Palestine and Egypt Under the Ottomans

Book excerpt: "Palestine and Egypt under the Ottomans is based on Hisham Khatib's unique collection of art and printed works covering the 400-year period of Ottoman rule in the region. The core of the material here are the paintings - mainly nineteenth-century watercolours, many of them by renowned artists such as Frederick Goodall, Edward Lear, Carl Werner and Carl Haag - which concentrate on a realistic portrayal of the Holy Land (in particular Jerusalem) and Egypt, rather than basking in romantic 'Orientalism'. Images from the valuable plate books are of exceptional interest. These include rare works by Charles van de Velde, Sir David Wilkie, Louis de Forbin, Francois Paris, Achille Prisse d'Avennes and David Roberts. In these plate books the text merely served to explain the large-scale engravings, lithographs or etchings that illustrated them. The section on travel books - also frequently illustrated - includes works by Bernardino Amico, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, Michel Nau, Adrian Reland and Walter Tyndale. Some of the oldest material discussed and illustrated here - from the earliest days of Ottoman rule in Palestine and Egypt - are the maps and views, many of them by such well known names as Abraham Ortelius and Bernhard von Breydenbach. From the later end of the Ottoman period, this volume also records some of the earliest surveys and atlases of the region, as well as original photographs." --Book Jacket.