La Representation de la Syrie dans Ie Voyage en Egypteet en Syrie en 1787 de lIdeologue VOLNEY

When the young man (Volney) sailed from Marseille in December 1782 heading for the east, he was a modest traveler with a fragile health and was unknown with a careful personality. He headed east without any help or support where he stayed for three years. After his return to France, he published a comprehensive book about Egypt and Syria under the title “Voyage to Egypt and Syria”, which was immediately recognized as a successful book and due to abundant and recent information, Volney had become the model of “the philosopher- traveler”, to be followed. This research aims at studying Volney's travel to Syria in particular, because it is a very rich reservoir of documents about Syria. This book has drawn our attention due to what it has of various and important topics and because it sheds light on some unrevealed Syrian customs, traditions and various institutions. Thus, this study aims at answering the following questions: - What is the nature of Volney`s relation with the other (the Oriental)? - To what extent could the author control this relation? - How did the author embody the pretended scientific discourse that he resorted to in order to convey his impressions? - What is the precise function of the critical discourse against the tyrant regime in Syria during that era? - What are the stylistic and syntactic devices used by the author to ensure the text coherence and help specify Volney`s project with clarity?