Perhaps the first modern travelogues still to capture the imaginations of armchair explorers, the mid-19th-century bestselling books of American diplomat and writer JOHN LLOYD STEPHENS (1805-1852) read like the most inspired of novels, their poetic immediacy placing the reader square in the saddle of adventure. In this classic 1837 work-which no less a critic than Edgar Allan Poe praised for its "freshness of manner evincing manliness of feeling"-Stephens takes the reader on an evocative journey through the Middle East, from a visit to the pyramids of Egypt to encounters with enthusiastic locals and much more, Complete with all the beautiful original illustrations by English artist and architect FREDERICK CATHERWOOD (1799-1854), this delightful book continues to enthrall adventurous spirits today.