Memoirs of a Babylonian Princess, (Maria Theresa Asmar) Daughter of Emir Abdallah Asmar Vol. I

The story of a Christian Iraqi woman who was born in Mosul in 1804, as the daughter of a wealthy Emir. Reminiscences of childhood in Baghdad and detailed account of the social, and religious life in Iraq. A superb copy of a rare account of travels through Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. Asmar (1804-c.1870) managed, against tremendous obstacles, to set up a school for women in Baghdad. She then welcomed in western Christian missionaries who promptly bribed the Turkish government to hand over the licence to them and then terminated Asmar's project. Asmar includes lengthy account of her pilgrimage to the Holy places in Palestine, and her visit to Damascus, Palmyra, Beirut, and her service for many years as a companion to the wife of Emir Bashir al-Chehabi at Beit al-Din in Lebanon (including account of Lady Hester Stanhope, a regular visitor to Beit al-Din palace) until her departure for Rome in 1832.-Print ed.