Africa Explorata 1, Köln 1996
Gerhard Rohlfs:
DREI MONATE IN DER LIBYSCHEN WÜSTE
MIT BEITRÄGEN VON P. ASCHERSON, W. JORDAN UND K. ZITTEL
(Three months in the Libyan Desert with contributions from P. Ascherson, W. Jordan and K. Zittel)

Reprint of the 1875 Cassel Edition

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406 pp.
16 full-page photographs
29 illustrations
1 coloured fold-out map
linen-bound, size 21,1 x 14,8 cm

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Gerhard Rohlfs, 14/4/1831 - 2/6/1896, together with Heinrich Barth and Gustav Nachtigal, ranks as one of the most outstanding 19th century German explorers of Africa. Following several years of travel in northern Africa, in the winter of 1873-74 Rohlfs led the first – and for the next hundred years what would remain the only – interdisciplinary expedition in western Egypt away from the oases – the then completely unknown Libyan Desert. Leading scientists of the time representing various fields, including the geologist and paleontologist K. Zittel, the geographer and geodetician W. Jordan as well as the botanist P. Ascherson, all took part in this venture, that was sponsored by the Khedive of Egypt. The first photographs of the oases and their peoples, and of the desert landscapes observed during the expedition were also made at this time by Ph. Remelé.
Although the expedition's original goal – to find a connecting route to the west and the Kufra Oasis – had to be abandoned, because the camels were unable to cross the up to 100 m high dunes of the Great Sand Sea, the expedition did provide a basis for current research of the eastern Sahara.
This reprint of the travel account – the original of which can only rarely be obtained and at great cost – includes all of the photographs and the coloured map. It was published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Gerhad Rohlfs' death and to provide a rich source of geographical, ethnographical, botanical and archaeological observations for both the scientist and the interested desert traveler.