Spies, Scandals, and Sultans ─ Istanbul in the Twilight of the Ottoman Empire

Egyptian journalist and political writer Muwaylihi (1844-1906) spent an extended period in Istanbul, then returned to his native Cairo in the middle 1890s. There he expressed his opinions of Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire in a series of articles for the newspaper al-Muqattam, which later published them in book form as Ma Hunalik, something like Over Yonder. Angered by the portrayal of him, Ottoman Sultan `Abd al-Hamid ordered the book banned and all copies sent to him. Roger Allen (Arabic and comparative literature, U. of Pennsylvania) was sent a copy during the 1970s, and so offers it to English readers for the first time. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Roger Allen is professor of Arabic and comparative literature at the University of Pennsylvania. He is an editor of several journals, including the Journal of Arabic Literature, Literature East & West, and Middle Eastern Literatures and was the Arabic editor for the series of encyclopedia volumes, World Literature in the 20th Century. He lives in Philadelphia.