Reviews for The Land of Midian

The average rating for The Land of Midian based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-01-10 00:00:00 Wayne Bjorndahl This account of an 1877 expedition into the western reaches of Arabia in search of ancient gold mining sites provides a fascinating glimpse into an age when we still hadn't come to grips with the limits of our known world. It contains a wealth of detailed observations about native peoples, plants, wildlife, minerals, ruins, and the etymology of place names, and yet it is seldom dry. The sense of wonder at penetrating the unknown and the freedom of exploration are always present. Its author was one of the most prolific adventurers of all time. Captain Richard Francis Burton lived a life people today would hardly find believable. He spoke some 29 languages and dialects. He was the first European to enter the Ethiopian city of Harare, was co-discoverer of the source of the Nile, and was one of the few foreigners ever to make the pilgrimage to Mecca in disguise. Burton was also a master of the sword. On one expedition he fought off an attack by Somali tribesman that saw him wounded through the mouth by a spear, the scars of which are visible in all his later photographs. Burton was also a man ahead of his time. He translated the Kama Sutra when Victorian morals would rather have seen it repressed. He referred to native peoples as "intelligent and humane" when most regarded non-Europeans as "sub-human". He approached the world on its terms rather than his own. For the serious traveler, all of his works are worth reading.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-03-04 00:00:00 Stephen Jackson This is a very scholarly work, full of survey data, supplies costs, and etymological analysis of place names. Burton seeks out evidence for an auriferous Midian on the Saudi Arabian coast of Gulf of Aqaba. From the shore there of the Tabuk region, Burton looks back into antiquity and sees the gold mine of Solomon's Bathsheba and the Red Sea that swallowed Pharaoh's hordes. There is much in the way of making real Bible history here with much of the detail and footnotes and occasional glimpses into the meetings and human moments of the journey from Egypt.