This article is devoted to constructing ideas about Oriental exotica, based on the memoirs of Russians, who visited the Middle East in different years, starting from
the middle of the XIX century and up to the turn of the XIX—XX centuries. The novelty of research approaches to the analysis of ideas about Oriental exoticism lies in the fact that the authors mainly focused on such aspects of a “foreign” country and culture as nature and climate, local flora and fauna. At the same time, clothing, food, manner of communication, customs of the Middle Eastern peoples remained outside the boundaries of the study. The authors of the memoirs were Orthodox pilgrims from among the clergy, tourists, and travelers from the wealthy and educated strata of Russian society. The authors conclude that the natural
and climatic conditions, as well as ideas about the local flora and fauna, were the key markers for constructing Russians' ideas about the exoticism of Middle Eastern countries.
For citation: Baldin K.E., Udalova O.S. Oriental exoticism in the memoirs of Russians, visiting the Middle East (second half of the XIX — early XX centuries), Ivanovo State University Bulletin. Series: Humanities, 2025, iss. 4, pp. 92—103.