Proceedings of the expedition to explore the northern coast of Africa, from Tripoly eastward : $b in MDCCCXXI. and MDCCCXXII., comprehending an account of the Greater Syrtis and Cyrenaica; and of the ancient cities composing the pentapolisBeechey, Frederick William
History
Proceedings of the expedition to explore the northern coast of Africa, from Tripoly eastward : $b in MDCCCXXI. and MDCCCXXII., comprehending an account of the Greater Syrtis and Cyrenaica; and of the ancient cities composing the pentapolis
Beechey, Frederick William
Sidra, Gulf of (Libya); Tripoli (Libya) -- Antiquities; Tripoli (Libya) -- Discovery and exploration
With respect to the Arab women, we will venture to say (though
we do not think that modesty is their predominant quality)
that no consideration could induce them to dress themselves in
the manner which caused such astonishment to our acquaintance:
and they would certainly not believe that the ladies of Europe,
to whom such costume is familiar, would object to appear in the
presence of the other sex without their shoes and stockings. As for
dancing with men, and taking them by the hand, it would be looked
upon as the last stage of effrontery and indelicacy; yet their own
familiar dance is at the same time of such a nature that no modest
women of Europe could look at it. It would be a curious experiment
in natural history to see which of the ladies would require most
persuasion; the Arab to appear in public without any veil, or the
Englishwoman without shoes and stockings. There can be no question
which of the two is most civilized; yet, we own, we cannot see
that it is at all more indecent to appear in public with the legs
and feet uncovered, than it is to expose the face, arms, and neck;
or that it is really more modest to cover the face than to leave
it in its natural state. Of the two, we should certainly think it
more modest to cover the face than the feet; yet we know that the
practice of going without a veil is adopted by the most refined
nations of the globe, and that the habit of wearing it is by no
means inconsistent with levity and want of proper feeling.
To return to our description of the town; we have already stated,
that Bengazi may be considered as occupying the site of the Berenice
of the Ptolemies, and of the Hesperis of earlier times; but very
few remains now appear above ground to interest the sculptor, the
architect, or the antiquary. Berenice has, in fact, disappeared
from the beautiful plain on which it stood, and a miserable, dirty,
Arab town has reared itself on its ruins, or rather on the soil
which covers its ruins, for all its interest is now under ground.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account