John Fryer Thomas Keane was a Yorkshire clergyman’s son who went to sea at the age of twelve. In 1877, still only 23 but having had his share of adventures, he visited Makkah and Medina, one of the few Europeans ever to have done so at that time.
Some of Keane’s experiences were quite extraordinary. In Makkah he witnessed a great flood and the strange sight of pilgrims swimming around the Holy Kabba. He was denounced as a suspected Christian by schoolchildren (he was actually a Muslim convert) and was stabbed during his pilgrimage to Medina. Most surprisingly of all, he discovered a supposedly British lady living alone in the middle of Makkah (in 1877!). Exactly who she was and how she got there is not entirely certain to this day.
On his return to England, Keane published two books about his visit to the Hijaz. These were Six Months in Meccah(sic) and My Journey to Medinah.
 | This English biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about an explorer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |