Travellers and Travel Writers

Drawn by the lure of the Orient and the growth of trade relations between the Ottoman Empire and Europeans, many westerners visited the island. Several of them kept detailed records of their impressions and observations, which were published in book form in their native countries. The best known of them were the French botanist Tournefort (1700); Englishmen Pococke (1754), Pashley (1837) and Spratt (1851); Sonnini (1801); Sieber (1817); and Frenchman Perrot (1857).

The information given by these European travellers is illuminating with regard to conditions prevailing on the island in this period. Favoured subjects are economic activity, agricultural produce, everyday life, local dress and diet, nature, ancient monuments and relations between Christians and Muslims.