• Amsterdam

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    Amsterdam was founded at the Amstel, that was dammed to control flooding; the city's name derives from the Amstel dam. Originating as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century, and became the leading centre for the finance and trade sectors. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned and built.

  • Athens, Greece

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    Quaker City passengers were quarantined at Piraeus but Sam and companions snuck ashore and visited Athens at night, August 14, 1867. Mark Twain Project: Quaker City Itinerary

    Intended to be a highlight of the Quaker City cruise, fear of cholera caused local officials to bar anyone from coming ashore. The passengers could only make out the Acropolis from the ship through spyglasses. That night Twain, with three others went ashore and made there way to the Acropolis and back. Two others did the same later that night and two more attempted but failed, barely avoiding arrest.

  • Basel, Switzerland

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    Basel has often been the site of peace negotiations and other international meetings. The Treaty of Basel (1499) ended the Swabian War. Two years later Basel joined the Swiss Confederation. The Peace of Basel in 1795 between the French Republic and Prussia and Spain ended the First Coalition against France during the French Revolutionary Wars. In more recent times, the World Zionist Organization held its first congress in Basel from 29 August through 31 August 1897.

  • Beirut, Lebanon

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    Beirut was technically under Turkish rule was was effectively a British and French protectorate at the time of Twain's visit.  The Quaker City arrived September 9, 1867 and departed for Jaffa six days later.  Many of the passengers began overland journeys from Beirut.  Twain and seven others took the long trip.

  • Berlin, Germany

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    Capital of Germany, Twain's first visit was in 1891.  He and his family moved into an apartment on Kornerstrasse, but later moved to Hotel Royal on Unter den Linden while he was in America.  They remained there until March of 1892.  They returned for two weeks in May and June of 1892 and four days in June and July of 1893.


    See Day By Day entry for January 20, 1892 for Twain's profile of the city.


     

  • Bombay (Mumbai), India

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    The Clemens party took rooms at the Esplanade Hotel, also known as Watson’s Hotel. (January 18, 1896). They made trips to Baroda and January 31 and Poona on January 29. They departed Bombay February 3 for Allahabad.

  • Boston, MA

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    Twain often visited Boston.  The Lyceum lecture bureau of James Redpath; his publisher James R, Osgood; and his friend W.D. Howells, his friend and editor of the Atlantic Monthly were all there.  Rasmussen remarks that Twain selected Hartford, Connecticut in 1871 for a home because it was midway between New York and Boston, with easy train connections to both. "Over the next 35 years he spoke frequently in Boston and met most of New England's leading literary figures there."

  • Brussels, Belgium

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    During the 19th century, the population of Brussels grew considerably; from about 80,000 to more than 625,000 people for the city and its surroundings. The Senne had become a serious health hazard, and from 1867 to 1871, under the tenure of the city's then-mayor, Jules Anspach, its entire course through the urban area was completely covered over. This allowed urban renewal and the construction of modern buildings of Haussmann-esque style along grand central boulevards, characteristic of downtown Brussels today.

  • Cairo, Egypt

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    Sam and companions traveled by train from Alexandria and arrived in Cairo the evening of October 4, 1867. From here they visited the Sphinx and the Pyramids at Giza. They returned to Alexandria October 7th. Mark Twain Project: Quaker City Itinerary

  • Calcutta, India (Kolkata)

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    February 7 Friday – The Clemens party ... arrived in Calcutta at 7 a.m. [NB 36 TS 39] . They took rooms at the Hotel Continental [Parsons “MT India” 85].

    March 26 Thursday – At 7 a.m. the Clemens party sailed from Calcutta on the S.S. Wardha bound for Ceylon. Before reaching the sea, however, they had to negotiate the Hooghly River. Sam’s notebook:

  • Christchurch, New Zealand

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    Christchurch (/ˈkraɪstʃɜːrtʃ/; Māori: Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. The Christchurch urban area lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula. It is home to 389,700 residents, making it New Zealand's third most-populous urban area behind Auckland and Wellington.

  • Cleveland, OH

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    Livy, I guess that after all I shall become interested in this “Herald,” & then you shall be Managing Editor—that is to say, you’ll manage the editor. I think we’ll live in [Clevland], Livy—& then we’ll persuade Mr.

  • Constantinople, Turkey

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    Known as Istanbul since 1939, Twain arrived aboard the Quaker City August 17, 1867.  The ship remained there for two days then continued into the Black Sea.  Eight fellow passengers remained in the city until the ship returned to take on coal August 29.  It remained for 5 days.  Twain was particularly impressed with the Stamboul's bazaar.

  • Damascus

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    Sam and companions arrived in Damascus at sunset on September 14, 1867. They departed at noon on September 16, traveling to Kefr Hauwar. Mark Twain Project: Quaker City Itinerary

    The most fanatical Mohammedan purgatory out of Arabia

  • Delhi, India

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    March 16 Monday – The Clemens party arrived in Delhi at half-past midnight. They stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Burne of the Bank of Bengal, “in the great old mansion built by a rich orientalized Englishman” [Ahluwalia 19; NB 36 TS 57].
    (Fears)

  • Detroit, MI

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    Interviewed "The Funny Men in Bed"  Detroit Post, 17 December 1884, p4  In "Mark Twain: The Complete Interviews" (#26)

  • Duluth, MN

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    The opening of the canal at Sault Ste. Marie, in 1855 and the contemporaneous announcement of the railroads' coming had made Duluth the only port with access to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Soon the lumber industry, railroads and mining were all growing so quickly that the influx of workers could hardly keep up with demand and storefronts popped up almost overnight. By 1868 business in Duluth was really booming. "The Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas".