[Greece] [Turkey] POUQUEVILLE (François). A Journey to Morea, Constantinople, Albania,...

[Greece] [Turkey] POUQUEVILLE (François). A Journey to Morea, Constantinople, Albania, and Several Other Parts of the Ottoman Empire during the Years 1798, 1799, 1800, and 1801. Paris, Gabon et Cie, 1805. 3 in-8 volumes, contemporary sheepskin. Frontispiece, (3) folios, VII, 1 table, 542 pp.; (2) folios, XV, plate, 287 pp.; Frontispiece, map, XXI, 344 pp. Some scuffing on the leather.

First edition of one of the major French travel accounts devoted to Greece and the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century. It is illustrated with 2 frontispieces, 1 fold-out plate (view of the Castle of the Seven Towers in Constantinople), 1 fold-out chart (agricultural products of the Morea), and 2 fold-out maps (the plain of Ioannina in Albania and the plain of Tripolitza in the Morea)

A physician and diplomat, François Pouqueville (1770–1838) took part in the Egyptian expedition. On his return to France in 1798, the ship on which he was traveling was captured by privateers. Taken to the Peloponnese and then to Constantinople, he remained a prisoner of the Ottomans until 1801. This first major work, which arose from his captivity and the observations he gathered during his travels, quickly gained significant attention throughout Europe. In this work, Pouqueville provides a detailed description of the Morea, Constantinople, Albania, and various regions of the Ottoman Empire, blending personal accounts with geographical, archaeological, and ethnographic observations, as well as reflections on the peoples, customs, administration, and political situation of the territories he traversed.