Kaiserfahrt nach palästina, ein Gesellschaftsspiel [Imperial Trip to Palestine, a Board Game]. Manufacturer: Adolph Engel, [Berlin, 1898]. German. A German board game, enabling to take an imaginary trip to Palestine with the German Kaiser. Manufactured at the Adolph Engel factory for toys and postcards, after the return of Kaiser Wilhelm II from his historical visit to Palestine, in 1898. The game is played on a board with two color maps (one of the Mediterranean Basin and the second of Palestine) with seventy squares on them – the stations of the imperial trip on land and sea. The players are equipped with paper coins with the portrait of the Greek deity Hermes – the patron of travelers, and their movement is determined by a wheel with a rotating needle. Some of the squares present dangers to the players (based on events that took place during the imperial trip) and for every important city there is a card with a picture of the city and a short, rhymed poem. On square no. 49 – the city of Jerusalem, the players are required to move to a special board, decorated with stars and the Jerusalem Cross, on which there are thirteen pictures within medallions and frames – sites which the Emperor had visited (Jaffa Gate, Damascus Gate, Dome of the Rock, the Western Wall, and more; the first player to reach the city, wins a special paper decoration from the Emperor). The game includes two game boards, a cardboard wheel with rotating needle, card coins in a cloth bag, six regular game pawns and one crowned pawn (for the player who received the role of 'Marshal of the Imperial Trip"), 38 cards, one paper decoration, and an instructions leaf. Placed in an original case divided into five wooden compartments, with a color lid with pictures of various sites from the trip and the manufacturer's logo (monogram of the letters AEB). Case: 38.5X38.5 cm. Large board: 34X69 cm. Small board: 23X34 cm. Props of varying size. Good condition. Stains. Blemishes to props. Minor wear to case. Through the months of October-November 1898, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany toured some of the major cities of the Ottoman Empire, including Beirut, Constantinople, Jerusalem, Haifa, and Jaffa. The visit to Palestine, in particular, was regarded as one of the most salient events in the annals of the Land of Israel in the 19th century. Preparations for the Kaiser's visit to Palestine had already begun in the summer of 1898. These included a massive municipal clean-up, the improvement and overhaul of infrastructure, the laying of a telegraph line, and other operations. In time for the Kaiser's arrival in Jerusalem, a number of municipal roads were widened. The authorities went as far as breaching a gap in Jerusalem's Old City Wall, adjacent to Jaffa Gate, to enable the smooth passage of the Kaiser's opulent carriage. In addition, the city streets – most notably HaNevi'im Street, where a special tent camp for the Kaiser and his entourage was to be temporarily constructed – were adorned with the flags of Germany and the Ottoman Empire, and with makeshift gates of honor. The highlight of the Kaiser's visit to Jerusalem was the opening ceremony of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. But he also visited the German Colony, the Mt. of Olives, the Christian Quarter of the Old City, City Hall, and other sites. From a Jewish standpoint, perhaps the most historically important event in the Kaiser's itinerary was his meeting with Theodor Herzl. Throughout his visit, Wilhelm was accompanied by his wife, the Empress Augusta Victoria, and a small entourage. The Kaiser rode either on horseback or in the imperial carriage. Following in the footsteps of his immediate entourage in Jerusalem was a parade of lesser-ranked officials, accompanied by cavalry regiments and "kawas" officials – ceremonial Ottoman-Empire bodyguards. Large crowds of people thronged to Jerusalem to witness the occasion. Many were willing to pay money for the privilege of occupying vantage points on rooftops and balconies overlooking the planned route of the procession.