AHMET TEVFİK BEY (İbnülcemal)
Ottoman-era bicycle traveler and travel writer. In 1897, he undertook a bicycle journey of 266 kilometers and 760 meters through Bursa and its surrounding region. He documented this journey in his book Hüdavendigâr Vilayeti Dâhilinde Velosipetle Bir Cevelân (A Bicycle Excursion Through the Province of Hüdavendigâr), leaving behind one of the most important early written records of bicycle touring culture in Türkiye.
Who Was Ahmet Tevfik Bey?
İbnülcemal Ahmet Tevfik Bey was a bicycle traveler and travel writer who lived in the Ottoman Empire during the late 19th century, when bicycles were still a relatively new phenomenon.
Little is known about his personal life, including his dates of birth and death. However, his name has survived through the travelogue he wrote about his bicycle journey through Bursa and the surrounding region.
His historical significance lies not merely in completing a long-distance bicycle journey, but also in documenting the people he encountered, the settlements he visited, road conditions, and the challenges of cycling at the time. These observations make his work a valuable record of everyday life in the late Ottoman Empire.
A 266-Kilometer Bicycle Journey in 1897
In 1897, Ahmet Tevfik Bey and a companion decided to explore Bursa and its surroundings by bicycle.
In his travelogue, he describes how the idea first emerged:
“It was around the middle of July. The idea of taking a short trip occurred to us.”
The simplicity of this statement is striking, considering that the journey would eventually cover nearly 267 kilometers.
The two travelers boarded a steamship with their bicycles at the Galata waterfront in Istanbul and sailed to Mudanya, where their cycling adventure began.
Main route of the journey:
Istanbul (by steamship) → Mudanya → Bursa → Aksu → İnegöl → Yenişehir → Bursa → Mudanya.
Along the way, the travelers also visited Çitli, Hasanpaşa, and several other nearby settlements. Including these excursions, the total distance traveled is reported as 266 kilometers and 760 meters.
The journey took place under conditions very different from those experienced by cyclists today. In the late 19th century, many roads were poorly maintained, while bicycle maintenance and repair facilities were extremely limited.
Although the journey is generally dated to 1897, its exact starting and ending dates have not been conclusively established. The reference to July at the beginning of the travelogue differs from the September dates mentioned in some secondary sources.
Challenges Along the Road
Ahmet Tevfik Bey's travelogue is much more than a simple account of the places he visited. It also describes the everyday experiences and practical difficulties of long-distance bicycle travel.
The two travelers encountered rough roads, steep hills, strong winds, and mechanical problems. On some sections of the route, they had to push their bicycles rather than ride them.
Reflecting on the most suitable season for long-distance cycling, Ahmet Tevfik Bey wrote:
“Long journeys by velocipede should be undertaken during this season, namely July and August, when the winds are light and the weather is relatively stable.”
His observation remains relevant to bicycle touring today. Wind, weather conditions, and road surfaces are still among the most important factors influencing a cycling journey.
People Encountering Bicycles for the First Time
One of the most engaging aspects of the travelogue is its description of the curiosity that bicycles aroused among local residents.
At the end of the 19th century, bicycles were still unfamiliar in many parts of the Ottoman Empire. The arrival of bicycle travelers in smaller settlements could attract considerable attention and surprise.
According to Ahmet Tevfik Bey's account, a person they encountered in Yenişehir wanted to see how a bicycle worked:
“Get on that carriage and ride around a little. Let us see.”
Similar curiosity arose in the village of Boşar, where the travelers had their bicycles repaired on their return journey. Local villagers asked them to mount their bicycles and demonstrate how they moved.
These encounters provide valuable insight into the early reception of bicycles in Ottoman society. The travelogue shows that the bicycle was not simply a technological innovation, but also a new form of transportation that captured people's imagination.
Velosipetle Bir Cevelân: From Bicycle Journey to Travelogue
Ahmet Tevfik Bey recorded his experiences in a book titled Hüdavendigâr Vilayeti Dâhilinde Velosipetle Bir Cevelân.
Bibliographic records date the original publication to 1316 in the Ottoman calendar (1898). Some secondary sources, however, give 1900 as the publication year.
The word velosipetwas one of the terms used for a bicycle during that period, derived from the Frenchvélocipède. The Ottoman Turkish word cevelân means wandering, roaming, or taking an excursion.
The book's title can therefore be approximately translated as A Bicycle Excursion Through the Province of Hüdavendigâr.
The travelogue describes more than the route and events of the journey. It also discusses bicycle use, practical considerations for long-distance travel, and the everyday challenges faced by early bicycle tourists.
These characteristics make it an important written source for understanding cycling culture in the Ottoman Empire.
Modern Editions of the Travelogue
More than a century after the original journey, Ahmet Tevfik Bey's travelogue was reintroduced to readers through editions adapted into modern Turkish.
2006 — Velosipet ile Bir Cevelân: 1900'e Doğru İstanbul'dan Bursa'ya Bisikletli Bir Gezi
Translated into modern Turkish by Cahit Kayra and published by Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları.
The title can be translated as A Bicycle Excursion: Cycling from Istanbul to Bursa Around 1900.
2007 — 100 Yıl Önce Bisikletle Bursa
Adapted into modern Turkish by Nezaket Özdemir and published by Sentez Yayıncılık.
The title means Bursa by Bicycle 100 Years Ago.
These editions helped bring the travelogue back into public awareness and made it accessible to researchers studying the history of cycling in Türkiye.
Cycling the Route More Than a Century Later
More than a hundred years after Ahmet Tevfik Bey's journey, his adventure continued to inspire cyclists.
Beginning in 2010, the Bursa Bicycle and Nature Lovers Association (Bursa Bisiklet ve Doğayı Sevenler Derneği) organized cycling events under the name “Yüzyıllık Macera” (A Century-Old Adventure) to commemorate the historic journey.
Starting from Mudanya, participants cycled along routes inspired by the itinerary followed by Ahmet Tevfik Bey and his companion.
In this way, a bicycle journey undertaken in the late 19th century was rediscovered by new generations of cyclists more than a century later.
Was Ahmet Tevfik Bey the First Turkish Bicycle Traveler?
Ahmet Tevfik Bey was among the pioneers of bicycle touring in the territory of present-day Türkiye. However, describing him definitively as “the first Turkish bicycle traveler” would not be historically accurate.
Ottoman newspapers and magazines contain records of bicycle journeys undertaken before his 1897 expedition.
These include a journey between Ayasoluk (present-day Selçuk) and Kuşadası in 1895, painter Saim Efendi's journey from İzmir to Söke in 1896, bicycle tours undertaken by Tepedelenlizade Kamil Bey, and Şakir Bey's journey between Bursa and Bandırma.
In particular, Tepedelenlizade Kamil Bey's cycling travel accounts, published in the magazine Servet-i Fünûn in 1896, demonstrate that bicycle journeys had already been documented in writing before Ahmet Tevfik Bey's book.
His historical importance should therefore not be based on an unverified claim that he was the first bicycle traveler. Rather, it lies in his publication of a standalone travelogue and his detailed documentation of cycling culture during the late Ottoman period.
Related research:Before Ahmet Tevfik Bey: The Forgotten Bicycle Travelers of the Ottoman Empire — Bisiklopedi Blog (forthcoming).
His Place in the History of Cycling in Türkiye
Ahmet Tevfik Bey's travelogue is an important firsthand account from a period when bicycles were only beginning to become familiar in Ottoman society.
His work demonstrates that bicycles were used not only for transportation or sport, but also for exploration, travel, discovering unfamiliar places, and gaining new experiences.
Many experiences associated with bicycle touring today appear in his account: route planning, coping with difficult road conditions, solving mechanical problems, finding accommodation, and interacting with local communities.
For these reasons, regardless of whether he was the first bicycle traveler, Ahmet Tevfik Bey deserves recognition as one of the pioneering figures in the written history of bicycle touring culture in Türkiye.
References
İbnülcemal Ahmed Tevfik. Hüdavendigâr Vilayeti Dâhilinde Velosipetle Bir Cevelân. Istanbul: Yuvanaki Panayotidis Printing House, 1316 (1898). Bibliographic record.
İbnülcemal Ahmet Tevfik. Velosipet ile Bir Cevelân: 1900'e Doğru İstanbul'dan Bursa'ya Bisikletli Bir Gezi. Translated into modern Turkish by Cahit Kayra. Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, 2006.
İbnülcemal Ahmed Tevfik. 100 Yıl Önce Bisikletle Bursa. Adapted into modern Turkish by Nezaket Özdemir. Sentez Yayıncılık, 2007.
Cenk Hüner. Osmanlı Sosyal Hayatında Bisikletin Benimsenmesi ve Yaygınlaşması [The Adoption and Spread of Bicycles in Ottoman Social Life]. 2024.
Mürsade Meryem Kılıç. 19. Yüzyıldan Maceraperest Bir Kâşif [An Adventurous Explorer from the 19th Century]. 2024.
Serkan Duru. Hüdavendigâr Vilayeti Dâhilinde Velosipetle Bir Cevelân. Dergi Bursa.
120 Yıllık Macera: Velosipetle Bir Cevelân [A 120-Year-Old Adventure: A Bicycle Excursion]. Olay Gazetesi, 2017.
Related topics: Cycling history, bicycle touring, velocipede, travel literature, cycling in the Ottoman Empire, bicycle travelers.
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