Embedded Files
In the summer of 1867 Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 — 1910), known under the pseudonym Mark Twain, as part of the American delegation visited the Crimea, visited Sevastopol, Yalta and Livadia.
The preparation for this cruise the "elite" of American citizens began well in advance – even in the winter. A large Mediterranean journey with a visit to several European countries, as well as Palestine, was to take place on the wheeled steamer "Quaker city". Needless to say that tickets for a comfortable ship were extremely expensive, and it is unlikely that such a pleasure could afford no one known at that time still an American journalist, if not for his natural savvy. This journalist's name was Sam Clemens, and he was well known, perhaps, only in the newspaper "Alta California" (in San Francisco). There he appeared with a bold proposal to send him on a cruise and with the obligation to write for all 5 months of the way at least fifty essays "about all and about everything", taking place both on the ship and in the places of "landing of the American landing." The editor-in-chief found the idea tempting and agreed to pay in full for both Clemens ' future work and travel. So resourceful journalist, and in the future famous writer Mark Twain, became a passenger under the number 5 steamer "Quaker city", which came out of the new York port on June 8, 1867.
The first parking place of the steamer "Quaker city" was the Azores. Then the route of travel followed to France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Russian Crimea and Odessa, and then to Palestine, Egypt and Bermuda. And by the way, if it were not for this journey, perhaps no one would have never learned about the writer Mark TWAIN, because it is witty travel notes about the journey, regularly sent from all ports to the editorial office of the newspaper "Alta California" in San Francisco, made Mark TWAIN so famous. The audience appreciated and loved the travel notes of Mark TWAIN, and some Metropolitan Newspapers even reprinted them. And after a year and a half travel notes formed into a good book, which became the first young writer Mark TWAIN and published under the name "the Way of new pilgrims", later this book was published under the name "Simpletons abroad". Curious Americans were very interested in Crimea, namely, the legendary Sevastopol in connection with the just ended Eastern (Crimean) war of 1863-1866. All these years from newspaper pages of the whole world reports from places of military operations which most part was developed here didn't descend. Needless to say, the American steamship that arrived at the Sevastopol port became a whole event for Sevastopol residents. In America in those days of our compatriots few have been, and the Americans were very curious to see.
The Governor of Sevastopol specially sent an officer of the black sea fleet to welcome American guests on Board the "Quaker city", which cordially invited American tourists to the city, and invited them to feel at home on the Crimean coast. The guests were shown the city, or rather what remained of it after a long and extremely destructive siege of Sevastopol... the City appeared before the American guests wounded, silent, deserted, but also majestic in the aura of his feat, and touching at the same time in his defenselessness.
Mark Twain wrote about Sevastopol with great warmth, and on the contrary-with irony about his "simpletons-compatriots", rushing at the end of the tour for their favorite Souvenirs in memory of Sevastopol, they filled up "Quaker city" piles of relics. Tourists are dragged to the steamer as a gift from Malakhov Kurgan, from the Redan, Inkerman, Balaklava – from everywhere. Dragged the cannon balls, broken ramrods, fragments of shrapnel – iron scrap would be enough for a sloop". According to the plan, after visiting Sevastopol, the ship had to go for coal to Odessa, and from there on – to Constantinople.
In Odessa port on "Quaker city" the Consul of the USA in Odessa unexpectedly was and reported that to it the dispatch from the Crimea came that Emperor Alexander II, is on rest in Livadia, and would like to see North American travelers at himself on a visit... Having received the invitation from the Russian monarch, all American tourists terribly got excited and rushed "to lift sails" to return back to the Crimea - now to Yalta. His impressions of Yalta writer Mark Twain expressed as follows:
"The village of Yalta nests at the bottom of the amphitheater, which, retreating from the sea, gradually rises and goes into a steep mountain range, and it seems that this village quietly slipped here from above. In the lowland spread out parks and gardens of the nobility, in the dense greenery there and then suddenly sparkle like a bright flower, some Palace. Very beautiful place. It reminded me vividly of Sierra Nevada. High severe mountains close the Bay with a wall, their slopes are bristled with pines, cut by deep gorges, here and there rises a gray cliff to the sky, long straight crevices abruptly descend from the peaks to the sea, marking the path of ancient avalanches and landslides — all as in Sierra Nevada, true to her portrait".
The Yalta audience was very excited and pleased with the unexpected arrival of the "foreign delegation". The only thing that was annoying for local inhabitants that couldn't prepare really warm welcome – after all all all literally caught off guard. But all the guests were given absolute freedom of action and crews in and around town. The Americans did not fail to take advantage of this: they visited the Grand-Ducal Oreanda, which struck them even more than a rather modest Livadia Palace, enthusiastically went to other estates, dachas, villages and even mountains.
Welcoming Yalta accompanied the American guests with fireworks and fireworks…
An useful link:
An useful link:
- An innocent abroad: Mark Twain’s visit to Russia - https://www.rbth.com/literature/2015/02/26/an_innocent_abroad_mark_twains_visit_to_russia_44007.html
Google Sites
Report abuse