This four-volume edition of the Arabic text of the Journey of the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta (1304-68/9), with a French translation, was published in 1853-8 as part of the 'Collection d'ouvrages orientaux' of the French Societe Asiatique. In 1325, Ibn Battuta, who came from a family of Islamic jurists in Tangier, set out to make the pilgrimage to Mecca - the beginning of a journey that would last for twenty-four years and take him as far as China. In Volume 1, he describes his departure from Tangier, and his journey via Tunis to Egypt, where he travelled to Cairo, planning to reach a Red Sea port and sail to Arabia. The route was closed, so he returned to Cairo and travelled from there to Damascus, taking in the holy places of Palestine en route. Having finally reached Medina and Mecca, he decided to travel on, to Najaf (in present-day Iraq).

This four-volume edition of the Arabic text of the Journey of the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta (1304-68/9), with a French translation, was published in 1853-8. In 1325, Ibn Battuta, who came from a family of Islamic jurists in Tangier, set out to make the pilgrimage to Mecca - the beginning of a journey that would last for twenty-four years and take him as far as China. In Volume 2, he leaves Najaf and heads for Persia, exploring Isfahan and Shiraz before returning to Baghdad. Next he goes north, as far as modern Turkey, before performing a second pilgrimage to Mecca. From Jeddah, he sails to Yemen and down the coast of Africa as far as modern-day Tanzania. After a third visit to Mecca he heads north as far as the Crimea and Astrakhan, whence he travels to Constantinople in the retinue of a Byzantine princess, before heading east again.

This four-volume edition of the Arabic text of the Journey of the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta (1304-68/9), with a French translation, was published in 1853-8. In 1325, Ibn Battuta, who came from a family of Islamic jurists in Tangier, set out to make the pilgrimage to Mecca - the beginning of a journey that would last for twenty-four years and take him as far as China. In Volume 3, having decided to visit the court of the Turkic sultan Muhammad bin Tughluq at Delhi, he travels via Bukhara and Samarkand to Afghanistan and then across the Hindu Kush into India. At Delhi, he was given the post of Judge by the sultan, and he stayed at the court for six years. He provides a history of the kingdom of Delhi and an account of Tughluq's reign, describing both his wisdom and generosity and his 'acts of violence and criminal deeds'.

This four-volume edition of the Arabic text of the Journey of the Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta (1304-68/9), with a French translation was published in 1853-8. In 1325, Ibn Battuta, who came from a family of jurists in Tangier, set out to make the pilgrimage to Mecca - the beginning of a journey that would last for twenty-four years and take him as far as China. In Volume 4, the sultan of Delhi asks Ibn Battuta to lead an embassy to China, during which he suffers difficulties, including attacks by Hindus, and shipwreck. He eventually reaches China via Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the Philippines; he then performs a fourth hajj before returning home, after twenty-four years' absence. He sets out again, to visit first Muslim Spain and then further regions of Africa, as far south as Timbuktu and down the river Niger, before returning home to dictate an account of his travels.

Originally published in 1913, this edition of Fielding's Journal of a Voyage to Lisbon contains the complete text of the Journal together with an introduction and notes. The Journal provides a brief record of Fielding's journey of seven weeks between Rotherhithe and Lisbon, in search of a cure for his deteriorating health. Fielding died in Lisbon during 1754 and the work was first published shortly after his death. It is a unique and fascinating document created at a late stage in the author's life, which will be of value to anyone with an interest in eighteenth-century literature and travel writing.

This two-volume English translation of part of a longer travel narrative by the Ottoman aristocrat Evliya Celebi (1611-c.1680) was translated by the Austrian scholar Joseph von Hammer (1774-1856) and published in 1834 by the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland, set up to make 'Eastern' texts more widely available in English. Celebi was highly educated, had served the Ottoman court both as a diplomat and as a soldier, and as he says, had in his travels 'seen the countries of eighteen monarchs and heard 147 different languages'. His lifetime encompassed the highest point of Ottoman expansion into Europe, and his indefatigable curiosity about everything he saw makes this work a fascinating assemblage of topics varying from the fountains of Istanbul to a journey to Georgia. Volume 1 includes a short biography of Celebi and accounts of the history and architecture of his native city.

This two-volume English translation of part of a longer travel narrative by the Ottoman aristocrat Evilya Celebi (1611-c.1680) was translated by the Austrian scholar Joseph von Hammer (1774-1856) and published in 1834 by the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland, set up to make 'Eastern' texts more widely available in English. Celebi was highly educated, had served the Ottoman court both as a diplomat and as a soldier, and as he says, had in his travels 'seen the countries of eighteen monarchs and heard 147 different languages'. His lifetime encompassed the highest point of Ottoman expansion into Europe, and his indefatigable curiosity about everything he saw makes this work a fascinating assemblage of topics varying from the fountains of Istanbul to a journey to Georgia. Volume 2 includes Celebi's eye-witness account of the siege and conquest of Canea (Khania) in Crete in 1645.

The Scottish twin sisters Agnes Lewis (1843 1926) and Margaret Gibson (1843 1920) between them spoke modern Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Persian and Syriac, and were pioneering biblical scholars and explorers at a time when women rarely ventured to foreign lands. The sisters made several journeys to the Monastery of St Catherine on Mount Sinai, and their first two visits there are described in this 1893 publication. Using her sister's journals, Margaret Gibson tells how Agnes discovered a version of the Gospels in Syriac from the fifth century CE. This text is immensely important, being an example of the New Testament written in the eastern branch of Aramaic, the language that Jesus himself spoke. Meanwhile, Margaret Gibson studied other manuscripts in the library and photographed them; the sisters later transcribed and published many of these. Controversy over the circumstances of the discovery led to Margaret publishing this account in 1893.

Ornithologist and clergyman H. B. Tristram (1822 1906), who became both a Fellow of the Royal Society and Canon residentiary of Durham, began his literary career with an account of his ventures into the desert of Algeria, where he had travelled seeking a salubrious winter climate. This subsequent book, published in 1865, narrates his journey through Palestine in 1863 4. An engaging account, written for a popular audience, it combines detailed observations of antiquities, geography, and the native wildlife with scriptural quotations; its stated aim is to demonstrate that the Bible accurately describes the region. Tristram was one of the earliest public supporters of Darwin's theories, noting their relevance to his own studies in his 1859 paper 'On the Ornithology of North Africa'. This book, and his later work of 1873 The Land of Moab (also reissued in this series), illuminate the complex contemporary relationship between religion and the natural sciences.

First published in 1896, this work by Agnes Bensley (d. 1900), wife of the Orientalist and biblical scholar Robert Bensly (1831 93), describes the journey undertaken by a party of scholars to St Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai in 1893. In the previous year, sisters Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Gibson had discovered the Sinai Palimpsest, the earliest-known Syriac version of the Gospels. The purpose of the Bensly's mission was to aid them in transcribing and deciphering the Palimpsest. Beginning with the party's arrival in Cairo, the book describes the preparation for the trip, their journey across the desert, and life in the monastery. However, relations between the members of the party deteriorated; Gibson and Lewis wrote their own accounts of the expedition (also available in this series), and Mrs Bensly's narrative is defensive of the role of her husband, who died days after their return to England.

Robert Edwin Peary (1856 1920), the distinguished American Arctic explorer, is usually credited as the first person to have reached the geographic North Pole, in 1909. First published in 1898, this two-volume work recounts Peary's expeditions across the interior ice-cap of Northern Greenland in the years 1886 and 1891 7. It describes Peary's contacts with the local Inuit tribes and the valuable scientific discoveries he made in geography, and natural history. Peary also documents the discovery and conveyance to the United States of the Cape York meteorites, from which the Inuit had extracted iron, but whose whereabouts had been a secret. In Volume 1, Peary recounts his first two expeditions in Greenland. On the first, in 1886, he travelled over the Greenland ice sheet for 100 miles. On the second, in 1891 2, he and seven companions (including his wife) sledged 1300 miles to North-East Greenland.

Robert Edwin Peary (1856 1920), the distinguished American Arctic explorer, is usually credited as the first person to have reached the geographic North Pole, in 1909. First published in 1898, this two-volume work recounts Peary's expeditions across the interior ice-cap of Northern Greenland in the years 1886 and 1891 7. It describes Peary's contacts with the local Inuit tribes and the valuable scientific discoveries he made in geography, and natural history. Peary also documents the discovery and conveyance to the United States of the Cape York meteorites, from which the Inuit had extracted iron, but whose whereabouts had been a secret. Volume 2 recounts Peary's later expeditions in Greenland, including a 25-month stay in which he first attempted to reach the North Pole. Peary's wife, Josephine, who accompanied him on many of his expeditions, gave birth to their daughter less than 900 miles from the Pole in 1893.

In 1804 when W. B. Stevenson (fl. 1803 1825) arrived on the small island of Mocha, just off the coast of South America, he stepped onto a continent on the brink of mass revolution. Over the next twenty years, he had an extraordinary range of experiences: as a traveller, a Spanish government official, a prisoner, and as secretary to an ex-Royal Navy admiral turned revolutionary. In this three-volume work, published in 1825, Stevenson gives a dramatic, fascinating account of the life and culture of South America as it began to break free from Spanish colonial rule. Volume 1 focuses on Stevenson's arrival in 1804, his initial impressions, and travels in Chile, Colombia and Peru. It describes food and drink, society and culture, administration and climate. It also covers his imprisonment in Lima by the Spanish authorities.

Sir Thomas Graham Jackson (1835-1924) was one of the most distinguished architects of his generation, particularly renowned for his work in Oxford for the University and the Military College. Jackson was also a prolific author, producing numerous books relating to the history of architecture, often illustrated with his own sketches. Originally published in 1923, this book is formed from a series of personal accounts describing experiences during the author's extensive travels. The text also contains illustrations by Jackson from a wide variety of locations. This is a highly readable volume that will be of value to anyone with an interest in travel writing and architectural history.

The English geologist George William Featherstonhaugh (1780 1866) was commissioned to undertake a survey of the Arkansas territory in America, and spent 1834 5 travelling through the southern slave states to reach his destination. He was shocked by the slave system of the south, saying he 'had never seen so revolting a sight'. When he began to write about his experiences, Featherstonhaugh was urged not to publish his work in the US, as his opinions might 'irritate a powerful interest', and his manuscript remained unpublished until 1844, after his return to England. His lively two-volume account of his adventures contains a fascinating mixture of scientific and sociological detail. It is a closely observed record of Southern society in the period before the Civil War that candidly documents the violence experienced by Black slaves, Native Americans and frontier settlers. Volume 2 describes the geography and inhabitants of Arksansas and New Orleans.

Scottish-born Alexander Mackay (1808 52) spent much of his career as a journalist in North America. He was in Britain working for the Morning Chronicle when, in January 1846, he set sail again for the United States, this time to report on the debates over the Oregon question, relating to British and American claims to territory in the Pacific North-West. He spent several months in Washington, D.C. before travelling around the country as far south as the Mississippi, and west to the Great Lakes. This three-volume work, published in 1849, uses his journey to frame a general account of 'the political system, the social life, and the material progress of the Union'. Mackay observed a vibrant and prosperous country, and his work captures the energy of these boom years. In Volume 1, Mackay describes New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, and explains American society and the political and judiciary systems.

Scottish-born Alexander Mackay (1808 52) spent much of his career as a journalist in North America. He was in Britain working for the Morning Chronicle when, in January 1846, he set sail again for the United States, this time to report on the debates over the Oregon question, relating to British and American claims to territory in the Pacific North-West. He spent several months in Washington, D.C. before travelling around the country as far south as the Mississippi, and west to the Great Lakes. This three-volume work, published in 1849, uses his journey to frame a general account of 'the political system, the social life, and the material progress of the Union'. Mackay observed a vibrant and prosperous country, and his work captures the energy of these boom years. Volume 2 focuses on political parties, slavery and railways, and describes Mackay's travels in Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana.

Scottish-born Alexander Mackay (1808 52) spent much of his career as a journalist in North America. He was in Britain working for the Morning Chronicle when, in January 1846, he set sail again for the United States, this time to report on the debates over the Oregon question, relating to British and American claims to territory in the Pacific North-West. He spent several months in Washington, D.C. before travelling around the country as far south as the Mississippi, and west to the Great Lakes. This three-volume work, published in 1849, uses his journey to frame a general account of 'the political system, the social life, and the material progress of the Union'. Mackay observed a vibrant and prosperous country, and his work captures the energy of these boom years. Volume 3 focuses on the Great Lakes region, mining and navigation, and discusses education, religion, and the 'American character'.

William Scoresby junior (1789-1857), explorer, scientist, and later Church of England clergyman, first travelled to the Arctic when he was just ten years old. The son of Arctic whaler and navigator William Scoresby of Whitby, he spent nearly every summer for twenty years at a Greenland whale fishery. He made significant discoveries in Arctic geography, meteorology, oceanography, and magnetism, and was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1824. First published in 1823, this book recounts Scoresby's voyage to Greenland in the summer of 1822 aboard the Baffin, a whaler of his own design. On this journey, his penultimate voyage to the north, he charted a large section of the coast of Greenland. His narrative also includes descriptions of scientific observations and geographical discoveries made during the voyage, and the appendices includes lists of rock specimens, plants and animal life, and notes on meteorological and other data.

In 1860, Charles Francis Hall (1821-71), the American polar explorer, embarked on the first of two voyages to the Canadian Arctic region aimed at investigating the fate of Sir John Franklin's lost expedition of 1847. During his time in the Arctic, Hall lived amongst the Inuit community, learning their language and embracing their everyday life. First published in 1864, Hall's recollections remain of great interest to anthropologists, sociologists and geographers. His eye-witness accounts of the indigenous people's dwellings, interpersonal relationships, hunting pursuits, birth and death rites, methods of transport, and survival strategies in severe weather conditions provide an insight into Inuit culture in the nineteenth century. Volume 1 describes Hall's journey north, arrival at Holsteinborg, the Danish administrative centre in Greenland, and onward voyage to Baffin Island, where his search for traces of Franklin, and his experience of Inuit life, began.

In 1860, Charles Francis Hall (1821-71), the American explorer, embarked on the first of two voyages to the Canadian Arctic region aimed at investigating the fate of Sir John Franklin's lost expedition of 1847. During his time in the Arctic, Hall lived amongst the Inuit community, learning their language and embracing their everyday life. First published in 1864, Hall's two-volume work remains of great interest to anthropologists, sociologists and geographers. His eye-witness accounts of the indigenous people's dwellings, hunting pursuits, birth and death rites, transportation, interpersonal relationships, and survival strategies in severe weather conditions provide an insight into Inuit culture in the nineteenth century. In Volume 2 he tells of his discovery in Frobisher Bay of artefacts from Martin Frobisher's sixteenth-century mining venture; the survival of these relics, together with his understanding of Inuit memory systems, convinces him that traces of Franklin and his crew may yet be found.

In 1895, naturalists Henry J. Pearson (1859-1913) and Colonel H. W. Feilden (1838-1921) set out to Norway for the first time, aiming to study Arctic bird life, geology and botany. This book, first published in 1899, is a collection of their diary entries and papers. Full of humour and written almost novelistically, Pearson's diary describes his ornithological findings and the other noteworthy features of their voyages - he includes an anecdotal account of the process of catching a whale, and describes their own less than ideal ship, and the many difficulties of travelling in the often inhospitable and little-explored North. In the second half of the book, Feilden focuses on geology and botany in three technical papers accompanied by his own photographs. A remarkable account of an ambitious project, this book forms part of the nineteenth-century genre of scientific travel literature, and contains still-relevant information about the Arctic environment.

The archaeologist D. G. Hogarth (1862 1927) was, when he died, keeper of the Ashmolean Museum and president of the Royal Geographical Society. He was instrumental in launching T. E. Lawrence's career, employing him at Carchemish and encouraging him to learn Arabic. This book, published in 1896 and described by Lawrence as 'one of the best travel books ever written', relates a journey through Ottoman Turkey, with additional chapters on Egypt and Cyprus. It combines a highly readable account of the practicalities and pitfalls of archaeology with Hogarth's (often unsympathetic) opinions on political problems of the area, including the position of the Armenians and Kurds. Hogarth subsequently became acting director of the Arab Bureau in Cairo during the First World War, and attended the Versailles peace conference. This book illuminates the experiences that developed Hogarth's political views and the close relationship between archaeology and politics in the Middle East in the period.

The archaeologist D. G. Hogarth (1862-1927) was, when he died, keeper of the Ashmolean Museum and president of the Royal Geographical Society, whose gold medal he was also awarded. This 1910 book is his account of various episodes in his career from 1897, when he covered the Cretan revolt against Turkey for The Times, to his 1907 excavations in Asyut, Egypt. A mixture of travel writing and archaeological reporting - the volume also contains an academic report on the excavation of Carchemish - this book, a follow-up to his A Wandering Scholar in the Levant (also reissued in this series), and intended for a popular audience, remains a highly readable account of the practicalities behind Hogarth's intellectual career. It also provides background to Hogarth's political involvement with the Near East, as acting director of the Arab Bureau in Cairo during the First World War and an attendee at the Versailles peace conference.

William George Clark (1821 78) is probably best remembered as the co-editor (with W. Aldis Wright) of the Cambridge Shakespeare (1863 6; also reissued in this series). A fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, he was a classical and literary scholar and editor, but travelled widely in his vacations, and this work, first published in 1858, is an account of a tour of Greece undertaken in 1856 with W. H. Thompson (1810 86), who later succeeded William Whewell as Master of Trinity. Clark's plan was to visit the archaeological sites of the Peloponnese using W. M. Leake's various surveys as a guide and comparing Leake's observations and his own with those of the ancient traveller Pausanias. The result is an engaging combination of travel narrative and serious archaeological and topographical research backed up by a profound knowledge of classical literature. It remains an interesting resource for those studying the history of Greek archaeology.