Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
INTRODUCTION
We travel long roads and cross the water to see what we disregard when it is under our eyes. This is
either because nature has so arranged things that we go after what is far off and remain indifferent
to what is nearby, or because any desire loses its intensity by being easily satis
ed, or because we
postpone whatever we can see whenever we want, feeling sure we will often get around to it.
Whatever the reason, there are numbers of things in this city of ours and its environs which we have
not even heard of, much less seen; yet, if they were in Greece or Egypt or Asia ...wewould have
heard all about them, read all about them, looked over all there was to see.
The Younger Pliny, second century C . E . 1
T wenty- rst-century travelers, tiredly pulling their carry-on bags from the overhead bin and waiting
to walk down the jetway to a foreign destination, might think their experience is uniquely modern.
But they are the latest in a long line of travelers reaching back to antiquity. From earliest times,
all
modes of carriage (from animal to the sonic jet) and accommodations (from the meanest hovel to the
five-star luxury hotel) have given a livelihood to countless legions.''
''
2 Like today's travelers, these
travelers did not do it alone.
''
Guiding, counseling, and harboring the traveler is among the world
'
s
3
earliest vocations.
''
Today, modern travelers can book onlinemaking their own travel arrangements or enlist a travel agent
tomake plane reservations, book hotels, andmake recommendations for special tours upon arrival at the
destination. Even with the specialized help of a travel agent, travelers frequently arrive feeling dirty and
tired, complain about the crowded flight, and hope to clear customs without waiting in a long line. A
middle-aged couple ruefully recalls that the travel agent was not able to book a hotel that she could
recommend. (An automobile festival or a visit by the pope had filled major hotels, and there was little
choice.) Also, the local bank was out of euros or zlotys or won, or whatever the name of the destination
country
s currency. So the couple has to exchange money before getting a cab to that unpromising hotel
and are sure that the driver won
'
'
t speak English, will spot them as greenhorns, and will drive them all
over
with the meter running on and on. Even with these possible problems and irritations, they are
excited and join multitudes that have gone before them to enjoy the rewards of travel.
EARLY BEGINNINGS
The invention of money by the
(Babylonians) and the development of trade beginning
about 4000 B . C . E . mark the beginning of the modern era of travel. Not only were the Sumerians the
first to grasp the idea of money and use it in business transactions, but they were also the rst to
invent cuneiform writing and the wheel, so they should be credited as the founders of the travel
business. People could now pay for transportation and accommodations with money or by barter.
Five thousand years ago, cruises were organized and conducted fromEgypt. Probably the rst journey
ever made for purposes of peace and tourism was made by Queen Hatshepsut to the land of Punt
(believed to be on the east coast of Africa) in 1480 B . C . E . Descriptions of this tour have been recorded on
the walls of the temple of Deir el-Bahri at Luxor. These texts and bas-reliefs are among the world
Sumerians
s rarest
artworks and are universally admired for their wondrous beauty and artistic qualities. The Colossi of
Memnon at Thebes have on their pedestals the names of Greek tourists of the fifth century B . C . E .
Beginning in 2700 B . C . E ., the pharaohs began to take advantage of the abundance of good building
stone in the Nile valley to build their elaborate burial tombs. They included the Step Pyramid of Djoser,
the Sphinx, the three great pyramids at Giza, and the pyramid complex at Abusir. These great outdoor
wonders began attracting large numbers as early as the New Kingdom from 1600 to 1200 B . C . E .
'
Each
monument was a hallowed spot, so the visitors always spent some moments in prayer, yet their prime
motivation was curiosity or disinterested enjoyment, not religion.
''
4
''
Search WWH ::




Custom Search