Dedlov, V.L.: Adventures and Impressions. In Italy and Egypt. Notes on Turkey

Title

Prikliucheniia i vpechatleniia. V Italii i Egipte. Zametki o Turtsii, Sankt-Peterburg 1888

Adventures and Impressions. In Italy and Egypt. Notes on Turkey

Keywords

Summary

The book is divided into three main parts: Italy, Egypt, and Turkey. It includes an author’s preface and a brief introductory section about the journey from Russia to Venice. In the preface, the author mentions that four people took part in the journey, and he dedicates the book to his fellow travellers: Adrian Prakhov, Aleksandr Krivoshein, and Count Gleb Tolstoi. The notes span from November 6, 1886, to May 13, 1887. Dedlov states that his aim is “to be a tourist as little as possible”, focusing on conveying general impressions and writing only the truth. The journey begins in Italy, where Dedlov experiences a sense of melancholy, describing Italy as a once-grand country now in decay, contrasting its glorious past with its declining present. Once in Egypt, Dedlov notes the similarities between Alexandria and Odessa. In Cairo, he conveys his negative impressions of the harsh British colonial policy. He visits local mosques, the Bulak Museum, observes belly dancers, and witnesses a “battle by the pyramids” caused by two drunk British officers injuring a peasant’s son. The next chapters consist of letters about the journey up the Nile and a visit to Thebes, where Dedlov explores temples and tombs. He observes Egyptian fields, describing the Nile’s water regime, the canal system for water and silt management, as well as the five thousand-years old “sakieh” water-draining device. The closing chapter of the Egyptian section covers the journey down the Nile, after which the travellers reach the Suez Canal and proceed to Palestine.

Bio

Vladimir Kign-Dedlov was a novelist, essayist, literary critic, art historian, and traveller. Born into a German-Polish family, he graduated from the law faculty of Saint Petersburg University, making his literary debut in 1876. In addition to literary prose, he also published essays and, for a period, wrote critical feuilletons and sketches. In the 1880s, Dedlov embarked on numerous journeys to the Russian East, France, Turkey, Italy, and Egypt, subsequently publishing many of his travel notes. He is also the author of From Far Away. Letters from the Road (1887).

Sources

Kratkaia literaturnaia entsiklopediia, t. 2, Moskva 1962, p. 551-552;

T. Sipenkova, “Kak mozhno men’she byt’ turistom…” o knige V. L. Kigna Prikliucheniia i vpechatleniia v Italii i Egipte. Zametki o Turtsii, “Vestnik Sankt-Peterburgskogo universiteta. Vostokovedenie i afrikanistika”, 2009, 3, p. 91-100;

O. Skibina, Tvorchestvo V.L. Kigna-Dedlova: Problematika i poetika: monografiia, Orenburg 2013.

M.E.