Characteristics of global hotel chains. Test work hotel chains and their varieties

27.10.2019

Every day for us is a day of great discoveries that we make throughout our lives. Many years ago, outstanding travelers did a great job - they opened up for our understanding new corners of the world where no one had ever set foot before. And over time, those deserted territories became overcrowded with a diverse population that still lives there.

Arab travelers

For the Arab peoples, many factors influenced development not only trade and religious travel, but also a wide scale cultural and educational travel. People wanted to explore the world around them more and more, to discover new lands in order to become famous. The most famous Arab travelers become:

Abu Hamid al-Garnati(he began his journey in 1130, visiting many countries, he did not stop in one place and after a certain period of time moved from city to city in search of new adventures until 1169. And the next year, Abu Hamid al-Garnati suddenly died);
Ibn Battuta(he spent his whole life wandering from 1325 until his last breath, witnessed the Black Death, which passed through Syria, Palestine and Arabia, this disease took his parents from him);
Ibn-Haukal (most spent his life traveling in Asia and Africa);
Ibrahim ibn Yaqub(traveled through Western Slavic lands, was a noble man in Germany);
African Lion(traveled from early childhood with his parents);
Al Masoudi(in his travels he loved to collect materials on the history, geography and culture of different peoples);
Ibn Fadlan(I loved to describe my travels and travel with different peoples).

Territories explored by Arab travelers

Arabian adventures seekers explored a lot of territories, but the main territories that were considered useful in their trading affairs, were:

Persian Gulf;
coast of Somalia;
Zanzibar island;
Maldives archipelago;
islands of Indonesia;
coast of India.

Every day, each of us discovers something new; you shouldn’t be afraid of change, you should experiment and learn more and more about what surrounds you.

The emergence of Islam and the Arab conquests to the West and East caused the formation of the Arab Caliphate, from the very first centuries of its existence, travel became very active.

This is due to the requirement of Islam to visit Mecca once in a lifetime and to trade along land routes that connected the distant parts of the caliphate, slowly spreading to central Africa, northeastern Europe, and Southeast Asia.

In the 9th century, Arabs began to become acquainted with Ptolemy's works on Geography and other ancient Greek sources. By studying and processing them, the Arabs form their own descriptive geography, which covers all of Europe, except for the far north, East and North Africa, and southern Asia.

In the 10th century, the most famous Arab cartographer was Abul Hassan Ali al-Masudi, who spent his entire youth traveling, visiting Palestine, Syria, Ceylon, India, Madagascar, Zanzibar, Oman, the South China Sea and Asia Minor.

Arab merchants sailed the seas of Europe, except perhaps the northern ones, and explored the south and center of Asia, and the east of Europe. They appeared in sub-Saharan Africa and crossed the equator. Japan appeared on Arabic maps in the 11th century, but rather according to the stories of other travelers, since the Arabs did not reach Japan by sea. But this data was later very useful to the Portuguese.

The Arabs, thanks to active trade, gave the world many travelers from the 9th to the 14th centuries. The most famous of them is the 14th century geographer merchant Ibn Battuta, the author of the book “The Travels of Ibn Battuta,” which has been translated into many European languages and contains a large amount of ethno- and historical-geographical material.

It should be noted that later, in the 15th century, Europeans used this valuable and fairly accurate cartographic data. Thanks to Arab travelers Europe received very valuable and, most importantly, reliable information about countries such as China, Indonesia, Indochina - Bangladesh, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam .

Julian of Hungary,“Columbus of the East” is a Dominican monk who went in search of Great Hungary, the ancestral home of the Hungarians. By 895, the Hungarians had settled in Transylvania, but still remembered the distant lands of their ancestors, the steppe regions east of the Urals. In 1235, the Hungarian prince Bela equipped four Dominican monks on a journey. After a while, two Dominicans decided to return back, and Julian’s third companion died. The monk decided to continue his journey alone. As a result, having passed Constantinople, passing along the Kuban River, Julian reached Great Bulgaria, or Volga Bulgaria. The Dominican's return route ran through the Mordovian lands, Nizhny Novgorod, Vladimir, Ryazan, Chernigov and Kyiv. In 1237, Julian of Hungary set out on a second journey, but already on the way, having reached the eastern lands of Rus', he learned about the attack on Great Bulgaria by Mongol troops. Descriptions of the monk's travels have become an important source in the study of the history of the Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria.

Gunnbjorn Ulfson. Surely you have heard about Eirik the Red, Scandinavian navigator, the first to settle on the shores of Greenland. Thanks to this fact, many mistakenly think that he was the discoverer of the giant ice island. But no - Gunnbjorn Ulfson had been there before him, heading from his native Norway to Iceland, whose ship was thrown to new shores by a severe storm. Almost a century later, Eirik the Red followed in his footsteps - his path was not accidental, Eirik knew exactly where the island discovered by Ulfson was located.

Rabban Sauma, who is called the Chinese Marco Polo, became the only person from China to describe his journey through Europe. As a Nestorian monk, Rabban went on a long and dangerous pilgrimage to Jerusalem around 1278. Setting out from the Mongolian capital Khanbalik, i.e. present-day Beijing, he crossed all of Asia, but already approaching Persia, he learned about the war in the Holy Land and changed his route. In Persia, Rabban Sauma was warmly received, and a few years later, at the request of Arghun Khan, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Rome. First, he visited Constantinople and King Andronicus II, then visited Rome, where he established international contacts with the cardinals, and eventually ended up in France, at the court of King Philip the Fair, proposing an alliance with Arghun Khan. On the way back, the Chinese monk was granted an audience with the newly elected Pope and met with the English King Edward I.

Guillaume de Roubuque, Franciscan monk, after the end of the Seventh Crusade was sent by King Louis of France to southern steppes- in order to establish diplomatic cooperation with the Mongols. From Jerusalem, Guillaume de Rubuk reached Constantinople, from there to Sudak and moved towards Sea of Azov. As a result, Rubuk crossed the Volga, then the Ural River and eventually ended up in the capital of the Mongol Empire, the city of Karakorum. The audiences of the Great Khan did not produce any special diplomatic results: the Khan invited the King of France to swear allegiance to the Mongols, but the time spent in overseas countries was not in vain. Guillaume de Rubuk described his travels in detail and with his characteristic humor, telling the residents medieval Europe about distant eastern peoples and their lives. He was especially impressed by the religious tolerance of the Mongols, which was unusual for Europe: in the city of Karakorum, pagan and Buddhist temples, a mosque, and a Christian Nestorian church coexisted peacefully.

Afanasy Nikitin, Tver merchant, in 1466, went on a commercial voyage, which turned into incredible adventures for him. Thanks to his adventurism, Afanasy Nikitin went down in history as one of greatest travelers, leaving behind heartfelt notes “Walking across the Three Seas.” As soon as he left his native Tver, Afanasy Nikitin's merchant ships were plundered by the Astrakhan Tatars, but this did not stop the merchant, and he continued on his way - first reaching Derbent, Baku, then to Persia and from there to India. In his notes, he colorfully described the customs, morals, political and religious structure of Indian lands. In 1472, Afanasy Nikitin went to his homeland, but never reached Tver, dying near Smolensk. Afanasy Nikitin became the first European to travel all the way to India.

Chen Chen and Li Da- Chinese travelers who made a dangerous expedition across Central Asia. Li Da was an experienced traveler, but he did not lead travel notes and therefore not as famous as Chen Chen. Two eunuchs went on a diplomatic journey on behalf of the Yongle Emperor in 1414. They had to cross the desert for 50 days and climb along the Tien Shan mountains. After spending 269 days on the road, they reached the city of Herat (which is located on the territory of modern Afghanistan), presented gifts to the Sultan and returned home.

Odorico Pordenone- Franciscan monk who visited India, Sumatra and China at the beginning of the 14th century. Franciscan friars sought to increase their presence in countries East Asia, why missionaries were sent there. Odorico Pordenone, leaving his native monastery in Udine, proceeded first to Venice, then to Constantinople, and from there to Persia and India. The Franciscan monk traveled extensively in India and China, visited the territory of modern Indonesia, reaching the island of Java, lived in Beijing for several years, and then returned home, passing Lhasa. He died already in the monastery in Udine, but before his death he managed to dictate impressions of his travels, rich in details. His memories formed the basis of the famous book “The Adventures of Sir John Mandeville,” which was widely read in medieval Europe.

Naddod and Gardar- Vikings who discovered Iceland. Naddod landed off the coast of Iceland in the 9th century: he was on his way to Faroe islands, but a storm brought him to a new land. Having examined the surroundings and finding no signs of human life there, he went home. The next to set foot on Iceland was the Swedish Viking Gardar - he walked around the island along the coast on his ship. Naddod named the island “Snow Land”, and Iceland (i.e. “land of ice”) owes its present name to the third Viking, Floki Vilgerdarson, who reached this harsh and beautiful land.

Benjamin of Tudela- rabbi from the city of Tudela (Kingdom of Navarre, now the Spanish province of Navarre). The path of Benjamin of Tudela was not as grandiose as that of Afanasy Nikitin, but his notes became an invaluable source of information about the history and life of Jews in Byzantium. Benjamin of Tudela set out from hometown to Spain in 1160, passed Barcelona, traveled around southern France. Then he arrived in Rome, from where, after a while, he moved to Constantinople. From Byzantium the rabbi proceeded to the Holy Land, and from there to Damascus and Baghdad, and traveled around Arabia and Egypt.

Ibn Battuta famous not only for his wanderings. If his other “colleagues” set off on a trade, religious or diplomatic mission, the Berber traveler was called to follow him by the muse of distant travels - he traveled 120,700 km solely for the love of tourism. Ibn Battuta was born in 1304 in the Moroccan city of Tangier into the family of a sheikh. The first point on Ibn Battuta’s personal map was Mecca, where he arrived while moving overland along the coast of Africa. Instead of returning home, he continued traveling through the Middle East and East Africa. Having reached Tanzania and finding himself without funds, he ventured to travel to India: it was rumored that the Sultan in Delhi was incredibly generous. The rumors did not disappoint - the Sultan provided Ibn Battuta with generous gifts and sent him to China for diplomatic purposes. However, along the way he was plundered and, fearing the Sultan’s wrath and not daring to return to Delhi, Ibn Battuta was forced to hide in the Maldives, simultaneously visiting Sri Lanka, Bengal and Sumatra. He reached China only in 1345, from where he headed towards home. But, of course, he could not sit at home - Ibn Battuta made a short trip to Spain (at that time the territory of modern Andalusia belonged to the Moors and was called Al-Andalus), then went to Mali, for which he needed to cross the Sahara, and in 1354 settled in the city Fez, where he dictated all the details of his incredible adventures.

Arab travelers of the Middle Ages (Ibn Faddan, Al-Massoudi, Idrisi, Biruni, Ibn Batuta)

The merchant Ibn Batuta is considered an outstanding traveler of the 14th century. Ibn Battuta (Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Abdallah al-Lawati at-Tanji ) (circa 1304–1377) - Arab geographer and traveler. He began his wanderings in 1325 from Tangier, visited Egypt, Western Arabia, Yemen, Syria and Iran, then reached Mozambique by sea, and on the way back visited the Bahrain Islands. In his further travels, Ibn Battuta visited the Crimea, was in the lower reaches of the Volga and in its middle reaches, crossed the Caspian lowland and the Ustyurt plateau and proceeded to Central Asia. From there, through the Hindu Kush ridge, he entered the Indus Valley and lived in Delhi for several years. In 1342, he passed through Hindustan to the south, visited the Maldives, Sri Lanka and arrived by sea in China. Ibn Battuta returned to Tangier in 1349, again visiting Sri Lanka, Syria and Egypt. In 1352–1353 his last journey took place, during which he crossed Western and Central Sahara.

In just 25 years of his wanderings, he covered about 130 thousand km by land and sea. This book, then translated into a number of European languages, is filled with enormous geographical, historical and ethnographic material, which is of great interest for study in our time. medieval history and the geography of the countries he visited. He compiled 69 maps, although very imperfect, but of great importance for the development of geographical concepts of that time.

Main work: " A gift to those who contemplate the wonders of cities and the wonders of travel."

He managed to visit Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Western Arabia, China, Spain, India, visit the border regions of Asia Minor, and Ceylon. The book he wrote, “The Travels of Ibn Batuta,” was translated into various European languages and was very popular.

During the 25 years of his travels, Ibn Battuta traveled about 130 thousand km by land and sea. He visited all Muslim possessions in Europe, Asia and Byzantium, North and East Africa, Western and Central Asia, India, Ceylon and China, and walked around the shores of the Indian Ocean. He crossed the Black Sea and from South Bank Crimea traveled to the lower reaches of the Volga and the mouth of the Kama. Biruni made geographical measurements. He determined the angle of inclination of the ecliptic to the equator and established its secular changes. For 1020, his measurements gave a value of 23°34"0". Modern calculations give for 1020 a value of 23°34"45". During his trip to India, Biruni developed a method for determining the radius of the Earth. According to his measurements, the radius of the Earth turned out to be equal to 1081.66 farsakhs, i.e. about 6490 km. Al-Khorezmi took part in the measurements. Under Al-Mamun, an attempt was made to measure the circumference of the Earth. To this end, scientists measured a degree of latitude near the Red Sea, which is 56 Arab miles, or 113.0 km, from here the circumference of the Earth was 40,680 km.

Travelers who went to Asian lands could count on lodging, food, translators and guides there. In China and India, networks of roads were built to provide shelter and food. The documents used were oral or written recommendations from people who had previously visited these places or from those who visited the traveler’s homeland.

Al-Masudi Abul-Hasan Ali ibn-Husayn (896–956) - Arab historian, geographer and traveler. He was the first Arab historian to combine historical and geographical observations into a large-scale overall work. During his travels, Al-Masudi visited various provinces of the Persian Empire, the Caucasus, regions adjacent to the Caspian Sea, Syria, Arabia and Egypt. Al-Masudi also mentions Kievan Rus and Khazaria in his works. He also visited the south of modern Mozambique and made a successful description of the monsoons. Al Masudi describes the process of evaporation of moisture from the water surface and its condensation in the form of clouds.

Main works: “ Pans of gold and scatterings of precious stones” (“Muruj azzahab wa ma’adin al-javahir”), “Book of warning and revision” (“Kitab at-tanbih wa-l-ishraf”).

Reconstruction of the world map according to Al-Masudi

Al-Idrisi Idrisi (Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Idris al-Sherif al-Idrisi al-Hammudi al-Qurtubi al-Sakali) (1100–1161 or 1165) - Arab geographer, cartographer and traveler. Traveled through Portugal, France, England, Asia Minor, North Africa. Around 1138 he moved to Palermo, where he lived at the court of the Sicilian king Roger II (reigned 1130-1154). On his instructions, he created a map of the part of the world known at that time (in the form of a silver flat ball and on paper). Scandinavia, the Baltic Sea, Onega and Lake Ladoga, Dvina and Dnieper rivers. The Volga bifurcates and flows simultaneously into the Black and Caspian seas. The rivers Yenisei, Amur, lake are shown. Baikal, Altai mountains, Tibet, as well as China and India. At the same time, he denied the isolation of the Indian Ocean. Idrisi divides the earth into 7 climates (10 parts in each climate). Idrisi's books, including descriptions of all climates and maps to them, are a valuable source on the history and historical geography of Europe and Africa; contains interesting materials on the history of the Eastern Slavs, Turkmens and some other peoples. Idrisi’s sources were personal observations, as well as information he gleaned from the stories of travelers, merchants, sailors, pilgrims, as well as the works of ibn Khordadbeh, Yaqubi, ibn Haukal, Masudi and other Arab geographers and travelers.

Main work:“Entertainment for those who yearn for wandering through the regions” (“An entertaining and useful guide for those who wish to travel around the world”) (“Nuzhat al-mushtaq fi-htirak al-afaq”).

Reconstruction of Al-Idrisi's inverted map

Ibn Fadlan (Ahmed ibn al-Abbas ibn Rashid ibn Hammad ) (about 870– about 925) - Arab traveler and writer. Ibn Fadlan in 921–922 As part of the embassy of Caliph Mukhtadir, he made an extensive journey through Central Asia, the Ustyurt plateau, the Caspian lowland, and climbed along the Volga to the city of Bulgar (the outskirts of modern Kazan). He met tall, golden-haired Russians and described some of their customs, including the funeral ceremony. He was the first traveler to give clear, accurate reports about the northern Caspian regions and the Volga region and correctly listed the rivers crossing the Caspian lowland. For all these rivers, Ibn Fadlan gives names that coincide or are similar to modern ones.

Main work:"Risale" ("Note").