What did the first traveler to travel around the world by bicycle see in the Ottoman lands in 1885?

About ten years after Jules Vernes published his novel “Around the World in 80 Days,” an English traveler set out to circumnavigate the world.
However, unlike the character in Vernes’s book, Thomas Stevens decided to make the trip not by train or ship, but by bicycle.
His journey, which began in 1884 and lasted more than two years, also brought Stevens to Ottoman lands.
Following his journey, he wrote a book titled “Around the World on a Bicycle.”
In this book, which attracted great international attention at the time, he detailed what he saw on his route from Istanbul to Ankara and from Yozgat to Erzurum.

The first person to circumnavigate the world by bicycle.

Born in England, Stevens settled in the United States in 1871 at the age of 17.
He wasn’t an athlete, but he had an interest in cycling.
According to Aydan Çelik, who studies cycling, the bicycle was continuing its “evolution” during these years. It was still more of a hobby for aristocrats than a sport.

Von Drais’s vehicle, patented on June 26, 1819, became popular in many countries, including Austria, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the United States. The trolley was eventually developed into a bicycle. Denis Johnson, an Englishman, purchased one of von Drais’s vehicles and patented it in England, improving it. He produced 300 of them and marketed them as “pedestrian carriages.” Because this popular vehicle could only be used on smooth roads and presented safety issues, tricycles and quadricycles were adopted.

Pierre and Ernest Michaux Designed the First Pedal-Powered Bicycle

Father and son Pierre and Ernest Michaux attached pedals to the front wheel hub of a French bicycle built by Drais. Thus, the true bicycle was invented. After this, cycling enthusiasts spread rapidly throughout Europe. The father and son founded the Michaux Company and began mass production.

Today, highly advanced bicycles are used in a variety of applications, including mountain bikes, racing bikes, model children’s bikes, city and road bikes, fitness bikes, electric bikes, and utility bikes.

Unfortunately, the use of bicycles, a safe and economical means of transportation worldwide, has not yet been developed sufficiently in our country. To leave a cleaner and more livable world for future generations, we must promote cycling.

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