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Physician on the Nile, A

A Description of Egypt and Journal of the Famine Years
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Flora, fauna, and famine in thirteenth-century Egypt A Physician on the Nile begins as a description of everyday life in Egypt at the turn of the seventh/thirteenth century, before becoming a harrowing account of famine and pestilence. Written by the polymath and physician 'Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi, and intended for the Abbasid caliph al-Nasir, the first part of the book offers detailed descriptions of Egypt's geography, plants, animals, and local cuisine, including a recipe for a giant picnic pie made with three entire roast lambs and dozens of chickens. 'Abd al-Latif's text is also a pioneering work of ancient Egyptology, with detailed observations of Pharaonic monuments, sculptures, and mummies. An early and ardent champion of archaeological conservation, 'Abd al-Latif condemns the vandalism wrought by tomb-robbers and notes with distaste that Egyptian grocers price their goods with labels written on recycled mummy-wrappings. The book's second half relates his horrific eyewitness account of the great famine that afflicted Egypt in the years 597-598/1200-1202. 'Abd al-Latif was a keen observer of humanity, and he offers vivid first-hand depictions of starvation, cannibalism, and a society in moral free-fall. A Physician on the Nile contains great diversity in a small compass, distinguished by the acute, humane, and ever-curious mind of its author. It is rare to be able to hear the voice of such a man responding so directly to novelty, beauty, and tragedy. An English-only edition.
'Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi (Author) 'Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi (557-629/1162-1231) was a Baghdad-born physician and scientist who wrote books on a wide range of topics, including medicine, philology, mathematics, and philosophy. Mansoura Ez-Eldin (Foreword by) Mansoura Ez-Eldin is an Egyptian novelist and short story writer whose works have been translated into more than ten languages. She is the deputy editor of the Egyptian weekly cultural magazine Akhbar al-Adab. Tim Mackintosh-Smith (Translator) Tim Mackintosh-Smith is a noted British travel author, best known for his trilogy on the renowned Moroccan world-traveler Ibn Battutah, which earned him a spot among Newsweek's top twelve travel writers of the past hundred years. Since 1982, he has lived in Sanaa, Yemen.
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