Kitab al-'ifadah wa al-'i'tibar fi al-'umur al-musahadah wa al-hawadit al-mu'ayanah bi-ard Misr, by 'Abd al-Latif al-Bagdadi (1162-1231 AD) is a fascinating work; it represents one of the best known and most important manuscripts concerning Egypt during the period between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries AD. The author, through his gaze and with a clear and shrewd use of language and style, describes several characteristic aspects of the Nile country: the landscape, the animals, the plants, the monuments, the boats, the peculiar dishes, without forgetting the effects of the famine, or the...