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REVIEW BY CATHIE BRYAN
Tourism in Egypt currently supports a profitable industry that was consolidated in the 19th century, when package tours were first introduced. The author’s objective is to trace the history of tourism from pharaonic times, arguing that a rudimentary tourism industry existed as far back as the Graeco-Roman period. The book is organised in reverse chronological order, with thematic chapters on the continuous practices of pilgrimage and visiting oracles.
An eclectic selection of travellers and practices exemplifies the history of tourism in Egypt after the Roman Empire. Medieval Arab travellers included merchants, pilgrims to Mecca, and treasure-hunters who consulted written guides.
Following Napoleon’s Nile Campaign (1798-1801), publications such as Description de l’Égypte launched Egyptology and a new wave of Egyptomania, and stimulated travel to Egypt – including the hunt for material for museum collections. Wealthy travellers in the 19th century followed the tradition of independently organised small groups led by a dragoman. Thomas Cook steamer tours, starting in 1869, heralded the start of mass tourism. The standard itinerary for modern tourists was also established in the 19th century: a Nile cruise, a camel ride at the Pyramids, visits to the Valley of the Kings and Karnak Temple, and a felucca ride. Practices now prohibited included climbing over monuments, taking ‘squeezes’, inscribing graffiti, removing fragments and artefacts as souvenirs, and buying antiquities.
Since the 1960s, Egypt has increased tourism numbers and revenues. The peak of tourism to Egypt was in 2010, providing 13% of GDP and 10.9% of employment. Tourism plummeted with the Arab Spring (2011) and again with the 2020 pandemic. Booth covers topics such as the exponential growth of cruise boats, tourist management, replica ancient tombs, and controversy over camel rides, sex tourism, and throwbacks to ‘Golden Age’ travel.
This book would be best appreciated by those interested in the history of tourism and the study of travel in Egypt. It is illustrated by 20 sludgy, half tone images, while a sketchy index and an absence of maps are editorial weaknesses that could be corrected in future editions.
TOURISM IN EGYPT THROUGH THE AGES: A HISTORICAL GUIDE
by Charlotte Booth
PEN & SWORD HISTORY, 2024
ISBN 978-1-39904-356-4
HARDBACK, £25
