“Travel to Egypt and Nubia in 1834-1835” by Abraham S. Norov: Understanding an alien’s culture (imagological aspect)

The research aims to identify the imagological aspects of mid-19th-century travelogues. The article reveals the heritage of a little-known writer of the mid-19th century Abraham S. Norov, who used to write mainly travelogues. His “Travel to Egypt and Nubia in 1834-1835” is analyzed in imagological way. The research is original in that Norov’s works are not studied enough and the poetics of his travelogues is even less studied. Nevertheless, this writer is of interest to the reader because he reveals the multifaceted culture of Egypt, describes the nature, characterizes the main ethnic groups living there (the Arabs, the Turks, the Copts) and pays special attention to their history and religion. As a result, it was found that for Norov (who was a deeply religious Christian), Egypt is of particular interest as a sacred space where the events of the Old and the New Testaments are bound together. Norov’s travelogue is notable also for revealing less-known issues connected with Egypt: the life of Coptic Christians, the social policy of the “father of the new Egypt” Mohammed Ali, the coexistence of Christians and Muslims. The authors of the article also talk about the style of the travelogue, the originality of lyricism of this prose and the writer’s worldview.