Contents:
'In 1869, Hayyim Habshush (1839-1899), a Yemeni Jew, accompanied the European orientalist Joseph Halévy (1827-1917)on his archaeological tour of Yemen. Twenty years later, Habshush wrote 'A Vision of Yemen', a memoir of their travels, that provides a vivid account of daily life, religion, and politics.
This edition is the first English translation of Habshush's writings from the original Judeo-Arabic and Hebrew and includes an accessible historical introduction to the work. The translation maintains Habshush's gripping style and rich portrayal of the diverse communities and cultures of Yemen, offering a potent mixture of artful storytelling and cultural criticism, suffused with humor and empathy. Habshush writes about the daily lives of men and women, rich and poor, Jewish and Muslim, during a turbulent period of war and both Ottoman and European imperialist encroachment. With this translation, Alan Verskin recovers the lost voice of a man passionately committed to his land and people.'
The introduction also contains an outline of Eduard Glaser's life and works (pp. 27 ff), for it was Eduard Glaser who had encouraged Habshush to write his experiences in the form of a travelogue.
Habshush had started writing his memoir in Hebrew but, later on, he switched to Judeo-Arabic, the Arabic vernacular spoken by Jews (formerly) living in Yemen.
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