He sailed down the nile, performed the pilgrimage to mecca, and visited the caucasus, iran and many other countries. Evliya celebi turkish traveler and writer britannica. His father was dervis mehmed zilli, a jeweller for the ottoman court. Here, east and west converged in a multitude of peoples and languages. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. In evliya celebi travels was his masterwork, the seyahatname 18981939. Seyahatname book of travels is a unique and important text, representing one of. On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of his birth in 2011 he was celebrated in a number of events organized by unesco, both in turkey and throughout the world. In the 17th century an ottoman traveller evliya celebi was inspired by a dream to embark on a journey across the ottoman empire. Over the course of his travels he wrote ten volumes detailing his. The book of travels is a collaboration between the british council, maslaha and effusion as part of the our shared europe project, which aims to highlight the constant influence and sharing of ideas that has occurred between individuals and societies. Selections from the book of travels of evliya celebi dankoff, robert, kim, sooyong, evliya, celebi on. Evliya celebi is the greatest travel writer of the ottoman empire. Starting evliya celebi s book of travels 2011 is the 400th birthday of evliya celebi s birth.
Printed for the oriental translation fund of great britain and ireland, 18341850, trans. Evliyas written legacy is the seyahatname, or book of travels, comprising 10 volumes and thousands of pages composed in the highly recondite language of ottoman turkish. Jan 01, 2017 samsun expressions in the book of travels of evliya celebi. Therefore, the book of travels is a consultant work to which every science field should apply. Evliya celebi left behind a magnificent work of ten volumes called the seyahatname book of travels, a marvelous contribution to the world cultural heritage. Ottoman empire and its neighbours in the 17th century. Dervis mehmed zilli 25 march 1611 1682, known as evliya celebi ottoman turkish. Dankoff is an excellent expert of evliya celebi, who was an influential travel writer from the 17th century. In a more specific sense, the name refers to the travel notes by the ottoman turkish traveller evliya celebi 16111682. This first volume is a full inventory of the citys mosques, neighborhoods and history, starting with its apocryphal founding by the old testament prophet solomon, passing. But evliya celebi s travels are above and beyond all that. But for those who are new, he was an ottoman explorer.
Evilya celebi book of travel s is the worlds first real virtual exhibition, and it happened above a public library in east london. Evliya celebinin seyahatnamesinde makedon sehirleri ve. The book of travels by evliya celebi is not just a fascinating travel book, it is a key source for understanding the ottoman empire in the. Mar 18, 2011 2011 is the 400th birthday of evliya celebi s birth. To date, only parts of it have been translated into english, by robert dankoff and sooyong kim, from whose book the quotations in this article are taken. Evliya celebis seyahatname or book of travels is the longest and fullest travel account in islamic literatureperhaps in world literature. Selections from the book of travels of evliya celebi robert dankoff, sooyong kim, celebi evliya on. Evliya celebi in albania and adjacent regions kosovo, montenegro. Land and people of the ottoman empire in the seventeenth century. Apr 05, 2016 evliya celebi was born in constantinople in 1611 to a family from kutahya. It is a vast panorama, both an extensive description of the ottoman empire and its hinterlands, and an account of the authors peregrinations over roughly forty years 164080. This brand new translation brings evliya sparklingly back.
However, you could also say he was just a man looking for his place in the world. Sooyong kim selections from the writings of the 17thcentury ottoman who travelled for 40 years before dying in cairo in about 1685. Recounting the miraculous and the mundane, the historical and the geographical, the linguistic and the musical, evliya celebi reaches across the centuries to seduce a new readership with this masterly translation. She married the statesman melek ahmed pasha in 1644 and died shortly after giving birth, at the age of 26, due to complications during her labour.
Evliya celebi was the orhan pamuk of the 17th century, the pepy. Evliya celebi seyahatname with english subtitles youtube. The authors personal name is unknown, and evliya is only his pen name, which he adopted in honor of his teacher, evliya mehmed efendi. Analysis of evliya celebis book of travels in terms of the. Horseback riding enthusiasts might be interested in this project, to make it possible for riders to recreate one of celebi s journey, just as this crew is doing right now.
The name celebi is an honorific title meaning gentleman. I dont know about you, but if this tv show were out there, i would be bingewatch it right now. Over the course of his travels he wrote ten volumes detailing his adventures. Seyahatname is the name of his book s series written in 50 years. Wikimedia commons evliya celebi traversed the ottoman empire and beyond for over 40 years.
Selections from the book of travels of evliya celebi robert dankoff on free shipping on qualifying offers. Evliya celebis book of travels in the topkapi palace. The turkish traveller evliya celebi toured kosovo in 1660, northern albania and montenegro in 1662, and southern albania in 1670. Evliya celebi, an ottoman learned person with good connections in the sultans court, was an exceptional figure who devoted forty years to travelling within the vast boundaries of the ottoman empire, and left a tenvolume book on his travels seyahatnamesi. The seyahatname of evliya celebi is an outstanding example of this tradition. Evliya celebi and his strange encounters the guide istanbul. An ottoman traveller selections from the book of travels of evliya celebi translation and commentary by robert dankoff and sooyong. Evliya travelled the ottoman empire and beyond for some 40 years, leaving a. A number of different websites inform me that evliya celebi has been announced as the 2011. History of the ottoman traveler known as evliya celebi. Sep 15, 2011 the book of travels by evliya celebi is not just a fascinating travel book, it is a key source for understanding the ottoman empire in the seventeenth century, despite the fact that the author had a reputation for occasionally confusing fact with fiction. In 1841, it was decided that an issue of the history of evliya celebi, comprising of some selections, was to be published.
Evliya celebi, in his work seyahatna me book of travels, draws the readers attention to certain narratives by repeated recourse to specific narrative genres. His work is unique in its scope, in its richness and the numerous possibilities to. Evliya celebi, meaning anthology of evliya celebi later. He collected his lively and eclectic observations into a tenvolume manuscript the seyahatname, or book of travels. This book is all about evliya s travels through the empire, from the arab middle east to the deep in balkan geography. Evliya began his travels in book 1 in his very own city, which he lovingly called islambol islamplenty, walking its gated outer perimeter from sea wall to sea wall and counting each of his 30,000 paces. Theres a gorgeous online exhibition about him here. This work is also referred to as the tarihi seyyah chronicle of a traveler. He travelled far and wide across europe and north africa and wrote extensively about his adventures in seyahatname book of travels. Evliya celebi was born on the 25th of february 1611 in istanbul. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Evliya celebi project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Evliya celebi was the orhan pamuk of the 17th century, the pepys of the ottoman world a diligent, adventurous and honest recorder with a puckish wit and.
Evliya celebi has 58 books on goodreads with 1220 ratings. The state of evliya celebi studies center for middle. Born in istanbul in 1611, he started travelling in 1640 and continued for over forty years, stopping eventually in cairo where he died in about 1685. This great travel book of evliya celebi was the first book written by combining his autobiography with various information about the geography of ottoman territory and its conditions. Samsun expressions in the book of travels of evliya celebi. Mar 08, 2015 history of evliya celebi about his travels in europe and the ottoman empire by documenting all the important activities and thoughts of his life of what he saw, medicine, politics and war. Evliya celebi is known as the marco polo of the ottoman empire, having traveled across asia, north africa, the middle east, the caucasus, and eastern europe, compiling 40 years of wandering into one epic book, the seyahatname.
Contentsshow life evliya celebi was born in constantinople in 1611 to a family from kutahya. He mingled with military figures and heads of state. Selections from the book of travels of evliya celebi, translation and commentary by robert dankoff and sooyong kim. Review of the book edited in 2010 by robert dankoff and sooyong kim for eland, london. Those who enjoy witch stories, history and geography will find in celebi a rich source of historical accounts in a lucid style and will find it hard to stop reading the book of travels. Publishes scholarly editions of portions of the seyahatname, with english translation and commentary. Celebi s book of travels presents a different set of challenges than the some of the other nonwestern works that weve looked at thus far. The publication of this wonderfully rich, lively selection from the ten volumes of evliya s manuscript, in a clear, vigorous and atmospheric english translation, is sure to bring this. Whether for a stroll around istanbul, an excursion within turkey or an expedition to the furthest reaches of the sultans domains, this monumental work by a 17thcentury gentlemanadventurer is the indispensable vademecum without which. Selections from the book of travels of evliya celebi 2nd ed.
His work covers the historic events of the 17th century ottoman empire with vivid flashes into the life of the period and is an invaluable source of historical and geographic knowledge. The present volume includes a critical edition and annotated translation of his descriptions of these regions, extracted from books v, vi and viii of his seya. He says he slipped out of every difficulty in his adventurous life with ease because of. Selections from the book of travels of evliya celebi. Seyahatname had also recorded various other matters including the language studies as he discussed various types of foreign languages. Feb 26, 2020 evliya celebi, also called dervis mehmed zilli, born march 1611, constantinople now istanbul, turkeydied c. Evliya celebi was an enlightened man in a variety of ways who believed in equality, freedom of thought and intellectual debate, and found all of these things present in islamic societies. Oct 02, 2018 evliya celebi is the greatest travel writer of the ottoman empire. Ottoman historians have long kept evliya celebi to themselves, and now the secret is out.
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