Travels between the years 1765 and 1773 through part of Africa, Syria, Egypt, and Arabia into Abyssinia.
Caption:
An Arab Sheikh.
Educational Notes:
Picture this: The year is 1770, and after years of exploring unfamiliar lands and waters by foot and boat, common modes of transportation at the time, you finally come across exactly what youve been searching for or so you think! This is what happened to Scottish explorer James Bruce who travelled primarily around northern Africa during the late 18th century and recorded his observations in his work, Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile (1790). The only problem was that, despite years of study and travel, Bruce had actually discovered the source of the Blue Nile River, not the Nile River as he set out to find and would claim to have found. Bruces travels along the way were just as adventurous. At one point, as he was crossing Arab lands by boat and his vessel ran aground unexpectedly, Bruce was even mistaken for a Turk, which landed him a troubling position. When the Arab man pictured on the right in the picture came close enough, Bruce was able to call out a greeting in the other mans language, and Bruces mistaken ethnicity was cleared up. It certainly isnt easy to be an explorer!
