Memoirs of an Arabian Princess from Zanzibar

This book provides the personal account of a woman who was the daughter (one of many children in fact) of the Sultan of Zanzibar. Her account of growing up in a harem, an environment that in her description is far different from what most would imagine, and the inter-actions of the Sultan with his extensive family are interesting as are her observations about social conditions in the Zanzibar of her era. What is even more interesting are her observations and comments about the contrasts between the European society and culture she entered upon her marriage to a German merchant and that of Zanzibar. The book is an important historical record that should be more widely known and read.

This non-fiction autobiographical account of the Sultan of Zanzibar's daughter, a princess given birth to in 1844 in the palace by her Circassian mother is educational, if not fascinating, history. Emily Ruete (her Christian name given her after escaping her country to marry her German lover) writes about her life being raised in the harem of the reigning sultan of that time while detailing customs, religion and politics of the times. I am astounded by the parallels in modern day misunderstanding of muslim religious beliefs and tenants. Throughout, she makes comparisons between that and European culture, making for thought provoking reading. I would definitely recommend to women readers and readers of history and theology.

Emily was born in Zanzibar as Sayyida Salama bint Said in 1844. In this book, she mostly talks about the way her people live and how it differs from life in Germany. She also tells stories from her childhood and early adult life, focusing on her life in Zanzibar. Eventually, she married a German man and moved to Germany, but she did return to her homeland one more time before her death in 1924.I found this book to be really interesting. I think it would be the most beneficial if you were creating characters for a book and your setting was this time period and this particular place. The author is very thorough and covers a wide range of subjects. She covers everything from a day in her life to holidays she observed and what she ate and wore. If you have any interest in this place during this time period, I highly recommend this book. You'll learn a lot.

I bought this thinking it'd give a bit more insight as to the life of females in Islamic Zanzibar but it fails. The author seems completely ignorant as to what is going on around her, and to her. At one point in the early part of the book she claims that contrary to popular belief, males and females are treated completely equally, with girls just as likely to inherit as boys in a family. And then she goes on just a little later about how her brothers are all given a house and servants when they come of age, yet the sisters aren't given that same advantage (probably because the girls will be married off and become the responsibility of a husband). She says one thing and then almost immediately contradicts it with the reality--and she doesn't even realize she's just made herself a liar. She leads a fairly easy life of privilege and doesn't seem to have much interest in anything other than herself and her pleasures so she misses so much in life. It got pretty boring pretty fast and I began to question why she bothered to write a memoir, consider there's nothing really to remember. She really hasn't lead anything close to an interesting life and hasn't done much with the time on earth she has been given.

I have been reading many books about Muslims in many different times and places. This memoir stands apart from them in that it is a first person account of life in the Sultan's homes by a woman who was born there and lived there until her late teens.The most enjoyable parts of the book, for me, were when she described the matrimonial ceremony, and described the day to day protocol for eating, praying, and visiting friends.More than once, I was forced to pause and seriously consider some of the Arab customs pertaining to feeding the destitute, and the system of taxation levied upon the wealthy, whereby they had to tithe 10% of all their gains to the community. And this was done without laws imposed from the state, but rather as an unquestioned responsibility to the religion.Finally, I learned a lot from the author's ability to jump from Zanzibar to Germany in Victorian times. She has a unique view on both Eastern and European culture. She often come out with some zingers as she compare the two cultures which make one stop and really think about the superiority of one over the other.For anyone who is interested in Arab culture from 150 years ago, I beg you to read this book. It is undoubtedly more authentic than any scholarly treatise of the time. It is a delight. Do not discount it. Do not let it pass you by.

It was quite interesting it gave me a background insight of what occurs in their culture but I wanted a more detailed love story with her German husband all I got of it that she was hidden so she could escape and marry and that was about it all of a sudden he died and she was left with three childern to care for and her voyage back to her native country. I really wanted more information. but all in all it was an Ok book.