Handwritten Travel Diary – Visit of an American Tourist to Ottoman Palestine – A Detailed and Interesting ...

Handwritten Travel Diary – Visit of an American Tourist to Ottoman Palestine – A Detailed and Interesting Description of Palestine in mid-19th Century – Meetings with Consuls and Other Personalities in Palestine at the Time
A long, handwritten diary, describing a weeks-long journey to Ottoman Palestine – Jaffa, Jerusalem, Hebron, Ramla and elsewhere. March 7 to April 10, [1855]. English.
The diary was written by an unnamed American tourist (presumably, a well-connected person of high stature), describing in colorful language the early days of the colonial period and tourism in Palestine – meetings with consuls and representatives of the Powers, explorers and persons of note staying in Palestine at the time, cities and sacred sites (some of which Christians were forbidden to enter), local residents and their ways of life, and more.
The diary begins with the writer's arrival in Palestine: the "memorable morning when my feet first trod the soil of Judea!... on the deck of the Germania this ancient city appeared beautifully resting upon the bold point commanding a fine view of the road-stead & of the Mediterranean". Later that day, the writer describes a meeting he had with the American vice-consul, Jacob Serapion Murad – "an Armenian, of rather dark complexion – good sired & of venerable countenance", who volunteered his guard to escort the travelers on their way to Jerusalem, a Janissary with "two splendid pistols sticking in his girdle & a long sword at his side". The writer then describes in detail the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem – the various stations, toll collection by road owners, Bedouins ("every Bedouin you meet is armed to the teeth"), various sites, including Absalom's Pillar, Solomon's Pools, The Hill of Evil Counsel and a monastery which "had fallen prey to Muslems"; as well as the flora, the agriculture and the nature of Palestine.
On March 11, the writer describes arriving in Jerusalem – "How beautiful is Jerusalem! Descending we passed into the garden of Getsemmane […] I was completely surprised to find a little girl speaking English and who acted as an interpreter for us". The following entries, dedicated to a description of the city, include an important documentation of famous personalities active in the city at the time – "Mr. Meshullam" (John Meshullam, an English Jew who converted to Christianity, one of the founders of the agricultural farm at Artas, near Bethlehem), "Mrs. Cooper" (Caroline Cooper, founder of the Anglican Mission girls' school), "Mr. Graham" (presumably photographer James Graham), "a Mr. Cresson, once a Quaker in Phil., and now turned Jew" (Warder Cresson, later Michael Boaz Yisrael ben Abraham, the first US Consul to Jerusalem who was a convert to Judaism) and others. This part of the diary also contains an interesting description of the convert Jews in the workshops of the Anglican Mission. Some entries describe visits to sites that Christians were forbidden from entering or that were inaccessible to visitors, including a visit to David's Tomb guided by a Bedouin child – "I was led into the mosque and at the furthest end I was pointed to a little window which was said to look into the tomb", a tour of the Adullam Caves near Hebron, using a candle and string to mark the way, and more.
On March 20, the writer mentions the preparations for the visit of the Duke of Brabant to Jerusalem. This reference, as well as other details mentioned in the diary, indicate that the writer visited Palestine in 1855.
Part of the diary describes the writer's journey outside Palestine, in Egypt and Europe.
52 written leaves, 18.5 cm. Body in good condition. Blemishes and small tears to margins. Some stains. Detached and partly detached leaves and gatherings. Front board detached. Parts of the spine detached or missing.