…whereas all the others were knocked up before we got half way over that confounded Desert, but I stood it as well as any Arabian in the caravan…My wife insists on taking the pen out of my hand, so I can only say God bless you all.
-Letter from Mr. F. to Mr. C., written On Boardship in the Red Sea near Suez, September 1, 1779, included in Original Letters from India, 1779-1815, Mrs. Eliza Fay
Needless to say, ours wasn’t that kind of trip. We only had one or two Nāqas in our Dabouka and they were already spoken for in Egypt.