Analysis of evliya celebis book of travels in terms of. 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, sooyong kim, celebi evliya on. Evliya celebi left behind a magnificent work of ten volumes called the seyahatname book of travels, a marvelous contribution to the world cultural heritage. 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. 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. Evliya celebi is the greatest travel writer of the ottoman empire. Seyahatname is the name of his book s series written in 50 years. Evliya celebi was born on the 25th of february 1611 in istanbul. Selections from the book of travels of evliya celebi, translation and commentary by robert dankoff and sooyong kim. Over the course of his travels he wrote ten volumes detailing his adventures. He says he slipped out of every difficulty in his adventurous life with ease because of. 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. Oct 02, 2018 evliya celebi is the greatest travel writer of the ottoman empire.
The name celebi is an honorific title meaning gentleman. The seyahatname of evliya celebi is an outstanding example of this tradition. Seyahatname book of travels is a unique and important text, representing one of. Starting evliya celebi s book of travels 2011 is the 400th birthday of evliya celebi s birth. But evliya celebi s travels are above and beyond all that. Ottoman historians have long kept evliya celebi to themselves, and now the secret is out. But for those who are new, he was an ottoman explorer. 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. Apr 05, 2016 evliya celebi was born in constantinople in 1611 to a family from kutahya. A wikipedia article about this author is available evliya celebi, 1611. Evliya celebi, meaning anthology of evliya celebi later. Mar 10, 2020 evliya celebi and his strange encounters. The authors personal name is unknown, and evliya is only his pen name, which he adopted in honor of his teacher, evliya mehmed efendi.
Evilya celebi book of travel s is the worlds first real virtual exhibition, and it happened above a public library in east london. Samsun expressions in the book of travels of evliya celebi. 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. Dankoff is an excellent expert of evliya celebi, who was an influential travel writer from the 17th century. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. A number of different websites inform me that evliya celebi has been announced as the 2011. Evliya celebinin seyahatnamesinde makedon sehirleri ve. Mar 18, 2011 2011 is the 400th birthday of evliya celebi s birth. 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. The turkish traveller evliya celebi toured kosovo in 1660, northern albania and montenegro in 1662, and southern albania in 1670.
Evliya celebi was the orhan pamuk of the 17th century, the pepy. 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. 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. Evliya celebi in albania and adjacent regions kosovo, montenegro. 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. He travelled far and wide across europe and north africa and wrote extensively about his adventures in seyahatname book of travels. This brand new translation brings evliya sparklingly back. Here, east and west converged in a multitude of peoples and languages. Theres a gorgeous online exhibition about him here. Evliya celebi was the 17th centurys most diligent, adventurous, and honest recorder, whose puckish wit and humor are laced throughout his tenvolume masterpiece. Jul, 2015 evliya celebi lived in the 17th century, the height of ottoman expansion. His father was dervis mehmed zilli, a jeweller for the ottoman court. 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. Over the course of his travels he wrote ten volumes detailing his.
In evliya celebi travels was his masterwork, the seyahatname 18981939. Contentsshow life evliya celebi was born in constantinople in 1611 to a family from kutahya. 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. This work is also referred to as the tarihi seyyah chronicle of a traveler. 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 a more specific sense, the name refers to the travel notes by the ottoman turkish traveller evliya celebi 16111682. 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. He collected his lively and eclectic observations into a tenvolume manuscript the seyahatname, or book of travels. Dervis mehmed zilli 25 march 1611 1682, known as evliya celebi ottoman turkish.
Evliya celebi, in his work seyahatna me book of travels, draws the readers attention to certain narratives by repeated recourse to specific narrative genres. Printed for the oriental translation fund of great britain and ireland, 18341850, trans. This book is all about evliya s travels through the empire, from the arab middle east to the deep in balkan geography. Evliya travelled the ottoman empire and beyond for some 40 years, leaving a. 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. In the 17th century an ottoman traveller evliya celebi was inspired by a dream to embark on a journey across the ottoman empire.
Evliya celebis seyahatname or book of travels is the longest and fullest travel account in islamic literatureperhaps in world literature. He sailed down the nile, performed the pilgrimage to mecca, and visited the caucasus, iran and many other countries. An ottoman traveller selections from the book of travels of evliya celebi translation and commentary by robert dankoff and sooyong. 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. Evliya celebis book of travels in the topkapi palace. Land and people of the ottoman empire in the seventeenth century. Evliya celebi seyahatname with english subtitles youtube. Analysis of evliya celebis book of travels in terms of the.
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. However, you could also say he was just a man looking for his place in the world. History of the ottoman traveler known as evliya celebi. Seyahatname had also recorded various other matters including the language studies as he discussed various types of foreign languages. Evliya celebi turkish traveler and writer britannica. Review of the book edited in 2010 by robert dankoff and sooyong kim for eland, london. The state of evliya celebi studies center for middle. 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. Selections from the book of travels of evliya celebi 2nd ed. He mingled with military figures and heads of state. 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. 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 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.
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. Evliya celebi has 58 books on goodreads with 1220 ratings. 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. Ottoman empire and its neighbours in the 17th century. The complete ten volumes includes history, travel information valid even today, cultural anthropology, psychology, myths, stories, both conservative religious views and the most liberal sexual descriptions. 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. I dont know about you, but if this tv show were out there, i would be bingewatch it right now. Selections from the book of travels of evliya celebi. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Evliya celebi project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks.
Publishes scholarly editions of portions of the seyahatname, with english translation and commentary. Evliya celebi and his strange encounters the guide istanbul. 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. 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. Selections from the book of travels of evliya celebi dankoff, robert, kim, sooyong, evliya, celebi on.
Feb 26, 2020 evliya celebi, also called dervis mehmed zilli, born march 1611, constantinople now istanbul, turkeydied c. Selections from the book of travels of evliya celebi robert dankoff on free shipping on qualifying offers. His work is unique in its scope, in its richness and the numerous possibilities to. 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.
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