A compilation and translation of Arabic proverbs by the Swiss traveler Johann Ludwig Burckhardt (1784-1817). In addition to visits to Cairo, Damascus, Lebanon and other points in the Middle East, he was one of the few Europeans to venture to Mecca. This book highlights the witticisms he recorded along his travels in Cairo, Egypt, to which Burkhardt adds cultural and figurative explanations. The proverbs are alphabetized by the Arabic letter beginning a phrase. For those readers less familiar with the language, each entry is also numbered.