Brief Biography:
Matilda Plumley from England, probably London,
traveled in the mid-1840s. She apparently spoke German and probably associated
with poets, musicians, and artists.
Brief Itinerary:
After traveling to the Bay of Syra by way of Calais, Marseilles and Malta,
Matilda Plumley sails on to Alexandria, Egypt. She than sails by means of a
small sailboat up the Nile River to explore the numerous temples and tombs of
ancient Egypt near Thebes and Luxor. She than returns downriver to Cairo where
she begins a journey which lasts about four months. This experience takes her by
camel across the Sinai Peninsula to visit a convent near Mt. Sinai. Her journey
continues on to the town of Akaba, Jordan. She then visits the ruins of Petra as
her path takes her to Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Here Matilda takes a side trip to
the Dead Sea. After returning to Jerusalem, she resumes her pilgrimage of
exploration by horseback to Acre and then turns east to visit the Sea of Galilee
near Tiberias. After traveling through Damascus, she turns northwest to arrive
in Tripoli and then Beyrout. Boarding a ship, she steams on to Cyprus and on to
Constantinople. Here she is detained by a brief quarantine and then enjoys a few
days of sight seeing before sailing back to the Bay of Syra for a visit to
various Greek historic sites. Athens, the Panthenon, and Acropolis are her most
memorable. Miss Plumley than sails back to England completing a nine and a half
month trip.
Brief History of the Text:
Days and Nights in the East: from the original notes of a recent traveler through Egypt,
Arabia-Petra, Syria, Turkey and Greece. was published in London in 1845 by T. C. Newby. There is no record of reprints or translations of the work.
