Volume 1

After qualifying as a physician, Robert Richardson (1779-1847) joined the household of the earl of Belmore, and accompanied him and his family on a tour of the eastern Mediterranean in his yacht the Osprey, converted from a captured American schooner. Richardson dedicated this two-volume work to his patron in 1822. Having spent several months in Naples, the party travelled through the Greek islands to Constantinople, arriving in Alexandria in September 1817. Volume 1 recounts their journey up the Nile, exploring both the antiquities of Egypt and the modern cities, especially Cairo, where Richardson made the acquaintance of Burckhardt (whose death he witnessed), Belzoni, Henry Salt and other early explorers of Egypt's past. Having reached the Nile's second cataract, they returned to Thebes, where they were greeted with news of Princess Charlotte's death. Richardson's account is full of detail, both of the archaeological remains and of everyday life in modern Egypt.

After qualifying as a physician, Robert Richardson (1779-1847) joined the household of the earl of Belmore, and accompanied him and his family on a tour of the eastern Mediterranean in his yacht the Osprey, converted from a captured American schooner. Richardson dedicated this two-volume work to his patron in 1822. Having spent several months in Naples, the party travelled through the Greek islands to Constantinople, arriving in Alexandria in September 1817. Volume 1 recounts their journey up the Nile, exploring both the antiquities of Egypt and the modern cities, especially Cairo, where Richardson made the acquaintance of Burckhardt (whose death he witnessed), Belzoni, Henry Salt and other early explorers of Egypt's past. Having reached the Nile's second cataract, they returned to Thebes, where they were greeted with news of Princess Charlotte's death. Richardson's account is full of detail, both of the archaeological remains and of everyday life in modern Egypt.

After qualifying as a physician, Robert Richardson (1779-1847) joined the household of the earl of Belmore, and accompanied him and his family on a tour of the eastern Mediterranean in his yacht the Osprey, converted from a captured American schooner. Richardson dedicated this two-volume work to his patron in 1822. Having spent several months in Naples, the party travelled through the Greek islands to Constantinople, arriving in Alexandria in September 1817. Volume 2 describes further exploration in Egypt, before the party travelled into Palestine, where they visited Jerusalem and the Holy Places, and the cities of the Old Testament, continuing through Syria and Lebanon. Their intention of revisiting Greece on their return was thwarted by reports of the plague, and they arrived back in Malta in July 1818. Richardson's account is full of detail, both of the archaeological remains and of everyday life in the Middle East.