The writings of european travelers about Egypt and levant an important source for historical writing that date medieval ages ; the observant of historical sources that recorded this age notices the increase in the number of foreigner trips to Egypt in the 15 th centuries A.D. travelers or pilgrims made Christian pilgrimage trips to the holy lands ,and these religious visits to the east were a natural reaction to the great religious phenomenon in the medieval ages in the weast of east alirie , this impacted the nature of medieval ages , so many historians called medieval ages “ ages of faith” this clear in the writings of European travelers , specially those who visited holy places in Palestine and Egypt.
The exact observant perceives that “ pilgrimage to holy places” was the cause that led many European travelers to visit the eastern countries , but this was the declared super ficial cause of these visits , and in reality there was ahidden reason which was the great desire among European travelers that the European west comes back to the holy lands . if the intermittent crusades had ended by the end of the 13th century A.D, there was still some of these desires and gread under the ashes.
Pilgrimage trips to the holy lands continued , and pilgrims should have the papal prermission before the beginning of piligrimage trip . the papacy recommended some pilgrims to search for the points of weakness and strength in mamluks countries , and write every thing that concerns the roads to these countries . this is clear in the writings of some pilgrims travelers that weren’t naive . we find that their writings highlight the fortresses ,different roads , and the easiest ways to enter Egypt, etc. some travelers , such as bellotti in his letters to pope eugene iv ( 1430-1447) , recommended that Alexandria was the key for Egypt , and that the best way to capture egypte was to capure Alexandria , the best time to do that was the time of the flood ,by a campaigne from the Mediterranean sea , across Alexandria ,upto cairo .
The study showed the care of mamluks about the safety of Egypt in general , and specially Alexandria . the mamluks found in the foreigners traveler to Egypt adanger that may cause harm to Egypt and its interests , so they issued some laws that forbid foreigners from walking in some roads that lead to Alexandria directly . through studying the trips of foreign travelers , find that the period of foreign travelers , find that the period of foreign travelers staying in Egypt did not exceed one month , as aresult of the constraints imposed by the mamluk sultan on foreigners , except for travelers and the merchant emanual belloti , who had aspecial position for the sultan , so he excluded him from the condition of maximum period of stay .
The study proved that there is aclose relationship between social, political and economic conditions, and the relations between circassians mamluks state and eurpean states, as for the position of foreign communities from these states . mamluks state practiced pressure sometimes of European states by opprssing their nationals in the lands of sultan , the proof of this is the order of sultan Al-Ghuri to imprison all foreign subjests in Egypt and Palestine , and among the was the traveler fransisco Soriano .
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