About the Book
Hatshepsut was an Egyptian queen who ruled in the Eighteenth Dynasty some 3,500 years ago. Her story, told at the start in her own words and pictures, follows her ships on their famous expedition to the legendary land of Punt. According to ancient Egyptian lore, this mysterious land - 'the land of the gods' to the Egyptians - was found to the south of Egypt, but informed opinion differs on its exact location. Punt was a source of many items precious to the Egyptians, but, although they journeyed thence frequently throughout their long history, Punt eventually disappears into the mists of time before the advent of the Christian Era.
Author and illustrator Eric Robson searches for the location and significance of Punt through a systematic study of the evidence available, particularly the precious products brought back from Punt, and provides a wealth of historical background concerning Ethiopia, Southern Arabia and Egypt. His life-long interest in Ethiopian history and archaeology and his love of the country and its culture have inspired him to publish In Search of Punt: Queen Hatshepsut's Land of Marvels. Intended for the reader with a general interest in the region, it is not an academic study - bibliographical references have been omitted from the text. However, sources of in-depth academic research can be found in the bibliography. Robson has presented his material in concise and accessible prose, and the precise captions for his sketches will draw both casual and technical interest from readers.
Little is known about this enigmatic land, including its precise location in the ancient world. In the end, the author leaves it to the reader to decide how to get there.
Eric Robson, Fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, has worked for some sixteen years in Ethiopia between 1964 and the present, first for the Ethiopian Ministry of Education on the production of school textbooks, and later for the British Council and UNICEF. He has also worked for the British Institute in East Africa (Cambridge University) in Aksum and assisted BBC television with filming Ethiopian wildlife. He has designed stamps for the Ministry of Posts, traveled widely, and explored and mapped the caves of Sof Omar in Bale region. |
Introduction
Some years ago I was trying out a recipe from a new Indian cookery book. The first stage was to dry-roast some cumin seed in a pan, which I did. No sooner had the beautiful aroma reached my nose, than I found myself back in Egypt. I could feel the bustle of the bazaar, hear the plaintive Arab music and even feel the warm sun on my back. It was only then that I realized that Egyptians must use cumin in their cooking - in my sojourns |
