Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (1784-1817) was born in Lausanne, Switzerland. In 1806 he first travelled to Africa with an expedition that aimed to explore the continent's inland. Three years later, he was in North Africa where he travelled widely disguised as an Arab. He became so fluent in Arabic dialects and customs that he was able to pass as an Arab merchant, gaining him access to Mecca in 1814, a city forbidden to non-Muslims. Arabic Proverbs was originally compiled by Sheref Addin Ibn Asad in Cairo at the beginning of the 18th century. Burckhardt translation was first published in 1830 as he believed these sayings may 'interest and gratify the Orientalist'. The work provides an intriguing insight into the mannerisms and customs of Egyptian people two-hundred years ago.

Completed just before his death in 1817 by one of the foremost European pioneers in Arabic studies. Reprint with Introduction by C.E. Bosworth.

John Lewis Burckhardt (1784-1817) was a Swiss explorer who is best remembered for his rediscovery of the ancient city of Petra in modern Jordan. In 1809 he was commissioned by the African Association to discover the source of the River Niger. In preparation for this journey, for which he needed to pass as a Muslim, Burckhardt spent two years exploring and studying Arabic and Islamic law in Aleppo, before travelling widely in Arabia and Egypt. This volume, first published posthumously in 1830 by the African Association, contains a collection of Arabic proverbs. The main group derives from an eighteenth-century collection, to which Burckhardt added proverbs he had heard during his residence in Cairo. Given in both Cairene Arabic and English, with Burckhardt's explanations of the context in which they were used, these proverbs provide a valuable source for the language and culture of nineteenth-century Cairo.