Tourism and War

Richard Butler, Wantanee Suntikul, Richard Butler, Wantanee Suntikul

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780415674331
• eBook ISBN: 9781136263095
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Industry
• Index: Business

This is the first volume to fully explore the complex relationship between war and tourism by considering its full range of dynamics; including political, psychological, economic and ideological factors at different levels, in different political and geographical locations. Issues of peace and tourism are dealt with insofar as they pertain to the effects of war on tourism that emerge after the cessation of hostilities. The book therefore reveals how not only location, but also political strategies, accidents of history, transportation linkages, and economic expediency all have played their role in the development and continuation of tourism before, during, and after wartime. It further show how the effects of war are seldom if ever simply a negation or reversal of the effects of peace on tourism.

The volume draws on a range of examples, from medieval times to the present, to reveal the multi-faceted development of tourism amidst and because of conflict in a wide variety of locations, including the Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, North America, Africa and South East Asia, showing the diverse ways in which tourism and war interacts. In doing so it explores how some locations have been developed as tourist attractions primarily because of war and conflict, e.g. as resting and training places for troops, and others flourished because of the threat of danger from conflicts to more traditional tourist locations.

This thought provoking volume contributes to the understanding of the interrelationships between war, peace and tourism in many different parts of the world at different scales. It will be valuable reading for all those interested in this topic as well as dark tourism, battlefield tourism and heritage tourism.

Part I

Historic Links

4 The Crusades, the Knights Templar, and Hospitaller

A Combination of Religion, War, Pilgrimage, and Tourism Enablers

Euan Beveridge and Kevin O’Gorman

The Crusades represent one of the best, and undoubtedly most controversial, examples of the complex relationship between war and tourism. Obviously they were not a tourist endeavor, but rather religious-sponsored wars intertwined with elements of conquest and occupation, which stimulated conflict in the Holy Lands for several centuries following; a contemporary issue explored later in chapters by Krakover and Isaac. The ultimate goal of the First Crusade (1096 to 1099) was to regain the “Holy Lands” and recapture Jerusalem for Christianity. Jerusalem presents a complicated case. It is a holy city to the three major Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – and, according to Cline (2005), it has been destroyed twice, besieged twenty-three times, attacked fifty-two times, and captured and then recaptured forty-four times. Furthermore, it is still highly emotive today. With that in mind, we wish to be clear that it is not the purpose of this chapter to debate the rights and wrongs of the Crusades, nor the reasons for them, nor their intents, or even to investigate the history of tourism in Jerusalem, but rather to explore how the Crusades contributed to the enabling of tourism.

Of course, long before the Crusades, there was already an honorable tradition of providing hospitality to the traveler in the region. Islamic hospitality emphasizes that there are obligations to guests and strangers at the heart of the religion’s teachings (O’Gorman et al. 2007). Indeed, hospitality is frequently mentioned in Islamic traditions known as hadīths. One such tradition notes that if the guest stays longer than three days (in practice typically two days and one night) it becomes charity, whilst it is forbidden for a guest to stay when he becomes a burden to his host (ibn Anas 1999). The establishing of caravanserai (hostels for travelers and trade) is often reflected among the traditions and cited in writings. For example, the historian al-Tabarī (c 830 AD) records that the governor of Samarqand (now called Samarkand, Uzbekistan) in 719 AD was ordered to:

Establish caravanserai in your lands so that whenever a Muslim passes by, you will put him up for a day, and a night and take care of his animals; if he is sick, provide him with hospitality for two days and two nights; and if he has used up all of his provisions and is unable to continue, supply him with whatever he needs to reach his hometown.

(al-Tabarī [838]/1989: 94)

Samarqand, which was located along one of the “silk routes,” considered the most important trading routes in the region, no doubt had a regular supply of traders and travelers. There is further evidence from the seventh and eighth centuries, as another writer, ibn Abd al-Hakam ([1014]/1922) who died in 860 AD, makes mention of guest houses built by the governor of Egypt, al-Muqaddasī ([946]/1877). He also highlights anecdotal evidence from 710 AD that the ruler of Damascus was roundly criticized for funding construction of a mosque rather than maintaining the roads and building inns for travelers. In the ninth and tenth centuries there was a well-established record of hospitable works for travelers in Bukhara, Uzbekistan (al-Narshakhī [959]/1954) and in the eleventh century a governor in Western Iran had “built in his territories three thousand mosques and inns for travellers” (ibn Abd al-Hakam [1014]/1922: 133).

Jerusalem after the First Crusade

After the First Crusade, when Christian armies captured Jerusalem in 1099 (Haag 2009; Barber 1994; Barber and Bate 2002; Reston 2001), pilgrims traveled in greater numbers than ever before from Catholic Europe to visit the biblical sites of great religious significance, i.e. Nazareth, Bethlehem, Samaria, and Jerusalem itself. Pilgrims arrived in Jaffa but, when traveling further afield, they risked the open road and exposure to bandits and robbers. The route between Ramallah and Jerusalem was particularly dangerous, according to Fulcher of Chartes “the populace lived in a state of perpetual insecurity, always attentive to the trumpet blast which warned them of danger” (as cited in Barber 1994: 3). Furthermore, Daniel, a Russian abbot, traveling the region during the period offers this description:

… this place is very dreadful and dangerous. Seven rivers flow from this town of Bashan and great reeds grow along these rivers and many tall palm trees stand about the town like a dense forest. This place is terrible and difficult of access for here live fierce pagan Saracens who attack travellers at fords on these rivers. And lions are found here in great numbers.

(Daniel 1988: 126)

The wilder regions, of what is now called Jordan, were often endured by pilgrims so that they could reach other prominent religious sites and consequently they ran a high risk of robbery and violence. The lawlessness, chaos, and the general concatenation of disorder that pilgrims faced, combined with their basic needs of food, drink, and accommodation underpinned the foundation of the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller.

Foundation and Purpose of the Others

The Knights of St John, known as the Knights of the Order of the Hospital or Hospitaller Knights, were formed around 1050 in Jerusalem during the First Crusade. The identity of Saint John, to whom the Hospitallers are dedicated, is believed by modern historians to be John the Baptist, a belief which contradicts William of Tyre’s contemporary accounts presenting John the Almoner (Nicholson 2001). After the conquest of Jerusalem, the Order, encouraged by the success of the Templars, took up arms to defend European interest further (Haag 2009). Following the loss of Christian held territories of the Holy Land to Muslims, the Order operated from Rhodes (1310–1523), and later from Malta (1530–1798), over which it was sovereign.

Whilst in Malta, the Hospitallers changed the island beyond all recognition and built the now capital city of Valetta; named after a former Grand Master of the Order. Valetta’s primary purpose was to better fortify the island against the encroaching Ottoman Empire. However, the most dramatic changes within the city were the burgeoning economic development, growing levels of craft production, and swelling population. The city operated as a cultural melting pot with nationalities from the length and breadth of the Mediterranean relocating to Valetta attracted by its distribution of wealth from the Sovereign Order of St. John (Mallia-Milanes 1993).

The Order exists today as “The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta,” also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta; the world’s oldest surviving order of chivalry. It is headquartered in Rome, and is widely considered by many countries to be a sovereign subject of international law and has been granted permanent observer status at the United Nations. Today, the Order has about 13,000 members, 80,000 permanent volunteers, and 20,000 medical personnel including doctors, nurses, auxiliaries, and paramedics. The goal is to assist the elderly, handicapped, refugees, children, homeless, those with terminal illnesses, and leprosy in five continents of the world, without distinction of race or religion.

The Hospitallers displayed interest, not only in the spiritual realm, but also in making a positive contribution to others through service, namely, nursing the sick and caring for the poor. This has led to belief that the Rule of the Hospitallers would be derived from their elder brothers, the Benedictines (Nicholson 2001). The knights’ provision of medicine and shelter began at the Hospitaller infirmary near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, but the Order, soon after, began to provide pilgrims with an armed escort and soon grew into a substantial force (Barber 1994). Donations to the Hospitallers were widely received after the First Crusade from settling crusaders seeking to support their work and by extension receive spiritual grace. Instances of acquiring otherwise deserted land typically resulted in the knights building “villages, churches and cemeteries” for all to use. As time progressed, the Order became exempt from owing tithes to the Church, “the tenth of all produce which was due from all Christians to the Church,” allowing land ownership income to be channeled into their philanthropic founding purpose (Nicholson 2001: 6–7).

Despite the occupation of Jerusalem in July 1099, there were deficiencies in authority which were most prevalent in an “inability to secure the safety of travellers and pilgrims in the regions supposedly under Frankish control” (Barber 1994: 3). Even with the European occupation of the Holy Land, there was a constant struggle to garrison their fortifications, muster an army in the field, and police the roads leading to the Holy City. Marauding thieves and brigands were not the only worry, lions hunted in the Jordan valley and there was also danger of dying from heat exhaustion or dehydration as water supplies were severely limited.

It is commonly held, but details and evidence are lost to history, that the Knights Templar Order was founded on Christmas Day 1119, at the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. They named themselves “The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon” (Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici)and were commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple. Their founding charism and central purpose was “to protect pilgrims along the perilous pilgrimage routes of the Middle East” (Reston 2001: 12). The figurehead, and founding member, is held to be Hugh de Payns (of Champagne), who was also the first Grand Master of the Order, who along with the eight other volunteer members swore chastity, poverty, and obedience to the Patriarch of Jerusalem. They were described by a contemporary, William of Tyre, as “certain noble men of knightly order, devoted to God, pious and God-fearing” (as cited in Barber 1994: 6). They fulfilled the duty placed upon them by the Patriarch, “that they should maintain, as far as they could, the roads and highways against the ambushes of brigands, especially in regard to the safety of pilgrims” (William of Tyre; as cited in Barber 1994).

Nicholson (2001) indicates that the emergence of the Templars was supplementary to the activities of the Hospitallers. The Hospitallers, prior to 1119, were inclined towards hiring fighting men to help them better aid pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land. The Order of the Temple grew rapidly between 1119 and 1129, however, and it seems logical that a period would transpire whereby the necessary man power to escort volumes of Europeans to the Temple of Solomon would be insufficient, creating an opportunity taken up by the Templars.

The Templars trusted that by undertaking this endeavor they were purchasing their eternal salvation and defending the Pope; they believed that “the Templar dead who had attained eternal life… had consecrated their hands to God in the blood of the unbelievers” (Partner 1987: 9). This understanding and practice was derived from the teachings of St Bernard of Clairvaux where killing in the name of Christ was “malecide not homicide” and thus to “kill a pagan is to win glory for it gives glory to Christ” (Reston 2001: 12). It was St Bernard who validated and vindicated the hospitable practices of the Order of the Temple as “men whose bodies were protected by iron and whose souls were clothed in the breastplate of faith” (Haag 2009: 145). This belief is again echoed in Fulcher of Chartes writing of Pope Urban II’s speech: “Let those… who are accustomed to wage private wars wastefully even against Believers, go forth against the infidels in a battle worthy to be undertaken now and finished in victory. Now, let those, who until recently existed as plunderers, be Soldiers of Christ” (Fulcher of Chartres [Peters] 1993: 31).

The Order openly encouraged those who had turned from God to seek salvation in service of the Church by taking up a disciplined, monastic calling whereby they could not only redeem their souls but also, through the perpetuation of the same hospitality shown by the Templars, ensure the safety of travelers and pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land. They were granted unconditional acceptance – assuming they satisfied the designated health requirements of a Templar – and invited to become part of an Order that spanned two continents and preserved the interests of Christendom morally and financially in line with contemporary beliefs of the time (Barber 1994; Haag 2009).

The Order’s initial success is clear from the documents of the Council of Troyes in 1128 where their work is acclaimed and followed by full papal recognition in 1129 (Partner 1987). The Templars’ existence was tied closely to the Crusades; when the Holy Land was lost, support for the Order faded. Deliberate rumors about the Templars’ secret initiation ceremony created mistrust, and King Philip IV of France who was deeply in debt to the Order, took advantage of the situation. In June 1308, there was a papal inquiry into the Templars held in the French city of Poitiers. Under interrogation, most probably including torture, seventy-two knights confessed heresy to Pope Clement V (Inquisitiones contra Templarios in Romana Curia 1308a, b, c). Many of the Order’s members in France were arrested, tortured, and burned at the stake. The abrupt disappearance of the Order has, unsurprisingly, caused great speculation and corresponding legends to grow and develop which have kept the “Templar” name alive. There is clear evidence in the Vatican Secret Archives, contained in a document known as the “Chinon Parchment” (1308) dated 17–20 August 1308 (wrongly filed in 1628 and rediscovered 2001), that Pope Clement absolved the Templars of all heresies in 1308 before formally disbanding the Order in 1312 (Frale 2004). With the publishing of the documents pertaining to the trial of the Templars (Archivum Secretum Vaticanum 2007) the Catholic Church holds that the medieval persecution of the Knights Templar was unjust.

Contribution to Hospitality and Tourism Accommodation Provision

Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, noted that the Knights Hospitaller “had been founded on hospitality” (Barber 1994: 218) whereas the Knights Templar was a military order founded to offer sanctuary and protection to travelers and pilgrims. Despite Molay’s distinction between the two Orders’ founding principles, the actions of the Templars were also rooted in hospitable motives. Their Rule of Life was based on that of St Benedict of Nursia and they were therefore expected to offer hospitality to the poor and to travelers (Böckmann 1988; Borias 1974; O’Gorman 2006). This is clearly reflected in their French Rule of Life “wherever the Master is, three paupers should eat of the brothers’ food, four in each major house or castle, for t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of plates
• List of tables
• List of contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part I: Historic links
• Part II: Tourism before and during war
• Part III: Tourism under threat of war
• Part IV: Tourism, war and the aftermath
• Part V: Tourism and war remembrance
• Conclusion
• Index