Chapter II: Preface

The present _Handbook to the Mediterranean_ describes the chief routes along the Mediterranean coasts. In his endeavour to unite within a single volume the chief points of interest in so vast a region the Editor has naturally been confronted by peculiar difficulties. These points are so numerous that little space could be afforded for more subordinate matters, so that many details have necessarily been omitted. Again as regards the selection of routes, and of places to be described, opinions frequently differ. The Editor ventures, however, to hope that on the whole he has satisfied the requirements of most of his readers. As many of the regions which are here grouped historically and geographically[1] have already been treated of in several of his other Handbooks, the Editor would respectfully refer the traveller to these for fuller details[2]. The new subjects comprise Madeira and the Canary Islands, the coast of Morocco, and Algeria and Tunisia, the materials for describing which have been collected, in the course of much travel, by several of the Editor’s friends and fellow-workers. The chief Author of the German edition, which appeared in 1909, was _Dr. F. Propping_, of Godesberg on the Rhine, who personally visited most of the places described. The present English edition has been prepared by the Editor’s old friend, emeritus _Professor John Kirkpatrick_, formerly of Edinburgh University, who fifty years ago (1861) translated the Handbook for the Rhine, and thus introduced ‘Baedeker’s guidebooks’ to the English public. In bringing the information contained in the new Mediterranean volume up to date the Editor has received valuable aid from British and United States consuls and ministers, and from other authorities, who have shown the utmost courtesy and willingness to assist. To all of these the Editor expresses his grateful acknowledgments. Many readers will be interested also in the geographical sketch by the late _Professor Theobald Fischer_ (d. 1910), one of the great authorities on the Mediterranean coast-lands.

Footnote 1:

The volume contains six separable Sections. _First_: Introduction;
From England to the Mediterranean by the Portuguese Coast; Madeira and
the Canary Islands (pp. i-xxxvi and 1–48).—_Second_: Andalusia;
Morocco (pp. 49–110).—_Third_: Sea Routes in the W. Mediterranean (pp.
111–166).—_Fourth_: Algeria (pp. 167–318).—_Fifth_: Tunisia (pp.
319–394).—_Sixth_: Sea Routes in the E. Mediterranean; the Black Sea
(p. 395 to the end of the volume).

Footnote 2:

Comp. for the W. Mediterranean _Baedeker’s_ ‘Southern France’,
‘Northern Italy’, ‘Central Italy and Rome’, ‘Southern Italy, Sicily,
and Sardinia’, ‘Italy from the Alps to Naples’, and ‘Spain and
Portugal’; for Trieste and Dalmatia, ‘Austria-Hungary’; for the E.
Mediterranean, ‘Egypt’, ‘Palestine and Syria’, ‘Greece’, and
‘Konstantinopel und Kleinasien’ (at present in German only); for the
Black Sea, ‘Russland’ or ‘Russie’.

Special care has been bestowed on the MAPS and PLANS with which the Handbook is furnished. Several of these are based on materials hitherto unpublished, and others have been locally revised and improved for the special benefit of the Handbook. In the case of Algeria and Tunisia the French spelling has been adopted in the letter-press as well as in the maps[3].

Footnote 3:

Note, however, that in the letter-press the English _j_ is used in
preference to the French _dj_ (as in _jebel_, mountain), and that the
German or Italian _u_ is preferred to the French _ou_ or the English
_oo_ (as in _sûk_, market). So too, as a general rule, all the other
vowel-sounds in the proper names follow the Italian pronunciation.

HOTELS. As in all his Handbooks the Editor has taken the utmost care to recommend none but comfortable and respectable hotels. From this, as from all his other Handbooks, advertisements, direct and indirect, are absolutely excluded. Persons calling themselves agents for Baedeker’s Handbooks are impostors and should be handed over to the police.

As many matters treated of in the Handbook are liable to frequent change and as, in the Orient particularly, trustworthy sources of information are too often lacking, the Editor will warmly appreciate any communications with which travellers may kindly favour him.

CONTENTS.

Page
Introduction xiii

I. From England to the Mediterranean by the Portuguese Coast.
Route
1. From England viâ Oporto and Lisbon to Gibraltar or Tangier
(Marseilles and Genoa) 1
2. Lisbon 6

II. Madeira and the Canary Islands.
3. Madeira 17
4. The Canary Islands 28

III. Andalusia.
5. Gibraltar 52
6. From Gibraltar to Seville 56
7. Seville 59
8. From Seville to Cordova 68
9. From Cordova viâ Bobadilla to Granada 72
10. Granada 73
11. From Granada viâ Bobadilla to Málaga 88

IV. Morocco.
12. Tangier 98
13. From Tangier to Tetuán (Ceuta) 102
14. From Tangier to Mogador by Sea 104

V. Sea Routes in the W. Mediterranean.
15. From Gibraltar to Genoa 111
16. From Gibraltar to Naples 118
17. From (Lisbon) Tangier, and from Gibraltar, to Marseilles 119
18. From Tangier and Cartagena to Oran 123
19. From Marseilles to Oran 126
20. From Marseilles to Algiers, Bougie, Philippeville, and Bona 126
21. From Marseilles to Tunis 128
22. From Algiers to Tunis by Sea 130
23. From Marseilles to Naples 132
24. From Genoa to Naples 134
25. From Genoa to Tunis viâ Leghorn and Cagliari 142
26. From Naples to Tunis viâ Palermo 146
27. From Naples to Syracuse (Malta, Tunis, Tripoli) viâ Messina
and Catania 154

VI. Algeria.
28. Oran 175
29. From Oran to Tlemcen 185
30. Tlemcen 187
31. From Tlemcen to Nemours viâ Lalla-Marnia 197
32. From Oran to Beni-Ounif de Figuig (Colomb-Béchar) viâ
Damesme and Perrégaux 199
33. From Oran to Algiers 206
34. Algiers 217
35. From Algiers to Tipaza and Cherchell 236
36. From Algiers to Cape Matifou and to Aïn-Taya viâ
Maison-Carrée 247
37. From Algiers to Bougie viâ Beni-Mansour 249
38. From Algiers to Tizi-Ouzou. From Camp-du-Maréchal to Tigzirt 252
39. From Tizi-Ouzou viâ Fort-National to Maillot or Tazmalt 256
40. From Fort-National viâ Azazga to Bougie 260
41. Bougie 262
42. From Bougie through the Chabet el-Akra to Sétif 265
43. From Algiers to Constantine viâ Beni-Mansour, Sétif, and
El-Guerrah 269
44. From Constantine to Biskra viâ El-Guerrah and Batna 274
45. From Batna viâ Lambèse to Timgad 286
46. Constantine 297
47. From Constantine to Philippeville 303
48. From Constantine to Bona viâ Duvivier 306
49. From Constantine or Bona viâ Duvivier to Souk-Ahras
(Tebessa, Tunis) 312
50. From Souk-Ahras to Tebessa 313

VII. Tunisia.
51. From (Constantine, Bona) Souk-Ahras to Tunis 325
52. Tunis 329
53. Carthage 343
54. From Tunis to Bizerta 351
55. From Tunis to Dougga (Le Kef) 354
56. From Tunis to Le Kef and Kalaâ-Djerda 358
57. From Tunis to Susa 363
58. From Susa to Kairwan 370
59. From Susa to Sfax 378
60. From Sfax to Metlaoui viâ Gafsa 383
61. From Metlaoui to the Djerid 386
62. From (Sfax) Graïba to Djerba viâ Gabes and Médenine 388

VIII. Sea Routes in the E. Mediterranean.
63. From Tunis to Malta (Syracuse) 396
64. From Tunis to Syracuse viâ Sfax, Tripoli, and Malta 404
65. From Tripoli to Alexandria viâ Benghazi and Derna 412
66. From Tripoli to Constantinople viâ Derna and Crete 415
67. From (Marseilles, Genoa) Naples to Alexandria and Port Said 417
68. From Venice or Trieste to Alexandria and Port Said viâ
Brindisi 418
69. Alexandria 431
70. Port Said 436
71. From Alexandria or Port Said to Cairo 437
72. From Alexandria or Port Said to Beirut (Smyrna,
Constantinople) viâ Jaffa 466
73. From Jaffa to Jerusalem 470
74. Beirut. Excursion to Damascus 481
75. From Beirut to Smyrna (and Constantinople) 489
76. From Alexandria to Athens and Smyrna (and Constantinople) 491
77. From (Marseilles, Genoa) Naples to Athens (and
Constantinople) 493
78. From Venice or Trieste to Athens (and Constantinople) viâ
Brindisi and Patras 496
79. Athens 502
80. From Athens viâ Smyrna to Constantinople 529
81. Constantinople 536

IX. The Black Sea.
82. From Constantinople to Constantza 561
83. From Constantinople to Odessa 563
84. From Odessa to Batum 568
85. From Batum to Constantinople 571

Maps.

(The Maps and Plans are oriented in the usual way, with the North at
the top, unless otherwise indicated.)

1. General Map of the Mediterranean (1 : 8,250,000) before the
title-page.

2. Environs of Lisbon (1 : 250,000), p. 14.

3. Madeira (1 : 400,000), p. 17.

4. Environs of Funchal (1 : 120,000), p. 21.

5. The Canary Islands (1 : 7,500,000), p. 28.

6. Teneriffe (1 : 450,000), p. 28.

7. Environs of Puerto Orotava (1 : 100,000), p. 28.

8. Environs of Las Palmas (1 : 250,000), p. 46.

9. Andalusia and the Straits of Gibraltar (1 : 2,750,000), p. 49.

10. Environs of Tangier (1 : 40,000), p. 98.

11. Environs of Naples (1 : 500,000), p. 141.

12. Straits of Messina (1 : 200,000), p. 155.

13. Environs of Syracuse (1 : 50,000), p. 162.

14. Algeria and Tunisia (1 : 8,250,000), W. part, p. 167.

15. Environs of Oran (1 : 150,000), p. 175.

16. Environs of Tlemcen (1 : 50,000), p. 187.

17. Environs of Blida (1 : 250,000), p. 213.

18. Nearer Environs of Algiers (1 : 100,000), p. 233.

19. Remoter Environs of Algiers (1 : 500,000), p. 233.

20. Environs of Bougie (1 : 50,000), p. 262.

21. Environs of Biskra (1 : 100,000), p. 279.

22. Environs of Lambèse and Timgad (1 : 500,000), p. 289.

23. Environs of Philippeville (1 : 150,000), p. 304.

24. Environs of Bona (1 : 200,000), p. 309.

25. Algeria and Tunisia (1 : 8,250,000), E. part, p. 319.

26. Environs of Tunis (1 : 250,000), p. 338.

27. Environs of Susa (1 : 50,000), p. 366.

28. Environs of Sfax (1 : 50,000), p. 380.

29. The Island of Malta (1 : 320,000), p. 399.

30. Environs of Tripoli in Barbary (1 : 80,000), p. 406.

31. The Lagoons of Venice (1 : 340,100), p. 419.

32. Environs of Cairo (1 : 250,000), p. 458.

33. The Island of Corfu (1 : 300,000), p. 497.

34. Environs of the Town of Corfu (1 : 60,000), p. 497.

35. Environs of Athens (1 : 150,000), p. 528.

36. Environs of Constantinople (1 : 140,000), p. 537.

37. The Bosporus (1 : 200,000), p. 557.

38. Environs of Yalta (1 : 166,000), p. 569.

* * * * *

Plans.

Page
1. Alexandria (1 : 18,000) 431
2. Algiers (1 : 20,000) 217
3. Athens (1 : 10,000) 503
4. Beirut, General Plan (1 : 25,000) 481
5. Beirut, Old Town (1 : 10,000) 481
6. Biskra (1 : 12,000) 279
7. Blida (1 : 12,000) 213
8. Bona (1 : 15,000) 309
9. Bougie (1 : 15,000) 262
10. Cairo (1 : 12,300) 439
11. Carthage (1 : 25,000) 343
12. Catania (1 : 16,700) 160
13. Constantine (1 : 14,000) 297
14. Constantinople (1 : 20,000) 537
15. Cordova (1 : 15,000) 68
16. Town of Corfu (1 : 15,000) 497
17. Funchal (1 : 30,000) 21
18. Genoa (1 : 10,000) 113
19. Gibraltar (1 : 25,000) 53
20. Granada (1 : 8700) 73
21. Jerusalem (1 : 8350) 471
22. Kairwan (1 : 12,000) 372
23. Lisbon (1 : 15,000) 7
24. Málaga (1 : 13,000) 89
25. Marseilles (1 : 14,000) 119
26. Naples (1 : 20,000) 135
27. Odessa (1 : 35,000) 565
28. Oran (1 : 18,000) 175
29. Palermo (1 : 13,000) 147
30. Las Palmas (1 : 15,000) 44
31. Philippeville (1 : 15,000) 304
32. Port Said, Harbour (1 : 50,000) 437
33. Port Said, Town (1 : 25,000) 437
34. Puerto de la Luz and Las Palmas (1 : 60,000) 46
35. Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1 : 25,000) 33
36. Seville (1 : 10,000) 59
37. Sfax (1 : 14,000) 380
38. Smyrna (1 : 18,000) 531
39. Susa (1 : 12,000) 366
40. Tangier (1 : 8000) 98
41. Timgad (1 : 6000) 289
42. Tlemcen (1 : 12,000) 187
43. Trebizond (1 : 30,000) 573
44. Trieste (1 : 16,700) 425
45. Tripoli in Barbary (1 : 12,500) 406
46. Tunis (1 : 16,000) 329
47. Valletta (1 : 64,000) 399
48. Venice (1 : 12,500) 419
49. Yalta (1 : 25,200) 569

* * * * *

Abbreviations.

Hôt., Hot. = hotel.

Alb. = albergo (hotel).

Restaur. = restaurant.

R. = room with one bed, usually incl. light and attendance.

B. = breakfast (coffee, etc.).

déj. = déjeuner, hot lunch.

D. = dinner.

pens. = pension, board incl. R. unless contrary stated.

rfmts. = refreshments.

omn. = omnibus.

N., S., E., W. = north, northern, south, southern, etc.

r. = right, l. = left.

M. = mile; sq. M. = square mile; ft. = foot, feet; yd. = yard, etc.

min. = minute; hr. = hour.

R. = route. Pl. = plan.

dr., l. = drachme, lepta.

fr., c. = franc, centime; Ital. lira, centesimo.

K, _h_ = krone, heller (Austrian currency).

_l._, _s._, _d._ = pound sterling, shilling, pence, _g._ = guinea.

mej. = mejidieh.

p., c. = peseta, centimo.

pias., mill. = piastre, millième.

s. pias. = silver piastre.

rs. = reis (plur. of real; comp. p. 6)

roub., cop. = rouble, copeck.

comp. = compare.

adm. = admission, admittance.

Asterisks (*) denote objects of special interest and hotels that are believed to be worthy of special commendation.

The number of ft. (1 Engl. ft. = 0.3048 mètre; 1 mètre = 3.281 Engl. ft. or about 3 ft. 3⅓ in.) given after the name of a place shows its height above the sea-level.

The number of M. (1 Engl. mile = 1.6093 kilomètres; 1 kilomètre = 0.6214 M.) placed before the principal places of a route indicates their distance from the starting-point of the route.

* * * * *

International Hotel Telegraphic Code.

The international association of hotel-keepers has agreed on the following code: _Alba_, room with single bed; _albaduo_, room with double bed; _arab_, room with two beds; _abec_, room with three beds; _belab_, two rooms and two beds; _birac_, two rooms and three beds; _bonad_, two rooms and four beds; _ciroc_, three rooms and three beds; _carid_, three rooms and four beds; _calde_, three rooms and five beds; _caduf_, three rooms and six beds; _casag_, three rooms and seven beds; _danid_, four rooms and four beds; _dalme_, four rooms and five beds; _danof_, four rooms and six beds; _dalag_, four rooms and seven beds; _dirich_, four rooms and eight beds; _durbi_, four rooms and nine beds; _kind_, child’s bed; _sal_, saloon, private sitting-room; _bat_, private bathroom; _serv_, servant’s room. The class of room may be indicated by _best_, _bon_, or _plain_. Day and hour of arrival must be notified (_granmatin_ is midnight to 7 a.m., _matin_ is 7–12, _sera_ 12–7, and _gransera_ 7 to midnight), and also duration of stay (_pass_ means one night, _stop_ means several days, but is not binding). Name and address of applicant must be given; if prevented from coming, ‘_cancel_‘, with his signature, suffices.

* * * * *

Bibliography.

‘Mediterranean Winter Resorts’ by _E. Reynolds-Ball_ (6th ed., London, 1908; price 6_s._) although far from exhaustive, contains much useful and practical information. The art of the Orient is admirably treated of in the ‘Manuel d’Art Musulman’ by _H. Saladin_ and _G. Migeon_ (Paris, 1907; 30 fr.). Among excellent German books are _Theob. Fischer’s_ ‘Mittelmeerbilder’ (2 vols., Leipzig, 1906, 1908; each 6 marks), and _A. Philippson’s_ ‘Mittelmeergebiet’ (Leipzig, 1907; 7 marks).

Books on Algeria, see p. 175; on Athens, see p. 508; on Cairo, see p. 444; on the Canary Islands, see p. 32; on Carthage, see p. 343; on Constantinople, see p. 542; on Cordova, see p. 69; on Granada and the Alhambra, see pp. 65, 80; on Jerusalem, see p. 473; on Madeira, see p. 20; on Morocco, see pp. 97, 98; on Seville, see p. 61; on Tebessa, see p. 315; on Timgad, see p. 289; on Tunisia, see p. 325.

* * * * *