Lago describes how ” the plague knocked on every door ,” until people were afraid to go out, and how the epidemic seemed out of control, imposing its rhythm on cities, administration, and people alike.
“The epidemic ravaged our regions to the point of terror. It was a frightening thing that remained out of control, after the plague knocked on every door, until people became afraid to leave their homes.”
At the Bosphorus Strait, the Maiden’s Tower stands as a living witness to the time of epidemics. The tower was transformed into a quarantine station where Lago worked for years, after the location was chosen as suitable for isolating the infected and preventing the spread of the disease.
He was tasked with monitoring large numbers of patients there, where he writes about tired faces and exhausted bodies, and about a heavy certainty that accompanies the doctor every day:
“I knew that some of them would die soon.”
The isolation facilities chosen by the Ottoman state were called ” Tahaffuz Khana ,” as isolation was the most extreme measure that could be taken during the “Year of the Plague.” In Lago’s memoirs, quarantine appears as the only possible option, especially given the lack of local experts in its implementation, which led the state to seek European expertise.
It is noted that in 1831, during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II, quarantine measures were implemented in major cities, with particular emphasis placed on incoming ships, considered the greatest risk. A decision was then made to detain and quarantine ships bound for Istanbul, transferring those infected to a designated hospital or the Maiden’s Tower, and requiring passengers to record their health status on their travel documents.
The doctor concludes this scene with a sentence that almost summarizes the geography of the epidemic:
The spread of the disease was everywhere… the Levant, the Hejaz, and Egypt.
The spread of the plague in the Levant
Regarding the Levant, the British physician Alexander Russell writes in his book ” The Natural History of Aleppo in the Eighteenth Century ” that the plague was not foreign to the region, but rather a “visit” that was repeated almost regularly.
He recounts that in the summer of 1741, the plague spread in the Gulf of Alexandretta, then swept through the surrounding areas, creeping towards the Levant. It soon reached Aleppo, before spreading throughout the city and its suburbs within a few days. As the infection spread, funerals began to appear in large numbers, suggesting that death had taken root in the city.
One of the things that most struck Russell (as he recounts in his memoirs) was the sudden deaths without any clear warning signs; symptoms might begin in a way that didn’t cause alarm, only to end in death within hours. The doctor describes a “terrifying” scene when a girl died in less than five hours after black spots rapidly covered her entire body.
“It was a terrifying sight; we couldn’t do anything.”
Russell says he tried many treatments and remedies, relying on reports from someone he appointed to visit patients because he preferred seclusion. However, these reports were often inaccurate, so he was later forced to visit patients himself, despite trying to avoid it as much as possible.
As for the people, they resorted to staying indoors. Doors were tightly closed, and homeowners allowed nothing to enter except provisions. Some even assigned someone to remain outside to gather news and deliver messages.
Russell notes that the fear extended to dogs and cats, considered “visitors” who might spread the infection from house to house, leading some residents to kill them for fear of contagion. In Aleppo as well, he describes difficult days “filled with the stench of death ,” yet many still preferred to stay rather than leave for fear of further spreading the epidemic.
Where did the plague come from?
Regarding the source of the plague, Antoine Lago writes in his memoirs that he cannot be certain of the place of origin, because humans do not live in isolation.
It is likely that major trade and transportation routes were ideal conduits for the spread of infection: caravans, merchants, armies, sailors, and even pilgrims…
They all contributed, unintentionally, to expanding the disease maps.
The plague in the Hijaz
The risk of infection increased during the Hajj season. In 1814, the plague spread in the Hejaz region, and dozens of pilgrims were dying daily. As panic mounted, official decisions were reportedly made to suspend the pilgrimage.
The Swiss traveler and historian Johann Lewis Burckhardt writes in ” Travels in Arabia ” about a time when a “malignant fever” swept through the entire Hejaz region. He says he suspected the plague without having any proof, and when he mentioned the word “plague” to some people in the Hejaz, he was met with strong denial, as they believed that God had protected the holy lands from this disease.
But the numbers were escalating: dozens of deaths daily, then dozens at once, until the panic reached its peak.
Burckhardt notes that Jeddah experienced a more severe outbreak, with the death toll rising to hundreds daily. This prompted many to flee to Mecca in search of safety, but the movement of people themselves carried the disease back to the city, resulting in a large number of deaths.
In describing popular reactions, he mentions “symbolic” attempts to confront the epidemic, along with a widespread religious interpretation that sees the plague as a trial linked to the corruption of the people and the injustice of the rulers.
Between religious interpretation and the beginnings of medical understanding
In his book “The Gift of Help Regarding the Virtue of the Plague”, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani discussed the plague in a religious context, and linked his understanding of it to narrations that make death from it a martyrdom.
On the other hand, the Islamic medical tradition contained an early and more accurate medical description of the plague, including what is attributed to Abu Bakr al-Razi regarding the description of the symptoms and the warning about the transmission of infection through contact and some tools, which is close to understanding “infection” with a logic ahead of his time.
The plague in Egypt
The British traveler Alexander Kinglake , in his book ” A Journey to the Orient ,” also mentions the spread of the plague in Egypt. He writes that he decided to travel to Cairo in 1835, unaware that the epidemic had already reached the city. As he approached, a man dressed in Turkish clothing warned him against entering the capital.
But Kinglake entered Cairo nonetheless, only to find the city counting hundreds of deaths daily, with funerals stretching from dawn until noon. The irony, as the traveler observed, was that preparations for Eid al-Adha had not ceased: tents were being erected and swings hung to entertain children, as if the city were trying—whether stubbornly or desperately—to grasp at some semblance of life amidst the pervasive death.
Quarantine… when isolation became policy
In his book ” The Black Death ,” Australian researcher Joseph Byrne states that the idea of mandatory quarantine emerged in the 14th century to protect coastal cities from the plague. He explains that ships arriving at the port of Venice were forced to wait forty days before being allowed entry, which laid the foundation for the concept of quarantine.
Hence the name “ quarantine ”: a designated isolation area, derived from Italian and meaning “ forty days ”.
Byrne explains that quarantine zones on coastal cities exist in every country, specifically in coastal cities, the most famous of which is in the city of Jeddah, where the port is for pilgrims who are sent to that quarantined area during the pandemic.
As for the quarantine in Alexandria, it has another story dating back to the era of Muhammad Ali Pasha. In 1831, with the succession of epidemics (the plague and then cholera), the idea was put forward to organize a council to protect the coastal city and establish a quarantine council in Alexandria, before the idea was generalized and other quarantines were built throughout Egypt.
Quick terms:
Quarantine: Isolating people/ships to prevent the spread of infection.
Quarantine: an isolation zone, its origin is linked to forty days.
“Tahaffuz Khana”: An Ottoman term for places to isolate patients.
In his ” History of al-Jabarti, ” Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti recounts scenes of the plague’s violence and its harsh impact on daily life, to the point that some villages appeared to be completely deserted. Meanwhile, the authorities’ decisions, a mixture of measures and rituals, emerged: quarantines and isolation, alongside religious readings in mosques seeking relief from the affliction, all in an attempt to contain the fear with the tools available at the time.
This was not the first time the plague had struck Egypt. The epidemic was an influential factor in the collapse of Mamluk rule, and its social and political effects were profound, before its intermittent presence continued in the region during the Ottoman era and even the French campaign.
