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REVIEWS MOSES AND AKHENATEN: rituals before returning to Egypt to try to The Secret History of Egypt at the regain his throne, says Osman, but finally Time of the Exodus dying at the hands of Seti I before he could by Ahmed Osman set foot in the Promised Land. Osman also Bear & Co./Inner Traditions, USA, 2002 points out that the Ten Commandments have ISBN 1-59143-004-6 (262pp tpb) commonalities with the Egyptian Book of Price: A$42.00; NZ$54.95 + p&p; the Dead. His study makes for an interest- £15.99: euro22.90: US$ 8.00 ing alternative perspective—but in my mind, Availability: Australia—Brumby Books, tel ‘he chronology is still open to question. (03) 9761 5535; NZ—Southern Publishers Group, tel (09) 309 6930; UK—Deep IN QUEST OF LOST WORLDS: Books, tel 020 8693 0234; Europe— Journey to Algeria, Ethiopia, Yucatan NEXUS Office; USA—Inner Traditions, tel and Beyond (802) 767 3174, website by Count Byron de Prorok http://www.I|nnerTraditions.com Adventures Unlimited Press, USA, 2002 (first published 1937) ISBN 1-932813-56-9 (309pp tpb) Price: A$39.00; NZ$43.00 + p&p; £15.50 inc. p&p; euro21,90 ; US$16.95 + s&h Availability: Australia/NZ/UK/Europe— NEXUS offices; USA—Adventures Unlimited, tel (815) 253 6390, website http:/;www.adventuresunlimitedpress.com etween 1925 and 1934, the Anglo- Hungarian archaeologist/explorer Count Byron Khun de Prorok led a number of off- the-beaten-track expeditions to northern Africa as well as Central America. His account, The Quest of Lost Worlds, was pub- lished in 1936, and this is a reprint of the original that includes the quaintly hand- ef History of Eqyat at He Time of the Exodus ARES CSA drawn maps and photographs. Apparently the Count was a populariser of his thesis throws one more spanner in archaeology yet had a fascination for occult the works, as Cairo-born, UK-based subjects—a combination that stood him in author Ahmed Osman puts a different spin good stead in his travels. These five expedi- on biblical and Egyptian history, arguing tions start with Algeria in 1925-26, with the that Moses was not only Egyptian but was discovery of the tomb of the legendary one and the same person as the "heretic" Queen of the Tuaregs in the A'Haggar Pharaoh Akhenaten who introduced a mountain range in the Sahara, and move on monotheistic Sun god religion into Egypt. to Libya with the excavation of the mega- Here we have another reworking of events _ lithic Jupiter--Ammon temple in 1926-28. surrounding the life of Moses, where Moses _Next, there's a short trip to Tripolitania in had Egyptian parents and was brought up by —_‘1931 to visit strange dunes and tunnels. The Israelite relatives—as opposed to being of Count's narrative reads like a true explorer's Hebrew birth and adopted by the wife of the _ travelogue, full of insights about the people Egyptian Pharaoh of the time. The veracity he encounters, their cultural and religious of these claims depends in part on which traditions, their architecture and the land- chronology you use, and Osman's dates are scapes in which they live. at odds with the so-called New Chronology In 1932-33, the Count turned his attentions and new archaeological findings. to Mexico, to search for Atlantis at Chichén Osman is convinced that Akhenaten— Itzd in the Yucatan, and to Guatemala, to Moses—did not die when claimed, but took — uncover Mayan pyramids. But he was back refuge for 25 years at the Mount Sarabit in Africa in 1933-34, on the quest for King (Serabit/Mount Horeb) temple and mining Solomon's fabled mines. Adventures like outpost in the Sinai Peninsula—the same these are hard to come by these days! temple that explorer Petrie discovered in As a finale to this edition, modern-day 1904 and which is linked to ancient white explorer/publisher David Childress reprints powder gold alchemy. However, Osman the compelling A'Haggar wall paintings doesn't enlarge on this strange substance or from a rare 1959 book, The Search for the the alchemical rites associated with it (see Tassili Frescoes, by Henri Lhote. These Laurence Gardner's article this issue). paintings, like many of the Count's travels, At Sarabit, the Pharaoh-in-exile continued hint at a civilisation that once flourished in to develop his monotheistic religious ideas, what is now the Sahara Desert. no doubt adopting some of the local Semitic An inspiring detour into times past. rituals before returning to Egypt to try to regain his throne, says Osman, but finally dying at the hands of Seti I before he could set foot in the Promised Land. Osman also points out that the Ten Commandments have commonalities with the Egyptian Book of the Dead. His study makes for an interest- ing alternative perspective—but in my mind, the chronology is still open to question. IN QUEST OF LOST WORLDS: Journey to Algeria, Ethiopia, Yucatan and Beyond by Count Byron de Prorok Adventures Unlimited Press, USA, 2002 (first published 1937) ISBN 1-932813-56-9 (309pp tpb) Price: A$39.00; NZ$43.00 + p&p; £15.50 inc. p&p; euro21,90 ; US$16.95 + s&h Availability: Australia/NZ/UK/Europe— NEXUS offices; USA—Adventures Unlimited, tel (815) 253 6390, website http:/;www.adventuresunlimitedpress.com etween 1925 and 1934, the Anglo- Hungarian archaeologist/explorer Count Byron Khun de Prorok led a number of off- the-beaten-track expeditions to northern Africa as well as Central America. His account, The Quest of Lost Worlds, was pub- lished in 1936, and this is a reprint of the original that includes the quaintly hand- drawn maps and photographs. Apparently the Count was a populariser of archaeology yet had a fascination for occult subjects—a combination that stood him in good stead in his travels. These five expedi- tions start with Algeria in 1925-26, with the discovery of the tomb of the legendary Queen of the Tuaregs in the A'Haggar mountain range in the Sahara, and move on to Libya with the excavation of the mega- lithic Jupiter-Ammon temple in 1926-28. Next, there's a short trip to Tripolitania in 1931 to visit strange dunes and tunnels. The Count's narrative reads like a true explorer's travelogue, full of insights about the people he encounters, their cultural and religious traditions, their architecture and the land- scapes in which they live. In 1932-33, the Count turned his attentions to Mexico, to search for Atlantis at Chichén Itzd in the Yucatan, and to Guatemala, to uncover Mayan pyramids. But he was back in Africa in 1933-34, on the quest for King Solomon's fabled mines. Adventures like these are hard to come by these days! As a finale to this edition, modern-day explorer/publisher David Childress reprints the compelling A'Haggar wall paintings from a rare 1959 book, The Search for the Tassili Frescoes, by Henri Lhote. These paintings, like many of the Count's travels, hint at a civilisation that once flourished in what is now the Sahara Desert. An inspiring detour into times past. at He Time of the Exodus Antvihas ( aaan 70 = NEXUS www.nexusmagazine.com FEBRUARY — MARCH 2003