navy-blue Suitcase
  3. Traveling
  4. Away is a strange place to be

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Writing with Scissors: American Scrapbooks from the Civil War to the Harlem Renaissance
  2. Polar Wives: The Remarkable Women behind the World's Most Daring Explorers
  3. Scrapbooks: An American History
  4. The World's Best Spicy Food: Where to Find it How to Make it