The Scottish traveller James Bruce, who reached Cairo in 1768, explained that he was on his way up the Nile merely to see what was there. In his footsteps there followed a multi-national crowd of traders & tourists, soldiers & fortune-seekers, scholars & empire-builders, lured by Egypt`s rich & ancient history, her compelling landscapes, the elusive ruins of once-magnificent civilisations or her increasingly strategic importance in world politics. Spanning two centuries of Western fascination
- from Bruce`s intrepid journey up the Nile to the departure of the last British troops from Suez
- ” Lifting the Veil” portrays the shifting interests, dreams & failures, passions & intrigues of an extraordinary cast of characters. From Napoleon Bonaparte with his schemes to control the overland route to India, to tomb-raiders such as Giovanni Belzoni; from scholars like hieroglyph-decoder Champollion to Thomas Cook & his wide-eyed tourists & Cromer & his bureaucrats, this fast-paced & richly-described narrative illuminates a bygone world & charts the end of imperialism & the advent of Egyptian Independence.