Rasa'il al-Bushra fi al-Siyaha bi-Almania wa Suwaysra
- Author died
- 1322 AH
- Editions
- Matba'at Dar al-Kutub wa-al-Watha'iq al-Qawmiyyah
Rasa'il al-Bushra fi al-Siyaha bi-Almania wa Suwaysra (Letters of Glad Tidings on Tourism in Germany and Switzerland) is a nineteenth-century Arabic travelogue by the Egyptian scholar and educator Hasan Tawfiq al-Adl (1278–1322 AH / 1862–1904 CE), recording his travels and observations across Germany and Switzerland in 1889 .
Background and Context
After graduating from Dar al-Ulum and studying at al-Azhar, al-Adl was selected by the Egyptian Ministry of Education (Nizarat al-Ma'arif) to teach Arabic language and literature in Berlin, arriving on September 20, 1887 . He served at the Seminar for Oriental Languages founded by Eduard Sachau at the University of Berlin, where he spent more than five years and taught several German and foreign students . During this residency, he undertook tourist and educational journeys through various German and Swiss towns and regions, recording his experiences and impressions .
Content and Themes
The book opens with the doxology: Ḥamdan laka anshaʾta al-kawn fa-abdaʿta ("Praise be to You, Who brought the universe into being and perfected it") . It incorporates personal diaries and letters reflecting the intellectual encounters between the Arab world and European modernization, addressing questions of science, civic order, individual liberty, and cultural differences .
Al-Adl paid specific attention to European educational systems, social life, and infrastructure . During a five-day stay in Zurich, he visited the city's information bureau for foreigners, where he was welcomed by officials and accompanied by local school inspectors, directors, and teachers to inspect local schools and public institutions . He also describes his movements across other Swiss localities, including Lucerne and the village of Meiringen, offering descriptions of alpine landscapes, wooden hotels, and regional travel conditions .
In his historical reflections, al-Adl noted early Arab encounters with German geography, drawing on Zakariya al-Qazwini's Athar al-Bilad to highlight that the Andalusian scholar Abu Bakr al-Turtushi (Ibn Abi Randaqa) had visited German lands centuries earlier, describing cities such as Mainz (rendered Maghnajah) and Schleswig (Shalashwiq) .
Publication History
The work was first printed in 1308 AH / 1891 CE at the Bulaq Press at the expense of the Egyptian Ministry of Education in a 55-page volume that included a map of Germany and part of Switzerland .
In later years, the book was republished in modern editions:
- An edition published by the Supreme Council of Culture in Egypt within the series Min Adab al-Rihlat, prepared by Abd al-Mun'im Muhammad Sa'id with an introductory study by Dr. Muhammad Sabir Arab, combined with al-Adl's al-Rihla ila Berlin .
- An edition issued by Dar al-Suwaydi Cultural Foundation in the United Arab Emirates as part of the Irtiyad al-Afaq travel literature project, bearing the subtitle Rihlat Arabi min Berlin ila Berlin ("A Journey of an Arab from Berlin to Berlin") .
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