Nadene Goldfoot
Mark Twain, author of Tom Sawyer, (the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens) wrote The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress, which was published in 1869. It is a humorous travelogue based on his 1867 journey through Europe and the Holy Land, and it became his best-selling work during his lifetime. The book was based on a series of 50 letters written for the Daily Alta California newspaper, which funded his trip aboard the steamer Quaker City.
Mediterranean Route: The ship navigated various coastal waters, including stops in France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt. The voyage lasted five months, beginning June 8, 1867, departing from New York.
In 1867, the Holy Land was not an official administrative unit called "Palestine." Instead, it was primarily known as part of Southern Syria (Suriyya al-Janubiyya), divided into several districts (sanjaks), including Jerusalem, Nablus, and Acre. While used geographically, official Ottoman documents often referred to the area by its administrative centers.
The region was a sparsely populated, neglected province of the Ottoman Empire, described by travelers like Mark Twain as a desolate, "mournful" landscape. The region was characterized by widespread poverty, lack of industry, and a small, diverse population, shortly before the first major waves of modern Jewish immigration.
1867 and the Holy Land was full of sand and that's about all. The Ottoman Empire was in control of the region in 1867. The Ottoman Turks ruled the area continuously from 1517 to 1917, spanning over 400 years. In 1867, Palestine was not an independent administrative unit, but a geographic region controlled by the Ottomans, primarily organized under the Province of Syria and other surrounding districts (Sanjaks) administered from Beirut Lebanon or directly by Istanbul , capital of Turkey who are the Ottomans.
By 1920, the territory was formally designated as "Palestine" primarily by the British military administration and later the League of Nations. This period marked the beginning of the British Mandate, making "Palestine" the official administrative name for the region formerly under Ottoman rulers.
All one could see as Clemens described it were a few wandering camels with a Bedouin riding on it going across the landscape. Jews remained in their homes or synagogues when he was there. The southern half of Israel is primarily the Negev Desert, a triangular, arid region spanning over 12,000 square kilometers and constituting over half of the country's total land area. It transitions from sandy coastal areas to rugged mountains and rocky, arid terrain towards Eilat. The Negev Desert (South): Comprises most of the "all sand" or arid territory, bordering Egypt and the Arava valley. The region features craters, sandy dune fields, and rocky terrain.
During WWI, British forces under General Allenby captured Jerusalem in December 1917 and seized control of Palestine from the Ottoman Empire by 1918. This period saw Britain make conflicting promises, including supporting Arab independence, the secret Sykes-Picot agreement with France, and the 1917 Balfour Declaration favoring a Jewish national home, leading to a complex, volatile, and eventually failed 30 year Mandate rule that lasted until 1948.
In 1921, the British separated the territory east of the Jordan River from the Palestine Mandate to create the autonomous Emirate of Transjordan. This area, under Abdullah bin Hussein, was officially excluded from the Jewish National Home provisions of the mandate in September 1922. It had only taken Britain 4 years to renege on the plans helping the Jewish people.
By creating the Emirate of Transjordan (1921–1923) east of the Jordan River, Britain secured a strategic buffer zone to protect its Palestine Mandate and Suez Canal interests, managed regional stability, and fulfilled political promises to the Hashemite family at low cost. This area was exempted from the Balfour Declaration's Jewish National Home provisions, separating the administration of Palestine. Preventing Regional Conflict: It provided a consolation prize for Emir Abdullah I (son of Sharif Hussein of Mecca), preventing him from attacking the French in Syria and pacifying him after he lost the throne of Hejaz to Ibn Saud.
Also Read: https://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2026/05/palestinian-bloodline-and-politics.html
