Reisen in Sud-Arabien, Mahra-Land und Hadramut.

Leo Hirsch was a German who was inspired by the travelogue of A. Wrede and Heinrich Maltzan. In 1893 he became the first European to penetrate Wadi Hadhramaut and visit its towns such as Shibam and Tarim. This work was written three years after the completion of the journey. Hirsch began planning to travel to Hadhramaut in 1888 during a voyage to Aden, but after encountering many problems, he left Aden for Somalia. However, his journey to Aden had opened him the possibility to try again, by way of corresponding with a Yemeni of the Makkawi family. In December 1892, Hirsch landed again in Aden, after receiving help from an officer in the East India Company, who had travelled several times between Hadhramaut and India, and who provided him with maps of the region.
He finally succeeded on 1 July, 1893 to reach Mukallah, by following the route previously taken by Wrede. Hirsch travelled to the city of Hora, and from there set out into Hadhramaut. Hirsch provides not only new insights into the cities and towns of the coast and the Wadi, but also gives a lively scientific description of his route, as well as rich information, which added many basic facts to the physical and geographical knowledge of Hadhramaut. He describes in detail the topography of the Hadramaut region, its tribes, irrigation, Sultans and the many different plants.
Bibliographic references: Henze II, 588; Hilprecht p. 724.