author
Ali Bey
An explorer, spy, and travel writer of the Spanish Enlightenment, he became famous for journeys through North Africa and the Middle East under the name Ali Bey el Abbassi. His writings blend sharp observation with the drama of disguise, making his life almost as gripping as his books.
2 Audiobooks
Kelet tündér világa, vagy Szaif Züliázán szultán. (2. kötet) Aráb rege
by Ali Bey, Samuel L. (Samuel Lorenzo) Knapp
Kelet tündér világa, vagy Szaif Züliázán szultán. (1. kötet) Aráb rege
by Ali Bey, Samuel L. (Samuel Lorenzo) Knapp
About the author
Born Domingo Francisco Jorge Badía y Leblich in Barcelona in 1767, he is better known by the pseudonym Ali Bey el Abbassi. He was a Spanish explorer, soldier, and spy whose travels in the early 19th century made him one of the most striking travel writers connected with the age of Enlightenment.
Traveling in disguise as an Abbasid prince from Aleppo, he journeyed through Morocco, Tripoli, Greece, and Egypt, and became especially well known for reaching Mecca at a time when very few Europeans had done so. The accounts published from these journeys helped build his reputation for vivid firsthand description and for the unusual mix of scholarship, performance, and political intrigue in his life.
Ali Bey died in 1818 in what is now Jordan. Today he is remembered not only as an adventurer, but also as a writer whose travel narratives opened a window onto places that fascinated European readers of his time.