KEANE (John F.).
My Journey to Medinah: describing a Pilgrimage to Medinah, performed by the Author disguised as a Mohammedan.
This is the second of Keane’s two books concerning Arabia which were later combined in Six Months in the Hejaz. The first edition was also bound in sky blue cloth.
The author writes in a more informal style than is usual for travel books of this era, and it seems that his first work Six Months in Meccah was not taken very seriously. In the preface to the above he defends himself: “I have spent seven years of my life among Mahommedans, and at one time served three years as an officer on board a ship carrying a Mohammedan crew. The latter experience would be quite sufficient to give me a thorough knowlege of the Mohammedan language and customs. My pilgrimage to Meccah was no rash experiment or accident, but the outcome of a long-cherished project… I hope these statements will satisfy those who have read my book that I did perform the pilgrimage to Meccah.”
Howgego IV, K4; Macro, 1346.
