AfTeR - Vik, S.N.: Travel Notes from Zoological Expeditions to North-Eastern India and the Blue Nile

Author

Vik, Sergei Nikolaevich (1866-1933)

Title

Putevye zametki pri zoologicheskikh ekspeditsiiakh na severo-vostoke Indii i na Golubom Nile. 1912-1913, Sankt-Peterburg 1914

Travel Notes from Zoological Expeditions to North-Eastern India and the Blue Nile

Keywords

Hunting, Illustrations, North Africa, Travel Notes, Vik

Summary

The book includes photographic illustrations and an introduction where the author clarifies that these travel notes focus on the fauna of the places he visited, which are virtually unknown to the Russian reader due to the almost complete lack of specialised literature in the field. In 1913, after a trip to India the previous year, the author reached Cairo, departing from Odessa on a boat. Once in Cairo, he visited the Russian embassy and the British war ministry due to the presence of weapons in his luggage. After five days, he left for Khartoum, the current capital of Sudan, which he describes as a quickly developing city. In contrast, Omdurman, the ancient capital, is noted for its historical significance and the tomb of Mahdi.The author devotes a few pages to the description of commerce in both cities, then describes the geography, climate, and government structures of Sudan. After visiting the capital city, he organises a caravan into the depths of the country, reaching several villages near the Nile. The area is green and wooded, but hunting is restricted due to protected areas, especially for elephants. He also makes anthropological notes about the local population, predominantly Arabic, and describes several hunting episodes where he kills a buffalo, a lion, and a crocodile. After many days in the wilderness, the caravan reaches the village of Beda, where the author attends a local wedding. From there, they return to Khartoum by train.

Bio

Sergei von Vik was a traveller and writer. He served in the Don Cossack regiment and published his Travel Notes shortly before the outset of World War I. He was a correspondent for the Zoological Museum in Saint Petersburg from 1913 to 1914, which he provided with an ornithological collection gathered in northern and northwestern Iran in 1914. Before travelling to Iran, he had journeyed through India and Sudan.