Timeline / Before 1800 to After 1930 / TRAVELLING
Date Country Theme
1516 - 1916 Jordan Travelling
The region enjoyed relative stability due to being the route of the hajj sharif (pilgrimage) caravans to Mecca. Sultans and governors took great care of the caravans. Khans, water installations and fortifications were built and maintained along the route and military patrols were formed to protect it.
1516 - 1916 Jordan Travelling
Between 1516 and the mid-19th century the main interest of the Ottoman authorities in the territories of modern Jordan was to maintain the al-shami pilgrimage route of the holy sanctuaries of Islam in Mecca and Medina. To ensure the safety of the pilgrim caravans good relations were maintained with the local Bedouin tribes. An annual payment was paid by the state (khuwwa or surra) to their chiefs to facilitate the passage of the pilgrims or simply to leave them alone.
During the 18th and 19th Germany Travelling centuries
Travellers from Europe approached the notion of the Near East with dreams of a “holy world” and “treasuries of wisdom”. The European desire for the “Orient” arose partly as a result of the Enlightenment, which since the 1800s had already changed the public psyche, filtering down from the rationalism of intellectuals to the scientification of the public. In addition, the many wars of the period, especially the Napoleonic Wars, produced in the people nostalgia; a desire for distance, the unknown, and the halcyon days of the past. Romantic-era authors and philosophers, much disturbed by these very topics (e.g. Friedrich Schlegel), thus attempted to escape into something magical – the “Orient” seemed to them, and their readers, an ideal imaginary world.
Around 1800 Germany Travelling
The wealthiest among the bourgeoisie begin to undertake more exploratory and scientific journeys to “discover” the rest of the world.
1789 - 1791 Germany Travelling
The Brandenburg Gate is built, today it a famous landmark of German reunification.
1800s - 1850s Italy Travelling
The “Grand Tour” falls out of vogue; it used to be a period of educational travel, popular among the European aristocrats in the 17th and 18th centuries. Its primary destination was Italy. In the second half of the 19th century, vanguard artists no longer looked at Roman antiquities and Renaissance for inspiration.
1810 - 1920 Tunisia Travelling
Multiple exploratory missions and studies scoured the Regency of Tunis. These missions provided the first opportunity to discover the remains of antiquity and to open up new fields of research. Date Country Theme
1812 - 1817 Germany Travelling
John Lewis Burckhardt from Switzerland journeyed to the “Orient”, especially to Aleppo in Syria, to study the Near East and Islam. While there, under the pseudonym Sheikh Ibrahim ibn ‘Abd-Allah and living as a Muslim businessman, he not only translated from English to Arabic Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, but also rediscovered the city of Petra (Jordan) in 1812.
1816 Tunisia Travelling
Queen Caroline of Brunswick visits the Regency of Tunis as a guest of the Bey. She is hosted at the Palais de la Rose in Manouba.
1817 Romania Travelling
August–September: Habsburg Emperor Francis I and his wife Carolina visit the cities of Transylvania and are very well received by the population.
1820s - 1860s Germany Travelling
The formation of modern tourism grows in stages, first the nobility, then the educated middle classes and finally citizens of much more modest means. Karl Baedeker, who published the first successful travel book in 1827, was one of the innovators of modern mass tourism. The first group- and corporation-travel tours were inaugurated by the English firm Thomas Cook in 1840. In 1863 the first travel agency opened in Breslau, followed in 1869 by the founding of the German Alp Society, which opened up the Alps to tourism.
1822 - 1930 Germany Travelling
The building of Museumsinsel (Museum Island) in Berlin.
1822 Italy Travelling
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany issues the first official ruling in Italy regarding “those who bathe in the sea in the open air”. Around that time, in Viareggio two wooden bathing establishments are built (one for men, the other for women). They are intended for seawater therapy.
1825 Italy Travelling
More than half a million pilgrims visit Rome on the occasion of the Catholic “Holy Year”. In the Roman Catholic tradition, a Holy Year or Jubilee is a year of forgiveness of sins and reconciliation. Other Holy Years were celebrated in 1875 and in 1900. Rome always attracted Catholic pilgrims, especially during Holy Years.
1830 France Travelling
From 1830, among artists and intellectuals of the 19th century the journey to the ‘Orient’ to discover ancient civilisations becomes a kind of ritual.
1832 France Travelling Date Country Theme
Like many artists, the painter Eugène Delacroix travelled to North Africa, Morocco and Algeria, returning with many paintings and sources for inspiration.
1834 United Kingdom Travelling
A. W. Kinglake’s Eothen is the best known of the many travel books to the East. William M. Thackeray, Benjamin Disraeli and Anthony Trollope all travel to the Near East, others wander around Asia Minor and the Levant recording their impressions, often in search of classical inscriptions.
1834 Germany Travelling
The Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam is connected to Berlin by rail, one of the first electrified railway sections in Old Germany. Since 1911, the Palace has been used as a film location (i.e. The Blue Angel, 1930).
1836 Lebanon Travelling
The discovery of the Jeita Grotto, credited to Reverend William Thomson. Further expeditions reveal the depth and the importance of the cave.
1837 Lebanon Travelling
The Galilee earthquake. In the 17th century, Fakhr-al-Din II took over Beaufort castle, but was defeated by the Ottomans who destroyed the upper portion. The earthquake causes further damage to the structure and the ruins become a quarry and a shelter for sheep.
1838 Portugal Travelling
Building of Pena Palace in Sintra, close to Lisbon, begins. This eclectic summer residence, commissioned by King Fernando II, combines Neo-Manueline, Neo- Islamic and Neo-Renaissance styles. The use of the Islamic decorative influences in a royal palace contributes to the Portuguese society’s acknowledgement of its Islamic past.
1839 Portugal Travelling
Silva Porto, born in poverty in Portugal, trader, farmer and explorer, settles in Bié, Angola, from where he, with his pombeiros (long-distance trade agents), tours Central Africa between 1839 and 1890. The descriptions of his travels that he sent to Lisbon became legendary and a precious source of data.
1840 - 1855 Tunisia Travelling
Khayr al-Din, the reforming minister of Tunisia, conducts various missions in Europe and to the Sublime Porte (Sublime Gate), the honorific title used for Istanbul during the Ottoman Empire.
1841 - 1844 Germany Travelling Date Country Theme
The Berlin Zoological Gardens was established in 1841 and opened to the public in 1844. The oldest zoo in Germany, today, it hosts more visitors than any zoo in Europe (around 3 million visitors per year).
1842 Italy Travelling
A seaside hostel is opened in Viareggio (Tuscany) for the treatment of children affected by tuberculosis (the first of its kind in Italy). In Tuscany, experiments of “marine therapy” for children started in the 1820s. By 1882, 21 seaside hostels for medical purposes are active in Italy.
1843 Italy Travelling
First bathing establishment created in Rimini.
1844 Turkey Travelling
June–July: Sultan Abdülmecid visits #zmit, Bursa, Gallipoli and the Aegean Islands.
1846 Tunisia Travelling
Ahmad Pasha Bey is received by King Louis Philippe at the Tuileries Palace. He stays at the Élysée Palace. He visits the parliament, the Hôtel des invalids, Napoleon’s tomb and the Palace of Versailles.
1846 Turkey Travelling
May: Sultan Abdülmecid visits Varna.
1846 Egypt Travelling
Ibrahim Pasha is received with respect and curiosity when he visits western Europe.
1846 - 1856 Tunisia Travelling
A period of intense diplomatic activity between the Regency of Tunis and Western governments, which sees 20 diplomatic or consular agencies in Europe and the East represent the regency.
1848 Lebanon Travelling
Established by Congregational and Presbyterian American missionaries, the National Evangelical Church of Beirut is the oldest and largest of nine congregations situated outside Beirut.
1850 Austria Travelling
Archduke Maximilian visits Asia Minor and Egypt.
1850s - 1860s Italy Travelling Date Country Theme
Mountaineering on the Alps becomes a sport and tourism activity. Local people had always climbed mountains. Since the end of the 18th century, scientists had started exploring the Alps for scientific purposes (Mont Blanc was first climbed in 1786). In 1857, Irish mountaineer John Ball starts climbing the Dolomites and writing guidebooks about them.
1854 Tunisia Travelling
A contingent of the Tunisian army is called upon to participate alongside the Ottoman Empire, France and England in the Crimean War.
1855 France Travelling
From 1855, the spa towns of eastern France are developed: at Vittel, and at Contrexéville near Plombieres-les-Bains in the Pyrenees, where Napoleon III stays.
1857 France Travelling
Visit by the Ambassador of Persia, Ferouk Kahn, to Napoleon III.
1857 Austria Travelling
Sidi Muhammad Bey of Tunis presents a pair of pistols to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.
1857 France Travelling
Development of resorts and the creation of the seaside resort of Arcachon on the Atlantic in south-west France, which is inaugurated by Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie.
1858 France Travelling
Development of pilgrimages in France, in particular to Lourdes, thanks to faster modes of transport such as rail.
1860 France Travelling
First trip by Napoleon III to Algeria; the second will take place in 1865.
1860 Portugal Travelling
Travelling became a great cultural and social phenomenon with Romanticism. The “Grand Tour” through the countries of the known world, namely around the Mediterranean, became a means of developing cultural and social skills. Travel became refined and even a simple journey to the countryside required such accessories as this travel case for meals.
1861 France Travelling
Embassy sent by King Mongkut of Siam (now Thailand) to Napoleon III. Date Country Theme
1862 Turkey Travelling
Steamship company Fevâid-I Osmâniyye is founded.
1862 Turkey Travelling
April: Sultan Abdülaziz visits Egypt.
1863 Italy Travelling
The Club Alpino Italiano is founded in Turin. Its goal is “to promote the knowledge of mountains, and especially of Italian mountains, their ascent and scientific expeditions”. In 25 years, membership reaches 4,500 with 34 local branches. By 1900 it had built 57 mountain huts.
1864 Lebanon Travelling
Inauguration of the Capuchin cathedral dedicated to Saint Louis IX King of France. The Capuchins had arrived in Beirut in 1628, practising their rites in the old Saint George church where the current Maronite cathedral now stands. Before moving to their present location the Capuchins built their first church, also dedicated to Saint Louis, in Beirut in 1732.
1867 Turkey Travelling
Sultan Abdülaziz makes state visits to European powers.
1867 Egypt Travelling
Khedive Isma‘il Pasha visits Paris and then London, where he is received by Queen Victoria and welcomed by the Lord Mayor. He attends a British Royal Navy fleet review alongside the Ottoman Sultan.
1867 Italy Travelling
The Società Geografica Italiana is founded. In 1869-70, it organises an exploratory expedition to East Africa, in 1875 to Tunisia and in 1876 to Ethiopia. Many other journeys to Africa, and also to Central Asia, South America and Papua follow. Such travels generally combined scientific purposes and political agendas.
1867 Austria Travelling
Sultan ‘Abd al-‘Aziz visits Vienna on 18 July.
1868 Lebanon Travelling
Foundation of the Archaeological Museum of the American University of Beirut after Luigi Palma di Cesnola gives a collection of Cypriot pottery to the newly formed university.
1869 Egypt Travelling Date Country Theme
Khedive Isma‘il Pasha visits Britain.
1869 Austria Travelling
Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria visits Jerusalem.
1870 France Travelling
From 1870 onwards, as the peripheries around the big French cities like Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux and Marseille start growing, they develop into a real suburban belt around the city.
1873 Romania Travelling
The first tourism organisation from Romania, called the Alpine Association of Transylvania, is founded in Bra#ov.
1875 Portugal Travelling
Aware that Portuguese empirical knowledge of Central Africa was being overtaken by other countries, the “Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa” is founded to "promote and assist the study and progress of geography and related sciences in Portugal". To raise awareness of the colonial Portuguese possessions in Africa and Asia was also a goal.
1877 Portugal Travelling
Hermenegildo Capelo, Roberto Ivens and Serpa Pinto appointed to organise an expedition to southern Africa. After a briefing by Silva Porto in Bié, they chose separate itineraries. Capelo and Ivens focus on the Kwanza and Kuangu rivers and on the Yaka people. Serpa Pinto picks the Zambezi River and eventually reaches the Transvaal.
1880 Germany Travelling
The dome of Cologne is completed (construction began in 1248). It is the tallest church building in the world at the time.
1880s onwards Spain Travelling
Travelling to North Africa, Egypt or the Turkish Empire becomes part of the leisure travels of wealthy families of Spain.
1880s - 1910s Italy Travelling
The growth of a European middle class and the improvement of transportation make tourism possible for increasing numbers of European citizens. According to very tentative estimates, 450,000 foreign tourists visited Italy in 1897 and 900,000 in 1911.
1881 Portugal Travelling Date Country Theme
With a thorough knowledge of the African hinterland, António da Silva Porto appeals to the Sociedade de Geografia to sponsor a plan for the scientific and commercial exploitation of Africa. The remote hinterland was about to be discovered by explorers and Africa’s boundaries defined by the colonial powers.
1882 Italy Travelling
The municipality of Cervia (on the Adriatic Sea) builds a bathing establishment explicitly intended for the middle class: previously a prerogative of the elite, beach tourism starts to become a more widely practised activity.
1883 Egypt Travelling
Arriving in Egypt as diplomatic agent and Consul-General of Britain, Sir Evelyn Baring’s (Lord Cromer’s) first task is to demand that Khedive Muhammad Tawfiq should abandon Sudan. Tawfiq consents reluctantly, but having done so he then does everything he can to ensure success of the policy that Baring has been sent to carry out.
1883 Portugal Travelling
A Commission of Cartography is created to prepare an atlas of all Portuguese colonies and map three expeditions to Africa. The first expedition (1884–85), undertaken by Roberto Ivens and Hermenegildo Capelo, starts in Moçâmedes in Angola (in present-day Namibia) aiming to reach to the east coast. The expedition members would face risks from hunger, cold, harsh nature, the wildlife and the tsetse fly.
1883 - 1927 Germany Travelling
The warehouse district known as Speicherstadt Hamburg develops.
1884 - 1888 Portugal Travelling
The Muatiânvua Expedition to Angolan’s Lunda territory led by Major Henrique de Carvalho provides exceptional scientific data on meteorology, zoology, ethnography and linguistics and photographic records. This second great expedition aims to counter the diversion of trade from Malanje to Zaire implemented by other colonial countries.
1885 - 1887 Portugal Travelling
The third great expedition, undertaken by Serpa Pinto and Augusto Cardoso, aims to establish a trade corridor between the eastern region of lakes, and the coast of Mozambique. Major Serpa Pinto fell ill and was replaced by Augusto Cardoso who reached Quelimane after a journey of 2,500 km lasting 20 months, during which some agreements were signed with African chiefs.
1885 Portugal Travelling
20 September: After their return to Lisbon a triumphal reception was offered to Capelo and Ivens by several Portuguese associations. During the solemn session organised by the Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa (SGL) at the Teatro Real de Date Country Theme S. Carlos, following their lectures, the explorers receive the SGL gold medal from King Luís I.
1885 Portugal Travelling
21 June: the expedition of Roberto Ivens and Hermenegildo Capelo reaches Quelimane, Mozambique, after 14 months. Throughout their 8,300 km expedition across the African hinterland, Ivens wrote and drew sketches and maps, while Capelo collected specimens of plants, rocks and animals. The constant desertions and sickness and death of the bearers increased the danger and uncertainty.
1886 Tunisia Travelling
Muhammad Sadiq Bey on a visit to Algiers is received by Napoleon III.
Since 1886 Germany Travelling
Seven weeks after the death of King Ludwig II in 1886, Neuschwanstein Castle – built in order that the king could withdraw from public life – opened to the public.
1887 France Travelling
The birth of the French Riviera, originally frequented by wealthy English patrons.
1887 Portugal Travelling
The Naval Academy is founded for teaching and research on Portuguese tropical medicine. Its purpose is to provide access to tropical medicine for general medical students and as a specialty for naval doctors. The Academy had a small laboratory for some diagnostic tests.
1888 Portugal Travelling
The neo-Manueline Palace of Bussaco, modelled on the Manueline Belém Tower of Lisbon is commissioned by King Carlos I as a royal retreat. It combines the architectural fashion of castle romanticism (German Burgenromantik) with the neo- Manueline gothic style that evokes the Portuguese Discoveries.
1888 Turkey Travelling
12 August: Direct rail connection is established between Paris and #stanbul.
1889 - 1917 Germany Travelling
Kaiser Wilhelm II visits the Ottoman Empire three times, in 1889, 1898 and 1917. On his second official tour he visits Constantinople, Haifa, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Beirut and Damascus, largely to show his support for Ottoman sultan ‘Abd al-Hamid II whose Empire was already unstable. The strong connection between the countries is further cemented by a gift from the Kaiser to ‘Abd al Hamid: a “German fountain” that stands in Jerusalem to this day.
1892 Egypt Travelling Date Country Theme
The Greco-Roman Museum of Alexandria is created.
1894 Italy Travelling
The Touring Club d’Italia is founded. Its main goal is “to make Italians know Italy”. It conceives of tourism as a tool for the cultural growth and modernisation of the country.
1896 Greece Travelling
Revival of the Olympic Games.
1896 France Travelling
Tsar Nicolas II visits France and inaugurates the Pont Alexandre III bridge in Paris.
1897 - 1899 Romania Travelling
Romanian biologist and speleologist Emil Racovi## participates in the Belgian Antarctic Expedition, the first winter research expedition in the Antarctica region.
1898 - 1899 Romania Travelling
Bazil G. Assan is the first Romanian to go on an expedition around the world, taking the route Constan#a–Istanbul–Cairo–Ceylon–China–Japan–Pacific Ocean– USA–Europe.
1899 Egypt Travelling
British diplomat Alfred Mitchell-Innes is appointed Undersecretary of State for Finance in Egypt.
1900 - 1940 Germany Travelling
Building of the "Bagdadbahn" ("Bagdad railway"), a railway- section in the Ottoman Empire with a length of around 3200 km through Turkey, Syria and Iran. Together with the "Hedjaz railway" it was built under Abdul Hamid the second. He wanted to facilitate the pilgrimage, as people could travel from Damaskus to Medina and Mekka directly.
1900 Egypt Travelling
On a visit to Britain, ‘Abbas Hilmi II tells the authorities that he thinks the British have carried out good work in Egypt. He declares himself ready to cooperate with British officials administering Egypt and Sudan.
1900 Romania Travelling
Al. Saabner-Tuduri publishes a book on the Mineral Waters and the Spas of Romania, the first paper about Romanian balneology, which used to be a very important component of Romanian tourism. Date Country Theme
1901 United Kingdom Travelling
Age 42, a young and energetic Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, visits the Arab Gulf sheikhdoms to confirm treaties of British protection of them, a policy that prevails until 1970.
1901 Italy Travelling
Liguria (the region of Genoa) is the Italian region with the highest number of foreigners (12,000). It has a mild climate that attracts foreigners escaping north Europe’s harsh climate for health reasons. All through the 19th and early 20th centuries, many foreigners affected by tuberculosis and other illness resided in Italy for extended periods.
1902 Portugal Travelling
Inauguration of the Escola de Medicina Tropical de Lisboa (Lisbon Academy of Tropical Medicine), founded like its European counterparts to provide specialised training, spread knowledge and undertake field research. One of its main subjects was sleeping sickness for whose treatment the Academy undertook five field missions (1904–11) to São Tomé and Mozambique.
1905 Italy Travelling
The Automobile Club d’Italia is founded.
1905 - 1907 Romania Travelling
The construction of the seaside resort Mamaia, on the shore of the Black Sea, which became and remains one of the most popular Romanian resorts.
1905 - 1936 Greece Travelling
Tourists flock to Delphi from all over the world attracted mainly by its archaeology. The guestbook of the Hotel Pythios Appolon provides a glimpse of the cosmopolitan atmosphere at Delphi during the first quarter of the 20th century.
1906 Greece Travelling
The Intercalated or Olympic Games are held in Athens. An international multi-sport event, many people consider them to be the Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee refers to them as the “Second International Olympic Games in Athens”.
1907 Lebanon Travelling
Khalil Pasha (1864–1923), commander of the Turkish Sixth Army during World War I orders the creation of the Hamidi Public Garden, which later becomes the Sanayeh Garden. It is one of the oldest public open-air spaces in the capital.
1911 Portugal Travelling Date Country Theme
12–20 May: The 4th International Congress of Tourism is held in Lisbon organised in collaboration with the Sociedade de Propaganda (founded 1906). Before the end of the meeting (18 May), the provisional government of the newly proclaimed Portuguese Republic (5 October 1910) creates a Bureau of Tourism at the Ministério do Fomento (Ministry of Development).
1911 Lebanon Travelling
A private residence in Beirut’s Zokak el-Blat quarter is turned into the Robert Muawad private museum, presenting precious collection of fine arts and antique pieces.
1919 Italy Travelling
The Ente nazionale per le industrie turistiche (ENIT – a state-funded body aimed at promoting tourism in Italy) is founded. In the last decades of the 19th century, local associations and bodies aimed at promoting tourism started to be created, under public or private initiative.
1927 Egypt Travelling
King Fuad I of Egypt’s visit to Italy.
1927 Germany Travelling
The first stage of the racing circuit Nürburgring is constructed comprising the old “North loop” built around the village of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains.