Publisher's Synopsis
The Rev. Dr. William Wright (1837-1899) spent 10 years in Syria, and was a contemporary and friend of people like Sir Richard Burton, Lady Jane Digby and Lord Frederick Leighton. In 1865 he and his wife Annie left for Damascus to take up a missionary post for the British and Foreign Bible Society. Wright believed that the Bible could to some extent be taken as a historical document and it was this that led to his passion for archaeology and subsequent research into the Hittite civilisation. Inspired by his ancestor’s eventful life, Huw Owen-Jones decided to follow in his footsteps. He made his first trip to Syria in 2004 and, a year later completed a horse trip from Damascus through the Great Syrian Desert to the ruined oasis of Palmyra. He explored parts of Syria that have rarely been visited by foreigners and met distinguished descendants of the families whom Wright befriended. Wright loved Syria and promoted education and medicine amongst the constant warring sects. He wrote home in pride at having a Christian, a Druze, and a Moslem sit side by side in the classroom – something that had not happened before. He also promoted Braille, Arabic and spoke many languages including Ancient Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Turkish, French, German and the various dialects of the Bedouin tribes and was able to translate Egyptian hieroglyphs.
