A Nile Anthology brings together the accounts and reflections of visitors and travelers to the Nile between Luxor and Aswan through the ages, from Herodotus in the fifth century BC, and the Arab geographers of medieval times, to such nineteenth-century luminaries as Amelia Edwards, Florence Nightingale, Jean François Champollion, Edward Lane, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. From the practicalities of river travel to descriptions of the pharaonic monuments, via the sights, sounds, and smells of the teeming souks, our writers guide us through a world and an age long gone.

1. Introduction to the NileThe Boundaries of the Country, c. 960 Ebn HaukalThe Delights of Nile Water, 1826 John CarneNile Water, 1825 Dr. R.R. MaddenNotes along the Nile, 1910 Pierre Loti2. Arrangements for Traveling up the NileUp Nile, c. 960 Ebn HaukalJust an Excursion, 1819 John FullerThe Dahabiya, 1873 Amelia EdwardsNile-boat Prayers, 1842 Sophia PooleEsprit du Nil, 1873 Amelia EdwardsAt Home on the Nile, 1849 Florence NightingaleOnboard a River Steamer, 1863 Lucie Duff GordonOn the Boats, 1990 Deborah ManleyOnly on the River, 1836 John Lloyd StephensLife on the Nile, c. 960 Ebn Haukal3. Weather Conditions on the NileMelancholy and Invaders, 1851 George MellyTracking, 1873 Amelia EdwardsThe Khamsin, 1849 Florence NightingaleWind-bound, 1836 John Lloyd Stephens4. Creatures Living Along the NileTimseach! Timseach! 1845 Eliot Warburton Locusts, 1827 Robert HayCreatures Come down to Drink, 1817 Captains Charles Irby and James Mangles5. The Journey to LuxorThe Constant Change of Scene, 1833 Robert CurzonNile by Night and Dawn, 1845 Eliot WarburtonSo Much to See, 1848 Harriet MartineauLife in the Grottoes, 1860 Mrs. M. CareyThe Temple of Hermopolis at Minya, 1813 James Silk BuckinghamAsyut and Explorations, 1836 John Lloyd StephensComing upon Dendera by Night, 1892 Jean Francois ChampollionIkhmim: A Wondrous Thing, 1183 Ibn Jubayr6. Luxor - Both Sides of the NileLuxor-Ancient Thebes, 1846 Cuthbert YoungA Hundred Gated Thebes, 1817 Captains Charles Irby and James ManglesGood Morning, Luxor! 1873 Amelia EdwardsLuxor Temple: Grandeur and Craft, 1844 Prince Puckler-MuskauLife at Thebes, 1850 Florence NightingaleKarnak at Last, 1799 Vivant DenonDining at Karnak, 1930 Princess Marta BibescuTemples on the Other Side, 1819 John FullerMedinet Habu and the Tombs, 1799 Vivant DenonPreparing to Collect the 'Young Memnon,' 1817 Giovanni BelzoniTo the Valley of the Kings, 1904 William JarvieTo the Valley of the Kings, 1938 H.V. Morton'Belzoni's Tomb,' 1819 John FullerWalking above the Valley, 1927 Annie QuibellOn the Other Side, 1927 Constance Sitwell7. Toward and at AswanUpper Egypt in January, 1836 William RamsayRaising the Water from the Nile, 1844 Edward LaneEdfu, the Ancient Apollinopolis Magna, 1827 The Modern TravellerObserved at Kom Ombo, 1848 Harriet MartineauApproach to Aswan: The Country Changes, 1817 Dr. Robert RichardsonNearly Five Hundred Miles up the Nile, 1843 Countess Hahn-HahnDoing Business at Aswan, 1879 Villiers StuartThe Brassy Landscape of Nubia, 1927 Constance Sitwell8. Beyond the Cataract and into NubiaThe Cataract Bars the Way, 1777 Claude Etienne SavaryInto Nubia, 1897 Sir Arthur Conan DoyleAn Engineer at the Cataract, 1859 Isambard Kingdom BrunelThe Rush of the Cataract, 1836 Lord LindsayPhilae, 1825 Dr. R.R. MaddenPhilae, 1852 Dean Arthur Penrhyn StanleyThe Island of Philae, 1833 Robert CurzonWeather on the River, 1817 Giovanni BelzoniOn First Entering the Temple at Abu Simbel, August 1, 1817 Giovanni FinatiThe Great Temple at Abu Simbel, 1817 Captains Charles Irby and James ManglesAt the Second Cataract, 1927 Constance SitwellThe Great Rock at Abu Sir, 1836 Lord Lindsay