The Titanic The wonder And Legend

On April 14, 1912, the Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean during its maiden voyage, after hitting an iceberg. One hundred years after it sank, the story of this legendary ship and its tragic end is still arousing worldwide interest.

The Titanic is considered the most famous ship in the world at all, having entered history from its widest doors at the beginning of the last century.The legend of the Titanic was not only linked to its great human tragedy and catastrophe, but to the immortalization of this accident through books, films, literary and artistic works, which a ship had not succeeded in doing before.

In the early twentieth century, trips from Europe to North America were very popular with different segments of European societies, as hundreds of thousands of Europeans sought to migrate to the American continent, or what was called the “New World”, in search of a better life and a new future. For these immigrants, this journey meant a lot, and they were willing to sacrifice everything they had to make it. As for the wealthy class, the trip to North America and vice versa was one of the aspects of luxury and extravagance and a kind of luxury and recreation.

In addition, the industrial revolution in Europe and the great technological developments that followed made travel across the seas convenient and fast, especially since ship travel was at that time the most important means of transporting passengers around the world. Therefore, attention was focused on developing shipbuilding techniques and developing their various uses, in addition to blind faith and confidence in using the latest technical innovations in the shipbuilding industry. This confidence quickly dissipated after nature defeated the marvel of shipbuilding at the time, the Titanic.

The biggest, fastest and most beautiful

Everything in the Titanic referred to the grandeur and luxury of this ship, whose planning began in the English company White Starline in 1908, in addition to two other ships, Olympic and Britannic. These three ships were supposed to be the most luxurious and largest of the time, and the Titanic to be among the largest, fastest and most beautiful.

The Titanic weighed about 45,000 tons and was 269 meters long, making it the largest passenger ship in the world. It was also equipped with huge engines that enabled it to travel long distances very quickly, compared to other modes of transport at the time. Thus, the Titanic was considered a major technical breakthrough for that time.

In terms of luxury, the Titanic also broke all records, as the 420 first-class passengers enjoyed everything they dreamed of in comfort and luxury, between a heated swimming pool, a gym, squash court, a sauna, and many different shops, cafes and libraries, which suit the life of the wealthy classes. at that time. The Titanic also had an upscale restaurant on board, catering to all the requests of its customers. All this made the Titanic a combination of a luxury floating hotel and a giant ship that was a model for today's cruise ships.

Travelers from all walks of life

The Titanic also succeeded in attracting passengers from different segments of society. The poor took it to seek emigration and the rich sought fame. In addition to the media coverage that it received during its construction and the great fame it gained before its completion, the ship included among its passengers a large number of famous people at that time, such as businessman Benjamin Guggenheim, textile merchant Martin Rothschild and American millionaire John Jacob Astor.

The Titanic trip before its disaster also included many love stories and funny accidents, such as the story of the famous tennis player Carl Hoyle, who wanted to buy a first-class ticket on board the ship only to get close to his girlfriend Helen Newsom and ask her to marry her, and the accident that happened to the well-known German fraudster Alfred Norney, Who impersonated a German noble named Baron Alfred von Drachtedt, and bought a first-class ticket instead of the second-class ticket he was carrying, in an attempt to get close to first-class passengers to defraud them and steal their money. These celebrities survived the shipwreck, and the con artist Norne died 60 years after this accident in Cologne, Germany.

Unparalleled interest in the ship

The Titanic did not live long, as it ended its life during its first voyages, but dozens of books, stories and plays, in addition to thousands of newspaper articles, were written about it, which aroused the interest of filmmakers, who produced dozens of films about the story of the sinking of the legendary ship, the first of which was A silent film a month after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, starring the famous actress Dorothy Gibson, who was on board the ship and survived the accident.

In 1929, he produced the first talking movie about the Titanic disaster, but the most famous movie about its sinking is of course the movie "Titanic" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, which succeeded in capturing the attention of millions of viewers from around the world and winning eleven Oscars in 1997 To mark the centenary of the Titanic disaster, film director James Cameron has released a new 3D-edited version to theaters.

In 1985, after many failed attempts, the scientist Robert Ballard found the wreck of the Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, which in turn put an end to many of the speculations and secrets that accompanied the construction and sinking of the legendary ship. After its wreckage was discovered, many of the passengers' and merchandise belongings on board the stricken ship were salvaged. These were later sold for thousands of dollars at auctions. On the centenary of the sinking of the Titanic, many international museums dedicated a special wing to display the ship's holdings. As for the city of Belfast, in which the Titanic was built about a hundred years ago, it decided to build a huge museum about the legendary ship, which opened its doors at the beginning of this month on its first centenary.