Amelia Edwards

Photographer:

Unknown

Title:

Amelia Edwards

Description:

Before going to Egypt, Amelia Edwards had already achieved some success as a writer and journalist. She was to become one of the most prominent writers of her age, and her work included several travel books, the most famous of which is the record of her 6 month journey up the River Nile, A Thousand Miles Up the Nile.

Edwards and a friend chartered a dahabeeyah and a crew and sailed up the Nile to Aswan and then beyond the borders of Egypt into Nubia. This was in 1873, a remarkable feat for two women at that time.

Amelia began work on the book on her return to England in 1874. She read extensively and consulted respected Egyptologists on matters of historical and archaeological detail. She also took up the study of hieroglyphs. By 1878, she was writing reviews and articles on Egyptology for weekly journals such as The Academy, and quickly became an authority in her own right.

Amelia Edwards' greatest work was the founding of the Egypt Exploration Fund (now Society). She was very concerned about the state of the ancient monuments; many were suffering from neglect; others were being vandalized. The Egyptian government had neither the interest nor the resources necessary to protect them. The Fund was established in March, 1882.

Click Here for Picture of the Day Archive

Note: If you have a picture you would like featured, please email to photos@touregypt.net with "Egypt Picture of the Day" in subject line.