Introduction

Swiss explorer and eccentric named johan ludwig burhart was travelling in the middle east. In 18 12, he set out on the journey from syria to cairo with the intention of securing passage across the great sandy sea of the sahara. It was here that his guides told him of a series of mysterious ruins hidden in a narrow valley near by - known as wadi musa or the valley of moses. At this point, burkart was still in disguise as an arab and he contrived an excuse to visit the ruins. But it's not clear whether any one in the arab world was fooled.