Die übergangsländer von Asien und Afrika begreifend : Arabien nebst Mesopotamien und Syrien und das Nilgebiet. . .

This extremely rare separately-issued map of the Middle East was made as a private commission by a group of Münich grandees led by Gotthilf Heinrich von Schubert (1780 - 1860), a prominent intellectual, especially to commemorate Duke Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria (1808 - 1888)] 1838 excursion to Egypt, Palestine and Lebanon.
The Duke was a much-beloved, larger-than-life figure whose eccentric, yet kind persona and exciting adventures captured the imagination of both Bavarians and those beyond. In 1838, he led a party on a trip of cultural exploration to Egypt, Palestine and Lebanon, whereupon he gained extraordinary experiences, returning to Munich with stunning antiquities.
Curiously, his official 1839 account of his trip was not illustrated by a map, so in 1845, Schubert et al. stepped in to make up for this oversight, producing the present fine work. Geographically, the map is highly accurate, featuring an especially meticulous labeling of regions and sites, employing transliterations of Arabic names (the table below the title also translates some Arabic geographical terms into German).
The territories still controlled by the Ottoman Empire are colored pink, while lands under the control of the Khedivate of Egypt (an autonomous vassal of the Ottomans which ruled from 1805) is colored yellow.

The itinerary of the Duke Max in Bayern’s 1838 trip to Egypt and the Levant is shown, by way of the tracks of his ship sailing in the Mediterranean and the names of the places he visited underlined by orange manuscript lines. It shows that the Duke sailed from Europe into Alexandria, Egypt, and then proceeded up the Nile to Cairo and the Pyramids of Giza, and from there stopping at numerous places en route to ‘Theben’ (Thebes), reaching as far south as ‘Waddi Halfa’ (Wadi Halfa), Nubia (Sudan). From there his party descended the Nile before entering Palestine (Israel), where they visited numerous locations, notably Jerusalem, ‘Jafa’ (Jaffa) and ‘Akku’ (Acre). From there, they travelled to Lebanon, reaching as far north as Beirut, before sailing back to Alexandria, before heading back to Europe.
Duke Max in Bayern Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria (1808 – 1888), popularly known as "Max in Bayern," was a member of the junior branch of the House of Wittelsbach. He is perhaps best known as the father of Empress Elizabeth of Austria, who was affectionately known as "Sisi". He was also an adventurer, an antiquarian, and perhaps the era’s foremost promoter of Bavarian folk music, endearing him to the public. He is also known for establishing and tastefully improving several magnificent residences in Bavaria.
In 1838, the Duke led a party on an expedition of antiquarian and cultural discovery to Egypt and the Holy Land. While the region had long had a legendary place in Western culture, recently revived, such an enterprise was still considered an ambitious, exotic and dangerous endeavour.
Notable aspects of the trip included the occasion when Max and his companions climbed the Great Pyramid of Gaza and proceeded to yodel in true Alpine style! Max also bought several child slaves from the Cairo market, and promptly gave them their freedom. He proved to have exquisite taste in antiquities, purchasing several mummies, statues and architectural fragments, including pieces from the famous Temple of Dendur (objects which were taken back to Bavaria). Later, in Jerusalem, Max paid for the restoration of the Church of the Flagellation on the Via Dolorosa.
Shortly upon his return to Bavaria, Max wrote an entertaining account of his trip, Wanderung nach dem Orient im Jahre 1838 (Munich: Georg Franz, 1839). It is considered a classic of German and Middle Eastern travel literature, although a notable drawback was that it lacked a map of the itinerary of the voyage.