Jan Narkiewicz Jodko (1852–ok. 1920). Zapomniany podróżnik, miłośnik sztuki i hodowca

In the late years of the 19th century, Jan Narkiewicz Jodko embarked on several sea journeys to explore the ports and monuments of the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. He published his impressions of one of such voyage, made at the turn of 1897/1898, as From the East (Warsaw 1899). His itinerary led from Alexandria to Constantinople. On the way, he visited Jaffa, Beirut and Tripoli sailing through the so-called Archipelago to Piraeus and on towards the Turkish coast, to finally arrive at his destination via the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara, with a stopover in Smyrna. In his publication, Narkiewicz-Jodko sought to shed light on the contemporary political situation in the Middle East and inform his readers on some artistic events. Among other things, his account was one of the first to familiarise the Polish reader with Turkish archaeological discoveries at the el-Ayaa necropolis near Sidon; he had an opportunity to see the marble sarcophagi discovered there at the Imperial Museum in Istanbul. Narkiewicz Jodko also described an important Polish trace in Smyrna: the tomb of General Ludwik Michał Pac (1780–1835), who had died there unexpectedly years before. In his mansion in Bębnówka Wielka, Narkiewicz-Jodko gathered a sizeable collection of works of art and memorabilia, including those from his travels. Moreover, Narkiewicz Jodko was known in his country for introducing there directly from Switzerland a new, more productive cattle breed. Along with other mansions in Podolia and Wolhynia, the residence at Bębnówka Wielka and the whole estate were completely devastated and looted in 1914–1917.