From Khartoum to Jerusalem : the Dragoman Solomon Negima and his clients (1885-1933) / Rachel Mairs.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mairs, Rachel, author.

Series:

Classical Studies & Archaeology 2016.

Classical Studies & Archaeology 2016

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Dragomen--Middle East--History--19th century.

Dragomen.

Dragomen--Middle East--History--20th century.

Travelers--Middle East.

Travelers.

Europeans--Middle East.

Europeans.

Americans--Middle East.

Americans.

History.

Middle East--Description and travel.

Middle East.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi, 261 pages).

Place of Publication:

London : Bloomsbury, 2016.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

"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 Using these reference letters, and the first-hand published and unpublished accounts of the travellers themselves, this book tells the stories of several such tourists, including the intrepid Victorian female traveller, Ellen E.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.

Contents:

1 Introduction 1

2 The Sudan, 1885 16

3 Tourists and Pilgrims 36

4 Alone Through Syria 57

5 Rev. Charles T. Walker 88

6 Floyd House 117

7 The Letters 135.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Electronic reproduction. London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014. Available via World Wide Web. Access limited by licensing agreement. s2014 dcunns

ISBN:

9781474255035

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.