8vo. vi, [1], 397 pp., engraved frontispiece, half-title, 3 wood engraved plates, vignette on title page, original cloth, lightly soiled and rubbed round edges, gilt decoration on upper cover, appendix, index, from Bath Public Library with usual blindstamps and label verso front cover, otherwise copy clean and in very good condition, published for the Committee of The Palestine Exploration Fund, Richard Bentley & Son, London, new edition, 1885.

Synopsis

The Palestine Exploration Fund placed Conder, the grandson of Josiah Conder, in charge of the survey of Western Palestine in 1872. This survey was an extension of the survey of Jerusalem undertaken by Sir Charles Wilson. Conder remained in Palestine until 1875 when he and his party were attacked by a group of Arabs; he was invalided back to England in October of that year, having carried out a survey of 4700 square miles. This work covers his explorations in 1881-82, of Kadesh, the sacred city of the Hittites. He surveyed during his stay 500 square miles, but Turkish officials ordered him to stop. Lord Dufferin tried hard with the Sultan to obtain a Firman necessary for Condor to resume work, but he failed. In this work Conder describes the situation of the Arabs and their folklore in Belka region, and ends it with a long chapter entitled “ The Future of Syria”.
Bibliographic reference: Blackmer 390 for first edition.