Early Voyages and Travels in the Levant

The publications of the Hakluyt Society (founded in 1846) made available edited (and sometimes translated) early accounts of exploration. The first series, which ran from 1847 to 1899, consists of 100 books containing published or previously unpublished works by authors from Christopher Columbus to Sir Francis Drake, and covering voyages to the New World, to China and Japan, to Russia and to Africa and India. Thomas Dallam, an organ-builder, was sent by Queen Elizabeth to the sultan of Turkey at Constantinople. His diary reveals a lively curiosity towards the sights, but a dislike of foreigners. Dr John Covel, later vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge, went to Constantinople as chaplain to the ambassador Sir Daniel Harvey in 1670. While there, he travelled widely, and collected books, manuscripts and other items. He was one of the first Western visitors to write about Mount Athos, and studied the Orthodox Church.