ADDISON, Charles Greenstreet. Damascus and Palmyra: A Journey to the East, with a Sketch of Syria, under Ibrahim Pasha, vol. I, London, Richard Bentley, 1838.
Charles Greenstreet Addison (?-1866) was a British barrister and author. He followed a career in law, and, aside from the account of his journey to the East, composed two legal treatises and a history of the Knights Templar.
Addison started out on his voyage in April 1835. He reached Patras by way of Malta, continued on to Delphi and Athens, and toured Argolis, Aegina and Corinthia. He then sailed to Syros and finally to Izmir by way of Delos and Chios. After visiting the Troad, he reached Istanbul. In June 1835 he was at the Bosporus, Bursa, and the inland of Asia Minor, near the western coast. He left Izmir in September 1835 and travelled to Syria after stopping over at Samos and Rhodes islands. While in Syria, Addison visited Damascus, Palmyra and Baalbek in modern-day Lebanon.
In his account, published in 1838, Addison appears interested mainly in the antiquities, the people he encounters, the exotic feel of the cities and natural beauty. He was familiar with the texts of earlier British travellers and made sharp comments on the Bavarian monarchy which ruled the Greek state. The plates which illustrate his work were based on drawings by W. Thackeray and lithographed by G. E. Madeley.
Written by Ioli Vingopoulou
