Archaeologists, tourists, interpreters exploring Egypt and the Near East in the late 19th-early 20th centuries Rachel Mairs and Maya Muratov.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mairs, Rachel, author.

Muratov, Maya, author.

Series:

Bloomsbury Egyptology

Bloomsbury egyptology

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.

Middle East--Description and travel.

Middle East.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (160 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York Bloomsbury Academic 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, growing numbers of tourists and scholars from Europe and America, fascinated by new discoveries, visited the Near East and Egypt - attracted by the riches and mysteries of the Lands of the Bible, the Pharaohs and the Arabian Nights. Almost all such visitors, no matter how esoteric or academic their pursuits, had to deal with the local authorities and the native people who would comprise the workforce for the archaeological excavations. Although a number of archaeologists we discuss eventually learned to speak the local languages (mostly Arabic), the majority of them had to rely on interpreters, dragomans, translators, and local guides. This study, based on the published travel memoirs, guidebooks, personal papers, and archaeological reports of the British and American archaeologists, deals with the socio-political status and multi-faceted role of interpreters at the time. Those bi- or multi-lingual individuals frequently took on (or were forced to take on) much more than just interpreting. The often played the role of go-betweens, servants, bodyguards, pimps, diplomats, spies, messengers, managers and overseers, and have had to mediate, scheme and often improvise, be that in their official or unofficial capacity. They have frequently, however, been denied credit and recognition for their part in undertaking all of these tasks."--Bloomsbury Publishing

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, growing numbers of tourists and scholars from Europe and America, fascinated by new discoveries, visited the Near East and Egypt - attracted by the riches and mysteries of the Land of the Bible. Almost all such visitors, no matter how esoteric or academic their pursuits, had to deal with the local authorities and the native workforce for their archaeological excavations. The vast majority of these visitors had to rely on interpreters, dragomans, translators and local guides. This study, based on published and unpublished travel memoirs, guidebooks, personal papers and archaeological reports of the British and American archaeologists, deals with the socio-political status and multi-faceted role of interpreters at the time. Those bi- or multi-lingual individuals frequently took on (or were forced to take on) much more than just interpreting. They often played the role of go-betweens, servants, bodyguards, pimps, diplomats, spies, messengers, managers and overseers, and had to mediate, scheme and often improvise, whether in an official or unofficial capacity. For the most part denied due credit and recognition, these interpreters are finally here given a new voice. An engrossing story emerges of how through their many and varied actions and roles, they had a crucial part to play in the introduction to Britain and America of these mysterious past cultures and civilizations

Contents:

Introduction: interpreting the Orient

Mediating language and culture

Dragomans and tourists

The profession of dragoman

Innocents abroad

Managing clients

Learning Arabic

Archaeologists in the field

Flinders Petrie in Egypt and Palestine

T. E. Lawrence in Egypt and Syria

Sir Leonard Woolley

Max Mallowan and Agatha Christie

Americans in the "land of the Bible"

The Wolfe expedition

The Babylonian expedition of the University of Pennsylvania 1888-1890: first and second campaigns

Daniel Z. Noorian: the "afterlife" of an interpreter

Solomon Negima: a dragoman and his clients

The testimonial book of dragoman Solomon N. Negima

Interpreter on the Nile

Dragoman in Palestine

Oxford to Palestine and alone through Syria

Floyd House

Conclusion

List of illustrations

Acknowledgements

1. Introduction: Interpreting the Orient

2. Mediating Language and Culture

Dragomans and Tourists

The Profession of Dragoman

Innocents Abroad

Managing Clients

3. Archaeologists in the Field

4. Americans in the 'Land of the Bible'

The Wolfe Expedition

The Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania 1888-1890: First and Second Campaigns

5. Daniel Z. Noorian: the 'Afterlife' of an Interpreter

6. Solomon Negima: A Dragoman and his Clients

The Testimonial Book of Dragoman Solomon N. Negima

Oxford to Palestine and Alone Through Syria

7. Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

LEGANTO

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index

ISBN:

9781474220309

1474220304

9781472588821

1472588827

OCLC:

908698324