CTAD-CUMHURIYET TARIHI ARASTIRMALARI DERGISI, vol.16, no.32, pp.399-430, 2020 (ESCI)
The effect created by the Industrial Revolution on production in the 19th century brought along economic and social changes, and a new travel type emerged as a result of these developments. More people began to travel across the world compared to past centuries. In parallel to this process, number and geography of touristic travels increased. The Ottoman territories, affected directly by these developments, became an important travel destination for thousands of tourists from different countries. The existing literature on the foreigners visiting the Ottoman Empire generally focuses on observations of these visitors, and observations and comments of the Westerners related to one or general parts constituting the East for different periods are centred. Travels and groups travelling are kept in the background in these studies. Therefore, studies dominated by this perspective are inadequate in explaining tourists about the structural changes and why thousands of people visited the Ottoman Empire each year. It is expressed in this study that the travels made to the Ottoman territories were subjected to change as a result of industrialisation, and this change led the travel concept of period to achieve a new pattern. Tourists are investigated within the framework of travel facilities of the period and their relationships with other actors as individuals using several transportation vehicles and applying to mediators, having a program, getting hungry, sleeping, sometimes encountering difficulties. The roles of the tourists, agencies, State and press in this process are tried to be discussed related to cruise travels. For this purpose, archive documents, travel programs, travel books, newspapers, which were written by each actor participating this process and would enable to examine their roles in this process, are used. The time period of this study covers the last quarter of 19th century, when cruise travels began, and the first years of 20th century by discussing the components of tourism. In the conclusion part where the obtained findings are compared to the current literature, the contribution of the study to Ottoman tourism studies and its authenticity will be presented. Additionally, in the conclusion, the existing questions about the development stage of tourism in the Ottoman Empire and its actors as well as how the possible answers to these questions are attained will be discussed.