A Journal of Two Years' Travel in Persia, Ceylon, Etc

A Journal Of Two Years' Travel In Persia, Ceylon, Etc by Robert B. M. Binning is a two-volume travelogue first published in 1857 that weaves together epistolary diaries and narrative across the author’s travels in India, Ceylon, and Persia. The text opens with an introduction detailing the origins of the manuscript, its transformation for print under the guidance of Dr. Duncan Forbes, and the author’s health-driven voyage in 1850. Volume I surveys Ceylon, tracing a voyage from Madras to Galle and Colombo, then onward to Kandy and Nuera Ellia, Ramboddé, and Matura, before crossing to Bushire and the Persian Gulf. The chapters describe landscapes, climate, flora, and fauna, as well as social life and customs of Europeans, Cingalese, and local groups. It includes extended observations on Buddhism, Buddhism temples, and the role of priests, as well as a critical, sometimes polemical view of Persian politics, religion (Islam, Shi?a and Sunni), language, education, commerce, agriculture (cinnamon, coffee, tea, rice), and the prospects of Christian missionary work in Persia. The travelogue blends antiquarian lore, ethnography, and contemporary political critique, reflecting mid-19th-century imperial perspectives.