"British and French Soldiers in Egypt and the Levant, ..." Topic

…1798-1920: Introductory Text.

"The French and British armed forces were involved in four conflicts on Egyptian territory between 1798 and 1918, all of which stimulated metropolitan interest in the region. European cultural producers in Egypt and at home represented significant events, the landscapes of the Nile valley, the daily lives of Europeans at war, and of Egyptians too.

The arrival of a French fleet carrying 38,000 troops in 1798 marked the point of departure for a new, intensive phase of European engagement with Egypt. Bonaparte and the Directory regarded Egypt as a staging post for the planned overland invasion of British possessions in India. The cultural resonance of Classical Egypt in Enlightenment France led to the deployment of a team of 160 artists, scientists, engineers and mathematicians (the savants) alongside the military component of the expedition…"
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Amicalement
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Of course, there are plenty of British and French soldiers in the Levant in 1940-41. But no one at home is paying attention to the locals and their archaeology any more.

The Khedive of Egypt donated "Cleopatra's Needle" to Britain in gratitude for the contributions of the Immortals Nelson and Abercrombie to the deliverance of his country from the French! And it still stands, quite close to Waterloo bridge, on the North bank of the river Thames.

I saw it!!

Amicalement
Armand