1^1 ^OffAlIFOttj^ X;OfCAllfO% ^öAavaaıiî^ ''Vli.ii- ''VAyvyyıı g = 1 1 ırr I <^ />. orCAlIFOPf, .OFCAMFOI?*'. ^ o ^ rl> OC PO — ^., _ i il c? ■% <^\\1EUNIVEB% .vVlOSANCflfj-^ %ÛJIW3-I0"^ ;.QF- I 1 C;. ^oAavaaiii^"^ ^öAavaaıı# •"i:iujiıvj-;iu' ■''İ"Jİ11VJ-JU'- '■İİİİJNYİUI-^' '^ ■■'OaiM.Ml İV>^ "JUJUVJ'İU' \WE!JUtVER% ^>:lOSAJJCEtfj> r 33 C! ^ ''^/sa^Ai,-^,! ]iv^ ' ^•OfCAllfOft)^ ^OfCAlIfOfti^ •^(^Ayvaaıiiv-* <§r- M 5i ■''/iajAlMlJft' \ â "^öAaviianî^ x^TlIKRARY.O^^ ->vAUIBRARYO/c^ ,\\\F'l'N'IVfR5"//, .\lOSA,S'CFlfj> .aT!IRIîARY(7/C ^vvMIPÎÎARY-, \MF IIS'IVFR'„._ O: ^^ ^^ ^>, to '^ ^^ ^aOJITVDJO'^ .oFrAiımp.^/. 'i? ,\y[i'N'ivERr/A jAiNn-3Wv .vlQ';AN'Cflfr.> ^OJUVD-JO"^ j.CNF-rAIlFDPj.. ^.OFTAlIFn.^- ^riiHNVsoı^ ^ % \:'\\mih v^ ^Xi; :\INn-3WV ^; ^ 't V '^omtm^ 1^ Ğ o ti. ^WEUNIV[Rî//, .vlOS«ElfJ> ^AllIBBARYör, vAUIBRARYö/:, . JÜ- ''WJllVJ-JU' ,\WEUNIVERy/A ^lOSANCElfj-;* "^ -T, C ■Ç5 % û ^WE UNIVERÎ/A .vWSANCEl5j> i' s %Ç ^ .-ı.Of-CAlIfOfttj, A-OfCAElFOftfc, AWEUNIVERî/a vj;lOSANCElfj> ^ r-j 1-^ ^smM' '^ ^.\)fCALIfOft^^ ^^ .v\V!lRf;,\r;Yrtr .-.xT tlBFlAliYö/- J3 ^ ^ojııvDjo'î- -^jo>' , ^MFi'MVFRÎ//, .vlOS'AVCflfj> .vVHIBRARYOx^ ^ ■^rjırjNvsüi^"^ C -n <- j.OF CAİ t FnP.^A ^j.OF TAri Fnffv. 's eti ■,5MEl'>:tVfR,V/A .vlOSAN'Cflfr^ ^„ » OfCALIFO% ^OfCAllFOA', 7: .W ^ <^^ltIBRARYft- vWMIBRARYQ^ ,\Mf UfJIVFPy//,. ^sVlOSA€Flfj> A\^t(BRARYQ^ ^\NÎ IIBRARYO/: ^ i-J >* ^AMf'.'N'IVFRjy/i * o ^sj^lOSAffilf. OS \IN(1]\\V İ5^. nxojo'^ '^^0JiTV}jo-'^ .4.r: ,AMF-l'N'IVERr//,_ vVlOSvWCflfj^. ,4 OF ■ iOFf- ,^\^.fl"J|VFRS'//. .VIC'S AJJf.flf Or C ^0 yok vo ^t- " *^ I i c^ mw" ^öAyvaan-î'^ .^r ' o ^n\miys&- s Ş % ^ia j\w ■ 9a, ^,^HIBRARY<: â 5 1 «.-' i K3 C i^J» 5 .5>\\EUNIVERiV/i. ■< ^- CO ^, ^4r .»^(UUNlVl: .'JCElfJV :o;>v m^'^ VAiJJAlN.lWV ^0FCAIIF0% ^.OFCAllFOft > ? ^ ^ >^ ''oAavijsiii' _^-IIRn^RV^, 'Ü .v.mUNT.riFr., vvTi: "V ^ ^ i^- /<\\\ l"r-'!VFRr//^ O ın';■i^'^^^ ,>;^ ^S? ' O J' ■^Aa3AiNn]\^ WAFUK'IVFP.O/, .K-\n'\-A\'rFirr , l\f •i i^i 9 '-^1 ■SI «3 \WEUMVEKV/i '/- >2< A^EDNIVERÎ/A , .V... — ■..— /^ A5 vlOSAfCElfx, ^HIBRARYQr ^v^tllBi; ^^\^E•UNIVERS/^■ .vl" \ s = ■5- -i^l'llBRARYO/: ^1 \ci ^4 ■^t r\P rAfiPri/^ <>v' 'v&i •^'!VFP^/^ ^ . 'i t CT' 5; ^ Hi .JNV-i^ül^" '■^i'i'dJAINilJHV" '■'üijjiıvj-ja'^' ''''düiiivj-j^: ■\ -% .vlOVANCElfj^ 55 ^^.OFCALIF0%, ^OfCA; c^ =£ r^ £2- f^ 'i^SdJAINIll^V"' "^^öAavaaıvî irivAk'rnrr , .\f.i:t,'r).\r'\vi. % ,\WEUNIVER5-/A m ^ ^ ^ u- < I— ^ - .0 %!^ ' NARRATIVE OF TRAVELS EUROPE, ASIA, AND AFRICA, THE SEVENTEENTH C E N T U R Y, ISY evliya efendi. TRANSLATED FROM THE TURKISH THE RITTER JOSEPH VON HAMMER, F.M R.A.S, &c. S;o. &p. LONDON: PRINTED EOR THE ORIENTAL TRANSLATION FUND OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND ; SOLI) BV PARBURY, ALLEN, & Co., LEADENHALL STREET. JI.DCCC.XXXIV. EX BIBLIOTHECA FRANC. BABINGER LONDON : Priuted by J. L. Cox aud Son, 75, Great Queen Street, Liucoln't-lnu Fields. ADVERTISEMENT. The narrative of an Asiatic traveller, enthusiastically fond of seeing foreign countries, and unwearied in his investigation of their history, condition, and institutions, is in itself so great a singularity, and so deserving of attention, that no apology seems requisite for thus presenting Evliya Efendi in an English dress : and the name of the Ritter von Hammer, by whom this work was abridged and translated, is a sufficient voucher for its intrinsic merit and the accuracy of the version. It is requisite to inform the reader, that throughout the work the Asiatic words and proper names are spelt according to the system of orthography adopted by Sir William Jones and Sir Charles Wilkins, which gives to the consonants the sound they have in our own, but to the vowels that which they have in the Italian and German languages ; and by assigning to each Arabic character its appropriate Roman letter, enables the Oriental student to transfer the word at once from one mode of writing to the other. London, ^Oth Jan. I83i. 1S62211 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. Evliya, the son of Dervish Mohammed, chief of the goldsmiths of Constantinople, was born in the reign of Sultan Ahmed I,, on the 10th of Moharrem 1020 (A.D. 1611). He records the building of the mosque of Sultan Ahmed, which was begun when he was six years old, and the gate of which was executed under the superintendance of his father, who in his youth had been standard-bearer to Sultan Suleiman. His grandfather was standard-bearer at the conquest of Constantinople, by Sultan Mohammed, on which occasion the house within the Un-kaj)ân (flour-market), on the ground attached to the mosque of Sâghirjîlar, was the portion of spoil allotted to him. On this spot he erected one hundred shops, the revenues of which he devoted to the mosque. The administration of the mosque, therefore, remained in. the hands of the family. He mentions more than once, as one of his ancestors, the great Sheikh Ahmed Yesov, called the Turk of Turks, a resident of Khonisiin, and who sent his disciple, the celebrated Hâjî Bektiish,* to Sultân Orkhiin. Evliya's mother was an Abaza, and when a girl, had been sent along with her brother to Sultan Ahmed, who kept the boy as a page, and presented the girl to Mohammed Dervish, the chief of the goldsmiths. The brother had, or received, the Sultan's name, with the sirname Meîek (angel), and * This lîâjî Bektâsh gave the Yeni-chcii (Janissaries) their name. IV BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. is mentioned in history as the Grand Vezir Melek Ahmed Pasha, in whose suite Evliya performed a great part of his travels. Evliyu attended the college of Hiimid Efendi, in the quarter of the town called Fil Yıiküshı, where for seven years he heard the lectures of Akhfash Efendi. His tutor in reading the Koran was Evliya Mohammed, a learned man, after whom it appears our traveller was named. Distinguished by his acquirements, his melodious voice, and, as it seems, by a fine person, he perfoi'nied the duty of Moazzin at Aya Söfîya on the Lailat al Kadr of 1045 (1G35), on Avhich occa- sion, as he himself relates, he attracted the particular attention of Sultan Murdd IV. He was then twenty-five years old ; and under the care of his master had made such progress in the art of read- ing the Koran, that he could read the whole in seven hours, and was perfectly versed in the seven modes of reading. His uncle Melek Ahmed was at this time sword-bearer to the Sultan, and it seems that Evliyii was in some degree indebted to his interest for the favour of being immediately admitted as a page of the Ktlâr-oda. The Sultân was not less pleased with his melodious voice and his witty remarks, which evinced much information, than with his handsome person, in consequence of which he was initiated into all the profli- gacies of the royal pages, the relation of whicli, in more than one place, leaves a stain upon his writings. He, however, continued his studies in caligraphy, music, grammar, and the Koran, the latter still under the direction of Evliya Mohammed^ who was then imperial chaplain (KhibiMr I}nâmı').* His stay in the imperial palace was, however, very short, as he was removed from it previously to the Persian expedition, undertaken the same year (1045) against Erivan, when he was enrolled among the * Evliya Mohammed died the same year. BIOdKAlMIICAL SKETCH OK THE AUTHOR. V Sipahis, with a stipend of forty aspres per dietn. Whatever impor- tance Evhya may have attached to the honour of having been for a short time an inmate of the seraglio, it seems to have produced no change in his hfe, which was that of a traveller all his days. To this vocation, he conceived he had a special call in a dream on the anniversary of his twenty-first birth-day (the 10th of Moharrem). He fancied himself in the mosque of Akhî-Chelebî, where the Prophet appeared to him in full glory, surrounded by all the saints of the Islam. When he wished to pray for the intercession (shifdu't) of the Prophet, by mistake he asked for travelling (siydhaC), which was granted to him, together with permission to kiss the hands of the Prophet, the four Imams, and of the saints. His friends the Sheikhs, from whom he requested the interpretation of this dream, assured him that he should enjoy the favour of monarchs, and the good fortune of visiting in his travels the tombs of all the saints and great men whom he had seen. From this moment he formed the resolution of passing his life in travelling, and visiting the tombs of the saints ; thus his name Evliyd (saints) became significant, as he was all his life JMohibhi Evliyd, that is, the friend of the saints. This circum- stance accounts for the predilection he evinces in visiting the tombs and monuments of the saints, as he often dwells with particular plea- sure on the description of places of pilgrimage. Evliya, (the friend of saints), Hafiz (knowing the Koran by heart), and Siyyah (the travel- ler), are the names by which he styles himself, although he is more commonly known by the name of Evliya Chelebî or Efendi ; and his work is called S'lyydh Ndmeh, or the History of the Traveller. Having received his call by a vision of the Prophet, he commenced his travels by excursions through Constantinople and its environs, his topographical descriptions of which, as to the latter, are perhaps the best extant, and occupy the whole of the first volume. b'2 VI BIOGRAPHICAL SKET(;H OF THK AUTHOR. The most valuable portion of it is that towards the end, in which he gives a detailed account of the various corporations of tradesmen, and the rank they held in the solemn processions. He travelled, as he frequently mentions, for forty-one years, so that he must have completed his travels in the year 1081 (A.D. 1070), when he was sixty-one years of age, and he seems to have devoted the rest of his life to repose, and to the writing of his travels, which extended to all parts of the Ottoman empire, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, except Tunis, Algiers, and Tripohs, Avhich he never visited, and which he therefore passes over in his statistical account of the Ottoman empire. Besides travelling in Rumelia, Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt, he accompanied the Turkish Embassy to Vienna in 1G(54, as secretary, whence he proceeded to the Netherlands and Sweden, and returned by the Crimea. Though generally employed in diplomatic and financial missions, he was sometimes engaged in battles, and mentions having been present at twenty-two ; the first of which was the expedition to Erivan, which took place the same year in which he entered and left the Seraglio (1645). His father, who had been standard-bearer at the siege of Siget (1564), and must at this time have been nearly ninety years of age, was ordered, together with some other veterans who had served under Sultdn Suleimân, to accompany the expedition in litters, merely to encourage the Janissaries. This was Evliya's first campaign, but he has left no account of it. His second journey was to Brousa, in 1640, with the account of which he commences his .second volume. This journey he undertook, together with some friends, without his father's consent, and having visited all the baths, monuments, mosques, and public walks, he returned to Constantinople, where he was well received by his father. In the beginning of Rebi-ul-evvel he set out on his third journey, which was to Nicomedia. On his return he visited the Princes' BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. VU Islands, and arrived at Constantinople a month after he had left it. Ketanji Omar Pasha having been appointed to the government of Trebisonde, he made his old friend, Evliyii's father, his agent at Con- stantinople, and took Evliyii along with him. They left Constanti- nople in the beginning of Rebi-nl-akhir, and proceeded to Trebisonde, coasting by Kef ken, Heraclea, Amassera, Sinope, Samsun, and Kher- son. From Trebisonde he was ordered to attend the zemhurukchis (camel-artillery) of Gonia to the siege of Azov in 1051. He pro- ceeded along the shores of the Black Sea through the country of the Abiiza, the history and description of which form the most inte- resting part of Evliyii's travels. The fleet destined for Azov reached Anapa shortly after the arrival of Evliya. He immediately waited upon the commander, Dell Hiisain Pasha, who received him into his suite, and placed him on board the galley of his kehiya. They sailed for Azov on the 12th of Sha'ban. Evliya was present at the siege, which being unsuccessful, was raised, and he accompanied the Tatar Khan's army, which returned to the Crimea by land. At Balaklava he embarked for Constantinople, but was wrecked, and escaped with only two slaves out of the many whom he had collected in his travels through Abaza and Mingrelia. He was thrown on the coast of Kilyra, whence he proceeded to Constantinople. In 1055 (1645) the fleet was fitted out, as was generally rumoured, for an expedition against Malta, and Evliya embarked on board the ship of the Capndan Pasha, Yiisuf Pasha, in the capacity of Moazzin- Las/n.* The expedition, however, having touched at the Morea, sud- denly turned upon Candia, where Evliya was present at the reduc- tion of the castle of St. Todero, and the siege of Canea ; after * Moazzin-bdsM, the chief of tlie proclaimeis of prayers. VIU BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. wliicli he attended several military excursions to Dalniatia and Sebenico. On his return to Constantinople he made arrangements for his sixth journey, with Defterdar Zâdeh Mohammed Pasha, who was at that time appointed governor of Erzerum, and whom Evliya accompanied as clerk of the custom-house at Erzerum. Their route lay through Nico- media, Sabanja, B61Î, Tusia, Amâsia, Nîgîsâr, and they reached Erzerum, having made seventy stages. Shortly afterwards the Piisha sent him on a mission to the Khan of Tabriz, with a view to facilitate a commercial intercourse. This was Evliya's first journey into Persia. On his way he visited Etchmiazin, Nakhchevan, and Merend; and returned by Ajan, Erdebîl, Erivan, Baku, Derbend, Kâkht, the plain of Chaldirân, and the fortress of Akhiska. Ten days after he was again despatched to Erivan, on returning from which he resumed his duties at the custom-house. He was, however, scarcely settled, when the Pasha sent him on a mission to the governor of the Sanjaks of Janja and Tortum, in order to collect the troops which had been ordered by a Khait-i-sherif. With this commission he visited the towns of Bai- burd, Janja, Isper, Tortum, Akchekala', and Gonia, of which latter the Cossacks had at that time taken possession. Evliya witnessed its reduction, and was the first to proclaim on its walls the faith of the Islam. The Mingrelians having revolted on the occasion of one of the Cos- sack inroads, a predatory expedition into Mingrelia was undertaken by Seidi Ahmed Pasha ; and Evliya having over-run the country with his plundering party, returned to Erzerum, whence, on the 18th of Zilka'da, he set out on his return to Constantinople. His Pasha, Defterdar Zadeh Mohammed, having openly rebelled against the Porte, he followed him from Erzerum through Kumakb, Erzenjan, Shinkara- hisar, Ladik, Merzifun, Kopri, Gumish, Jorum, and Tokat. He once BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. IX fell into the hands of robbers, but fortunately effecting his escape, he followed his master to Angora. The inhabitants of this town not permitting the Pasha to shut himself up in the castle, he was again obliged to take the field. His great ally Varvar Pasha, on whose account he had rebelled, though he had beaten and made prisoners several Pashas (amongst whom was Kopreili, afterwards celebrated as the first Grand Vezir of the family), was at last defeated, and killed by Ibshir Pasha. Defterdar Zâdeh Mohammed Pasha, however, managed his affairs so well, that he obtained not only his pardon but a new appointment. Evliya was with him at Begbazar, when he received the intelligence of his father's death, and that all his pro- perty had fallen to his step-mother and his sisters. On hearing this he took leave of Defterdar Zadeh, and proceeded by Turbeli, Taraklı, and Kiva, to Constantinople, where he arrived at the time of the great revolution, by which Sultân Selim was deposed, and Mohammed IV. raised to the throne. Evliya' s account of this revolution, and of the principal actors in it, is so much the more interesting, that the chief favourite of Ibrahim, the famous Jinji Khoajeh, of whose ignorance he makes mention, had been Evhya s school-fellow. Evliyfi, however, had been well treated by him, and received as an old school-fellow, shortly before his own fall, and that of his royal master, Ibrahim, which happened in the year 1058 (1648). Evliya next attached himself to Silihdhr Murtezk Pasha, who was appointed Governor of Damascus, as Moazzin-basht (an office which, as before mentioned, he had held under Yûsuf Pâshâ, in the expe- dition against Canea), and as Imam Mahmil, or priest of the caravan of pilgrims to Mecca. He left Constantinople in the beginning of Sha'bân 1058 (1648). The third volume commences with an account of his seventh great journey, which was to Damascus. He had scarcely arrived at this X BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. place when he was sent by Murteza Pasha on a mission to Constanti- nople. This journey was performed very rapidly, and he gives no particular account of it, only mentioning that he met some of the robbers belonging to the party of Kâtirjî Oghli. He returned with the same despatch to Damascus, whence he set out on his pilgrimage to Mecca, through Egypt. Of this pilgrimage no account is given in our manuscript copy, as it seems he died before he had completed the work. There is no question, however, as to the time at which it was undertaken, since in his account of the reign of Sultan Murad IV. he states that he was just in time, after his return from Mecca through Egypt, to share in the glory of the victory gained by Murteza Pasha over the Druzes, in the year 1059. Now Evliya's account of this expedition commences in the month of Mohar- rem 1059, from which it may be supposed that he had just returned from Mecca, where the annual ceremonies of the pilgrimage take place in Zilhijeh, the last month of the year. Evliya was employed by Murteza on various missions, the object of which was to collect debts and exact money. On such errands he was sent to Mount Lebanon, Karak, Balbek, Akka, Yaffa, and Haleb, whence he took a journey to Rakka, Roha, Balis, Meraash, Kaisari, and over Mount Arjish (Argaus) to Ak-serai, Sivas, Diarbekr, and in the year 1060 (1650) returned to Constantinople by Ainehbâzâr, Merzifun, Kanghri, Kastemiini, and Tashkopri. He now entered the service of his uncle. Melek Ahmed Pasha, who, after having been Grand Vezir for some time, was removed to the government of Oczakov, and afterwards to that of Silistria, in the year 1081 (1651). Evliya accompanied him, and this was his ninth journey, reckoning each journey by his return to Constantinople. He travelled over the whole of Rumelia, and made some stay ât Adrianoplc, of which he gives a detailed account, and thus completes BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. Xİ his description of the three Ottoman capitals, viz. Constantinople, Brousa, and Adrianople. He left Adriaiiople with his uncle and patron, Melek Ahmed, who was now raised to the rank of a Vezir of the Cupola at Constantinople; but being unable, notwithstanding his marriage to a Sultuna, to maintain his credit in the Ottoman court during these revolutionary times, he was obliged to accept the government of Van, to which he proceeded with great reluctance. Evliya, who had been left behind, followed him a few days after, having been despatched by the Sultâna, the lady of Melek Ahmed. He travelled through Sîvâs, Malâtîa, Dîârbekr, Mardin, Sin jar, Mîâfa- rakain, Bedlis, and Akhlat. A considerable portion of his narrative is devoted to the history of the warfare between Melek Ahmed Pasha and the Klian of Tiflis, the latter of whom was beaten and deposed ; and his account of the Kurds, and their different tribes, is not less interesting than that in his second volume of the Abazas on the eastern coasts of the Black Sea, Having already given proofs of his abilities in diplomatic affairs when employed by Defterdar Zâdeh Mohammed Pâshâ, on missions to Tabriz and Erivan, and by Murteza Pâshâ in his Syrian missions, Evhyâ was now entrusted by Melek Ahmed with several missions to the Persian Khans of Tabriz and Riimia, with the view of reclaiming seventy thousand sheep, and the liberation of Murteza Pâshâ, who was kept a prisoner by the Khan of Demboli. From Tabriz he w^ent through Hamadân to Baghdad, his description of which, and its environs, of Basra and of the ruins of Kiifa, contains some most impor- tant geographical notices. From Basra he travelled to Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, and returned to Baghdad by Basra, Vâset, and Kala'i Hasan. In a second excursion he visited Haver, Arbil, Sheher- zor, Amadia, Jezin, Husnkeif, Nisibin, and returned to Baghdad by Hamid, Mousul, and Tekrit. With the account of these the author c XU BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. concludes his fourth vohuue ; and notwithstanding every endeavour, and the most careful search in all the markets and sales, no more of the work has been discovered. It may, therefore, be taken for granted that he never wrote any continviation of it. The fourth volume ends with the year 1066 (1655), and these four volumes em- brace only a period of twenty-six years of the forty-one which Evliya spent in travelling. Of the events of the remaining fifteen, the fol- lowing notes may be collected from his own work. In the year 1070 (1659) Evliya accompanied the expedition into Moldavia, and assisted at the conquest of Waradin. The Ottoman armies extended their inroads as far as Orsova and Cronstadt in Transylvania, and Evliya received twenty prisoners as his share of the booty. He then joined his uncle and patron. Melek Ahmed Pasha, then governor of Bosnia, who on the 12th of Rebi-ul-ewel 1071 (1660), was appointed governor of Riimeili. With him, in the following year. Evliya made the campaign into Transylvania, which was then disturbed by the pretenders to the crown, Kemeny and Apasty. He was at Saswar when the news aiTİved of the death of the Grand Vezir, Mohammed Kopreili, in 10/1 (1660). After the battle of Forgaras he left Transylvania, and took up his winter quar- ters with Melek Ahmed Pasha at Belgrade. Melek Ahmed was shortly afterwards recalled to Constantinople in order to be married (his first Sultana having died) to Fatima, the daughter of Sultân Ahmed. He died after he had been a Vezir of the Cupola three months; and thus "poor Evliya" (as he generally calls himself) was left without a protector. He, however, remained in the army, then engaged in the Hungarian war, till the year 1075 (1664), when Kara Mohammed Pasha was sent on an embassy to Vienna, and Evliya, by the express command of the Sultân, was appointed secretary of the embassy. The ambassador returned in the ensuing year to BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. ^İÜ Constantinople, as may be seen by his own report, published in the Ottoman Annals of Rashid ; but Evliya having obtained an imperial patent, continued his travels through Germany and the Netherlands, as far as Dunkirk, through Holland, Denmark, and Sweden, and returned through Poland, by Cracovie and Danzig, to the Crimea, after a journey of three years and a half, thus finishing, on the fron- tiers of Russia, as he himself states, his travels through *'the seven climates." Although he repeatedly mentions his travels through Europe, it is doubtful whether he ever wrote them ; from doing which he was pro- bably prevented by death, when he had completed his fourth volume. It appears that after having travelled for forty years, he spent the remainder of his days in retirement at Adrianople, where he probably died, and where his tomb might be looked for. It also appears that the last ten years of his life were devoted to the writing of his travels, and that he died about the year 1090 at the age of seventy. This supposition is borne out by his mentioning, in his historical account of the reign of Sultan Mohammed IV., the conquest of Candia which took place in 1089 (1678) ; and further by his speaking of his fifty years' experience since he commenced the world, which must refer to the year 1040, when, at the age of twenty, he entered upon his travels; during which he declares he saw the countries of eighteen monarchs, and heard one hundred and forty-seven different languages. The motto on his seal, which he presented to a Persian Khan of his own name, was : " Evliya hopes for the intercession of the chief of saints and prophets."* Judging from the chronographs and verses which he inscribed on seve- ral monuments, and the errors into which he frequently falls respecting c 2 XIV BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. ancient history, Evliya must be considered as but an indifferent poet and historian. But in his descriptions of the countries whicli he visited he is most faithful, and his work must be allowed to be unequalled by any other hitherto known Oriental travels. Inde- pendent of the impression made upon him by his dream, that by the blessing of the Prophet he was to visit the tombs of all the saints whom he had seen in their glory, he found that his lot was to travel ; and besides the name of Hâjiz (knowing the Koran by heart), he well deserved par excellence that of Siyyâh or the traveller. CONTENTS. Page BlOGRAPAICAL SKETCH OP THE AuTIIOR . . iii Intuoduction .. .. .. .. 1 Section I. Sayings (hadis) of the Prophet respecting Con- stantinople . . . . . . . . . . 5 Section II. An Account of the Foundation of the ancient City and Seat of Empire of the Macedonian Greeks, i. e. Constantinople , . . . ib. Section III. Concerning the Conquest of the Black Sea . . 6 Concerning the Canal from tlie river Dona (Danube) . . . . . . . . . . 8 Section IV. Concerning Constantine, the ninth Builder, who erected the Walls and Castle of Constantinople 10 The Discovery of the true Cross . . . . ib. Names of Constantinople in different tongues 11 Section V. Concerning the Circumference of Constanti- nople . . 12 The number of paces between each of the twenty-seven Gates . . . . . . 14 Section VI. Of the wonderful Talismans witliin and without Kostantineh . , . . . . . . 16 Talismans relating to the Sea . . . . 19 Section VII. Concerning the Mines witliin and witliout the city of Kostantin . . . . . . . . 20 Section VIII. Sieges of Constantinople . . . . . . 23 The second siege . . . . . . . . ib. The third siege . . . , . . . . 24 The fourth siege . . . . . . . . ib. The fifth siege , , . . . . . . . . ib. Page The sixth siege . . . . , , . . 25 Tile seventh siege . . . . . , . . ib. The eighth siege . . . . . . . . ib. The ninth siege . . . . . . 26 Section IX. Concerning the sieges of Constantinople by tlie Ottoman Emperors . . . . . . . . 27 Account of the rise of Mohammed 1 1., the Father of Victory .. .. .. .. ..31 Section X. Tiie last siege of Kostantaniyyeh by Moham- med II., the conqueror , . . . . . 32 Section XI. An explanation of the relationship between the house of 'Osman and the King of France 40 An account of the heroic deeds and misfiirtunes of Jem-shah, son of the Emperor Moham- med Abu-l Fat-h (the conqueror) .. ... 41 Eulogium on Yâ Vadiid Sultan . . . . 44 Of the glorious conquest of the Ok-meidân (archery ground) . . . . . . . . 46 Section XII. Description of the New Serai, the Threshold of the Abode of Felicity .. .. .. 49 Section XIII. Description of the Old Serâî 50 Eulogium on the living water of the Old Palace (Eski Serai) . . . . . . 51 Section XIV. On the Public Officers established at Islâmbol at the time of the Conquest . . . . 52 Section XV. On the Imperial Alosques in the Mohamme- dan City of Kostantaniyyeh . . . . 55 On the Dimensions, Builders, &c. of the an- cient place of worship. Aya Sdfiyah . . 56 A Description of the four Minarehs (Minarets) 57 The Servants (Khuddam) of the Mosque .. 50 XVI CONTENTS. Page Stations and Places in this Mosque visited as peculiarly fitted for Devotion . . . . 59 Narrative of Gul-âbî Aghd .. .. ..60 Virtues of the Golden Ball 64- The Spectacle of the resplendent Stones . . 65 The Mosque of Zîrek Bâshî . . . . . . ib. Description of tlie IMosque of Mohammed the Conqueror . . . . . . . . . . 66 Form of this Jlosque . . .. .. ib. Appeal of the Mi 'mar Bâshî (Head Builder) to the Law of the Prophet against the Con- queror Description of tlie Mosque of Sultân Bâj'a- zid II Description of the IVIosque of Sultân Selim I. Description of the Fifth Imperial IVIosque; that of Sultân Sulei'mân In praise of the Writing of Karah Hisarı Description of the Court (Harem) . . A Description of the Imperial Mausoleum . . Description of the Outer Court Description of the Mosque of Prince Moham- med . . Description of the Mosque of the Vâlideh Description of the Mosque of Mehr-mâh Sul- tâneh Begler-begs in the reign of Sultân Suleiman Capudân Pashas in the reign of Suleiman . . Defterdârs and Nishânjis of the Reign of Sultân Sule'imân Begs of Sultân Suleiman's Reign Some of the Illustrious Divines of the Reign of Sultân Sule'iman The Kanün-nâmeh, or Statistical Code of the Empire, drawn up by Sultân Sule'imân . . The Khâs, or Revenues of the Begler-begs . . Names of the Sanjaks of each province Sanjaks of the province of Anâdoli . . Sanjaks of the province of Karaman Sanjaks of Sivas Sanjaks of Bosna The province of the Capudân Pâshâ Sanjaks of the Morea . . Sanjaks of Biidin (Bude) Sanjaks of the province of Kaniza . . Sanjaks of Uivar (Neuhausel) 68 70 73 74 76 77 79 ib. 82 83 ib. 85 86 87 ib. ib, 88 89 90 ib. ib. 91 ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. 92 The province of Temiswar The province of Varasdin Transylvania Valachia and Moldavia Oczakov, or Silistria . . Krim (the Crimea) The province of Kaffa The province of Cyprus The province of Candia The province of Damascus . . The province of Trabalus (Tripoli) . . The province of Adna . . . . The province of Haleb (Aleppo) The province of Diârbeker . . The province of Kars . . The province of Childer or Akhichkeh The })rovince of Gûrjistân or Georgia The province of Tarabafzûn (Trebizonde) The province of Rika . . The province of Baghdad The province of Basra The province of Lahsa The province of Yemen The province of Abyssinia The province of Mecca The province of Egypt The province of Mosul The province of Wan . . The province of Ei-zenim The province of Sheherzi'd Of the ranks of Sanjak-begs Of the khâs, or revenue of the Sanjak-begs, the Kehiyâs of the Defter and the Defter- dârs of Timars Rumeili Bosnia . . The Archipelago The province of Bude The province of Temiswar The province of Anatolia The province of Karaman The province of Kubrus (Cyprus) . . The province of Tripoli (in Syria) . . The province of Haleb (Aleppo) The province of Zulkadrieh or Mera'ish The province of Sivas . . , . Page 92 ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. 93 ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. 94 ib. ib. 95 ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. 96 ib. ib. ib. ib. 97 ib. ib. ib. ib. 98 ib. ib. 99 ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. 100 il). ib. CONTENTS. XVI 1 The province of Erzen'ini The province of Kars . . The province of Chikler or Akhichka The province of Trebizonde . . The province of Diarbekr The province of Rakka The province of Baghdad .. .. .. The province of Wan . . The province of Mosul Statement of the number of swords or men brought into the field by the possessors of Timars and Ziamets The province of Rumeili Number of Ziamets and Timars in each of the Sanjaks in Riimeili Number of Ziamets and Timars in Anatolia The province of the Kapûdân Pasha, or the islands of the Archipelago . . The province of Karaman The province of Rûm or Sivas The province of Mara'ish The province of Haleb (Aleppo) The province of Sham ( Damascus) . . The province of Cyprus The province of Rakka The province of Trebizonde The province of Diarbekr , The province of Erzerum The province of Childer The province of Wan , . The order of the Divân The Conquests and Victories of Solei'mau The Reign of Sultân Selim II. Defterdârs and Nishdnjis Physicians Meshâiekh or Learned men . . Conquests, &c. in the reign of Sultan Selim II. Conquests, &c. in the reign of Murad Sons of Sultân Ahmed Grand Vezirs of Sultân Ahmed Vezirs of the Kubba (Cupola) Celebrated Divines Meshâiekh or Learned Men . . Conquests, &c. of the reign of Sultân Ahmed Description of the Mosque of Sultân Ahmed The Imperial Expedition against Hotîn Page 100 il). ib. ib. ib. 101 ib. ib. ib ib. ib. ib. 102 103 ib. ib. ib. 104 ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. 105 ib. ib. 106 108 ib. 109 ib. ib. ib. HI ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. 11-2 113 Description of the Gul-Jâmi' . . Chronological account of the principal events during the reign of Sultân Murâd IV. A curious Anecdote Account of tlie humble Evliyâ's admission into the imperial Harem of Sultân Murâd, and of some pleasant conversation which he en- joyed with the Emperor in lOiG (1635) . . The Muftis and Ulemâ during the reign of Sultân Murâd . . . . . . . , Chief Judges of Ri'imeiH .. ., Chief Judges of Anatolia Deftderdârs during the Reign of Sultân Murâd Aghâs of the Janissaries during the Reign of Sultân Murâd • . Sultân jMurâd's expedition against Malta Account of the Death of Sultân Murâd Vezirs of Sultân Ibrahim The Vezir who rebelled against Sultân Ibrahim Conquests, &c. during the reign of Sultân Ibrahim . . . . . . Defeat of Tekeli Mustafâ Pashâ Character of Sultân Ibrahim . . . . . . Reign of Sultân Mohammed IV., which may God pei-petuate ! . . Personal description of Sultân Mohammed .' . History of the Vezirs . . The cause of his fall . . Vezirs of Provinces in the time of Sultân Mo- hammed IV. . . . . . . . . Prince of Sultân Mohammed IV. Monuments of Sultân Mohammed IV. Victories and Conquests at which Sultân ]\Io- hammed IV. was present in person Defeat of the Druses in Syria by Murtezâ Pâshâ Conquest of Selina and Retino in Candia Defeat of the Infidel Fleet by Kapudan Cha- vush Zadeh . . Attack on the Cossacks, by Mohammed Gherâi Khun, at Oczakov . . Defeat of Rakoczy Description of the Mosque of the Vâlideh . . Description of the Mosque of Abul-vafa Description of the Mosque of Emir Najâri . . The Fat'hieh Mosque . . 118 119 127 132 143 il). 144 ib. ib. ib. 145 146 ib. 147 149 ib. 151 ib. 152 153 157 ib. ib. ib. ib. 158 ib. 158 159 164 166 ib. ib. XVlll CONTENTS. Page Section XVI. Of the Mosques of the Vezi'rs at Constanti- nople 166 The Old Mesjids, or small Mosques of Con- stantinople . . Section X\'II. Of the Medi-eseh, or Colleges Section XVIII. Of the Dar-ul-kira of Constantinople Section XIX. Of the Mekteb, or Boys' Schools Section XX. Of the Dar-ul-hadith, or Tradition Schools Section XXI. Of the Tekieh, or Convents of Dervishes Section XXII. Of the imaret, or Refectories 170 171 173 173 ib. ib. 174 Page Section XXIII. Of the Tinıâristân and Morist.'m, or Hospitals 174i Section XXIV. Of the principal Palaces of Constantinople Section XXV. Of the Grand Khans for Merchants Section XXVI. Of the Caravanserais . . Section XXVII. Of the Barracks (Bekâr oda) 175 176 177 ib. Section XXVIII. Of the Fountains ornamented with Clirono- graphs . . . . . . . . ■ • 178 Section XXIX. Of the Sebil-khanehs, or Water-houses . . 179 Section XXX. Of the principal Baths . . . . • • ib. Notes . . . . . . . . . . • • 183 THE TRAVELS evliya efendi. IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE ALL-CLEMENT, THE ALL-MERCIFUL ! To GOD, who ennobles exalted minds by travels, and has enabled me to visit the holy places ; to Him who laid the foundations of the fortresses of legislation, and established them on the groundwork of prophecy and reve- lation, all praise be given : and may the richest blessings and most excellent benedictions be offered to the most noble and perfect of all creatures, the pattern of prayer, who said, " Pray as you see me pray;" to the infallible guide, Mohammed ; because it is in his favour that God, the Lord of empires and Creator of the heavens, made the earth an agreeable residence for the sons of Adam, and created man the most noble of all his creatures. Praise to Him, who directs all events according to His will, without injustice or incongruity ! And, after having offered all adoration to God, let every pious aspiration be expressed for the prosperity of his shadow upon earth, the ruler of terrestrial things, the Sultân son of a Sultân, the victorious Prince Murad Khân, fourth son of Sultân Ahmed Khân, and eighth in descent from Sultân Mohammed Khân, the Conqueror, the mercy of God rest upon them all ! but most espe- cially on Sultân Murâd Ghâzi, the conqueror of Baghdad, the great Monarch with whose service I was blessed when I began to write an account of my travels. It was in the time of his illustrious reign, in the year A. H. 1041 (A.D. 1631), that by making excursions on foot in the villages and gardens near Islâmbûl (Constantinople), I began to think of extensive travels, and to escape from the power of my father, mother, and brethren. Forming a design of travelling over the whole earth, I entreated God to give me health for my body and faith for B 2 THE TRAVELS OF my soul ; I souglit the conversation of dervishes, and when I had heard a de- scription of the seven climates and of the four quarters of the earth, I became still more anxious to see the vv^orld, to visit the Holy Land, Cairo, Damascus, Mecca and Medina, and to prostrate myself on the ])urified soil of the places where the prophet, the glory of all creatures, was born, and died. I, a poor, destitute traveller, but a friend of mankind. Evliya, son of the dervish Mohammed, being continually engaged in prayer and petitions for divine guidance, meditating vipon the holy chapters and mighty verses of the Koran, and looking out for assistance from above, was blessed in the night 'Aslii'ir/i, in the month of Moharrvm, while sleeping in my father's house at Ishimbi'il, with the following vision : I dreamt that I was in the mosque of Akhichelebi, near the Yemish iskeleh-si (fruit-stairs or scale), a mosque built with money lawfully gotten, from which prayers therefore ascend to heaven. The gates were thrown open at once, and the mosque filled with a brilliant crowd who were saying the morning prayers. I was concealed behind the pulpit, and was lost in astonishment on beholding that brilliant assembly. I looked on my neighbour, and said, " May I ask, my lord, who you are, and what is your illustrious name?" He answered, " I am one of the ten evan- gelists, Sa'd Vakkiis, the patron of archers." I kissed his hands, and asked further : " Who are the refulgent multitude on my right hand?" He said, "They are all blessed saints and pure spirits, the spirits of the followers of the Pro- phet, the Muhâjirîn, who followed him in his flight from Mecca, and the Ansari who assisted him on his arrival at Medina, the companions of Saffah and the martyrs of Kerbelâ. On the right of the viihrab (altar) stand Abii Bekr and Omar, and on the left Osman and 'Ali ; before it stands Veis ; and close to the left wall of the mosque, the first Muezzin, Belâl the Habeshi. The man who regulates and ranks the whole assembly is Amru. Observe the host in red garments now advancing with a standard ; that is the host of martyrs who fell in the holy wars, with the hero Hamzah at their head." Thus did he point out to me the different companies of that blessed assembly, and each time I looked on one of them, I laid my hand on my breast, and felt my soul refreshed by the sight. " My lord," said I, " what is the reason of the appearance of this assembly in this mosque?" He answered, " The faithful Tatars being in great danger at Azak (Azof), we are marching to their assistance. The Prophet himself, with his two grandsons Hasan and Hosai'n, the twelve Imams and the ten disciples, will immediately come hither to perform the appointed morn- ing service {sahâh-nmmz). They will give you a sign to perform your duty as Muezzin, which you must do accordingly. You must begin to cry out with a evliya efendi. 3 loud voice 'Allah Ekber' (God is great!) and then repeat the verses of the Throne (Surah II. 259). Beh'd will repeat the ' Subli/iiuillati' (Glory to God !), and you must answer ' Klhamda-li-llah'' (God be praised!) Belal will answer, 'Allah ekber,' and you must say 'Am/n' (Amen), while we all join in the tevhid (i. e. declaration of the divine unity). You shall then, after saying ' Blessed be all the prophets, and praise to God the Lord of both worlds,' get up, and kiss the hand of the prophet, saying ' Yâ reslda-llali" (O Apostle of God!)" When Sa'd Vakkas had given me these instructions, I saw flashes of lightning burst from the door of the mosque, and the whole building was filled with a reful- gent crowd of saints and martyrs all standing up at once. It was the pro- phet overshadowed by his green banner, covered with his green veil, carrying his staff in his right hand, having his sword girt on his thigh, with the Imam Hasan on his right hand, and the Imam Hosei'n on his left. As he placed his right foot on the threshold, he cried out "Bismillah," and throwing off his veil, said, " Es-sel/im akik yâ ommeti" (health unto thee, O my people). The whole assem- bly answered : " Unto thee be health, O prophet of God, lord of the nations !" The prophet advanced towards the mihn'tb and ofiered up a morning prayer of two inflexions {rik\ih). I trembled in every limb ; but observed, however, the whole of his sacred figure, and found it exactly agreeing with the description given in the Hallyehi khâkânl. The veil on his face was a white shawl, and his turban was formed of a white sash with twelve folds ; his mantle was of camel's hair, in colour inclining to yellow ; on his neck he wore a yellow woollen shawl. His boots were yellow, and in his turban was stuck a toothpick. After giving the salu- tation he looked upon me, and having struck his knees with his right hand, com- manded me to stand up and take the lead in the prayer. I began immediately, according to the instruction of Belal, by saying : " The blessing of God be upon our lord Mohammed and his family, and may He grant them peace!" afterwards adding, ''Allah ekber.'' The prophet followed by saying the fitihah (the 1st chap, of the Koran), and some other verses. I then recited that of tlie throne. Belal pronounced the Subhâuullah, I the El-hamduUllah, and Belal the Allah ekber. The whole service was closed by a general cry oi "Allah," which very nearly awoke me from my sleep. After the prophet had repeated some verses, from the Surah yâs, and other chapters of the Koran, Sa'd Vakkas took me by the hand and carried me before him, saying : " Thy loving and faithful servant Evliya entreats thy intercession." I kissed his hand, pouring forth tears, and instead of crying " shifâ'at (intercession)," I said, from my confusion, " siyâhat (travelling) O apostle of God!" The prophet smiled, and said, " Shifaat dsid siyâhat {i. e. intercession and travelling) be granted to thee, with health and B 2 4 THE TRAVELS OF peace!" He then again repeated i\\e fâtiluth , in wliich he was followed by the whole assembly, and I afterwards went round, kissed the hands, and received the bless- ings of each. Their hands were perfumed with nmsk, ambergris, spikenard, sweet- basil, violets, and carnations ; but that of the prophet himself smelt of nothing but saffron and roses, felt when touched as if it had no bones, and was as soft as cotton. The hands of the other prophets had the odour of quinces ; that of Abu-bekr had the fragrance of melons, 'Omar's smelt like ambergris, 'Osman's like violets. All's like jessamine, Hasan's like carnations, and Hosein's like white roses. When I had kissed the hands of each, the prophet had again recited the fâtihah, all his chosen companions had repeated aloud the seven verses of that e.Kordium to the Koran {sabdu-l mesânı) ; and the prophet himself had pro- nounced the parting salutation {es-selâm aleikom eyyâ ikhwhiun) from the mihrâb ; he advanced towards the door, and the whole illustrious assembly giving me va- rious greetings and blessings, went out of the mosque. Sa'd Vakkas at the same time, taking his quiver from his own belt and putting it into mine, said : " Go, be victorious with thy bow and arrow; be in God's keeping, and receive from me the good tidings that thou shalt visit the tombs of all the prophets and holy men whose hands thou hast now kissed. Thou shalt travel through the whole world, and be a marvel among men. Of the countries through which thou shalt pass, of their castles, strong-holds, wonderful antiquities, products, eat?bles and drink- ables, arts and manufacturers, the extent of their provinces, and the length of the days there, draw up a description, which shall be a monument worthy of thee. Use my arms, and never depart, my son, from the ways of God. Be free from fraud and malice, thankful for bread and salt (hospitality), a faithful friend to the good, but no friend to the bad." Having finished his sermon, he kissed my hand, and went out of the mosque. "When I awoke, I was in great doubt whether what I had seen were a dream or a reality ; and I enjoyed for some time the beatific contemplations which filled my soul. Having afterwards performed my ablutions, and ofl^ered up the morning prayer {salâtifejr'î), I crossed over from Constantinople to the suburb of Kâsim-pâshâ, and consulted the interpreter of dreams, Ibrahim Efendi, about my vision. From him I received the comfortable news that I should become a great traveller, and after making my way through the world, by the in- tercession of the prophet, should close my career by being admitted into Paradise. I next went to Abdu-llah Dedeh, Sheikh of the convent of Mevlevi Dervishes in the same suburb (Kâsim-pushâ), and having kissed his hand, related my vision to him. He interpreted it in the same satisfactory manner, and presenting to me seven historical works, and recommending me to follow Sa'd Vakkâs's counsels, dismissed me with prayers for my success. I then retired to my humble abode. EVLIYAEFENDI. 5 applied myself to the study of history, and began a description of my birth-place, Islâmbûl, that envy of kings, the celestial haven, and strong-iiold of Mâkedıın (Macedonia, /. e. Constantinople). SECTION I. Infinite praise and glory be given to that cherisher of worlds, who by his word "be," called into existence earth and heaven, and all his various creatures ; be innumerable encomiums also bestowed on the beloved of God, Mohammed Al-Mustaf;i, Captain of holy warriors, heir of the kingdom of law and justice, conqueror of Mecca, Bedr, and Honai'n, who, after those glorious victories, en- couraged his people by his noble precepts {hachi) to conquer Arabia (Yemen), Egypt (Misr), Syria (Sham), and Constantinople (Kostantiniyyeh). Sayings (hadis) of the Prophet respecting Constantinople. The prophet said : " Verily Constantinople shall be conquered ; and excellent is the commander (emir), excellent the army, who shall take it from the oppos- ing people !" Some thousands of proofs could be brought to shew, that Islâmbûl is the largest of all inhabited cities on the face of the earth ; but the clearest of those proofs is the following saying of the prophet, handed down by Ebu Hureireh. The prophet of God said: " Have you heard of a town, one part of it situated on the land," and two parts on the sea?" They answered, "yea ! O prophet of God ;" he said, " the hour will come when it shall be changed by seventy of the children of Isaac." From (Esau) Ais, who is here signified by the children of Isaac, the nation of the Greeks is descended, whose possession of Kostantiniyyeh was thus pointed out. There are also seventy more sacred traditions preserved by Mo'aviyyah Khalid ibn Velid, lyyub el-ensârî, and 'Abdu-1- azfz, to the same effect, viz. " Ah ! if we were so happy as to be the conquerors of Kostantiniy- yeh !" They made, therefore, every possible endeavour to conquer Rum (the Byzantine empire) ; and, if it please God, a more detailed account of their different sieges of Kostantiniyyeh shall be given hereafter. SECTION II. An Account of the Foundation of the ancient City and Seat of Empire of the Mace- donian Greeks (Yünâniyyâni llliikediiniyyah), i.e. the tcell-guardcd Kostantiniyyeh, the envy of all the Kings of the Land of Islam. It was first built by Solomon, and has been described by some thousands of historians. The date of its capture is contained in those words of the Koran, 6 THE TRAVELS OF " The exalted city " {belduh taj/t/i/je/i), and to it some commentators apply tlie foUowino- text : " Have not the Greeks been vanquished in the lowest parts of the earth?" (Kor. xxx. 1.) and " An excellent city, the like of which hath never been created." All the ancient Greek historians are agreed, that it was first built by Solomon, son of David, IGOO years before the birth of the Prophet; they say he caused a lofty palace to be erected by Genii, on the spot now called Seraglio-Point, in order to please the daughter of Saidun, sovereign of Feren- dun, an island in the Western Ocean (Ok/ı/ûııı'ıs). The second builder of it was Rehoboam {Rcjaim), son of Solomon ; and the third Yanko, son of Mâdiyân, the Amalekite, who reigned 4600 years after Adam was driven from Paradise, and 419 years before the birth of iskender Rûmi (Alexander the Great), and was the first of the Batâlisah (Ptolemies?) of the Greeks. There were four universal monarchs, two of whom were Moslims and two Infidels. The two first were Soleimân (Solomon) and iskender ZiVl karnein (the two-horned Alexander), who is also said to have been a prophet ; and the two last were Bakhtu-n-nasr, that desolation of the whole face of the earth, and Yanko ibn Mâdiyân, who lived one hundred years in the land of Adim (Edom). SECTION III. Concei^ning the Conquest of the Black Sea. This sea, according to the opinion of the best mathematicians, is only a relic of Noah's flood. It is eighty fathoms {küh'ıj) deep, and, before the deluge, was not united with the White Sea. At that time the plains of Salaniteh (Slanka- ment), Dobreh-chin (Dobruczin), Kej-kemet (Ketskemet), Kenkus and Busteh, and the vallies of Sirm and Semendereh (Semendria), were all covered with the waters of the Black Sea, and at Dudushkah, on the shore of the Gulf of Venice, the place where their waters were united may still be seen. Parâvâdi, in the pâshâlik of Silistirah (Silistria), a strong fortress now situated on the highest rocks, was then on the sea-shore ; and the rings by which the ships were moored to the rocks are still to be seen there. The same circumstance is manifested at Menkiib, a day's journey from Bâghcheh serai, in the island of Krim (Crimea). It is a castle built on a lofty rock, and yet it contains stone pillars, to which ships were anciently fastened. At that time the island of Krim (Crimea), the plains of Heihât (Deshti Kipchak), and the whole country of the Sclavo- nians (Sakâlibah), were covered with the waters of the Black Sea, which ex- tended as far as the Caspian. Having accompanied the army of Islam Girai Khân in his campaign against the Muscovites (Moskov), in the year , evliya efendi. 7 I myself have passed over the plains of Haihât ; at the encampments of Kertmeh-H, Bini, and Ashini, in those plains, where it was necessary to dig wells in order to su|)ply the army with water, I f'uiind all kinds of marine remains, such as the shells of oysters, crabs, cockles, &c., by which it is evident that this great plain was once a part of the Black Sea. Verily God hath power over every thing ! The fourth builder of Constantinople was Alexander the Great, who is also said to have cut the strait of Sebtah (Ceuta), which unites the White Sea (Mediterranean) with the ocean. Some say the Black Sea extends from Azak (Azof), to the straits of Ish'imbul (the canal of Constantinople), the sea of Rum (Greece), from thence to the straits of Geliboli (Gallipoli, i.e. the Hellespont), the key of the two seas, where are the two castles built by Sultân Mohammed the Conqueror, and that all below this forms the White Sea. Having often made an excursion in a boat, when the sea was smooth and the sky clear, from the Cape of the Seven Towers {Yedi kiilUih bünıuı'ı), near Islâmbûl, to the point of Kâzı Koi (called Kalâmish), near Uskudâr (Scutari), I have observed in the water a red line, of about a hand's breadth, drawn from one of these points to the other. The sea to the north of the line is the Black Sea; but to the south of it, towards Kizil Ada, and the other (Princes') islands, is called, on account of its azure (nil) hue, the White Sea ; and the intermixture of the two colours forms, by the command of God, as " wonders never fail," a red seam (i'ûddeh), which divides the two seas from each other. This line is always visible, except when strong southerly winds blow from the islands of Mermereh (Marmora), when it disappears, from the roughness of the sea. There is also a difference in the taste of the waters on each side of this line ; that towards the Black Sea being less salt and bitter than that towards the White Sea : to the south of the castles (of the Dardanelles), it is still more bitter, but less so than in the ocean. No sea has more delicious fish than the Black Sea, and those caught in the Strait of Islâmbûl are excellent. As that strait unites the waters of the Black and White Seas, it is called, by some writers, the confluence of two seas {jnerejul bahrein). The fifth builder of Constantinople was a king of Ungurus (Hungary), named Puzantin (Byzantinus), son of Yânkö Ibn Mâdiyân, in whose time the city was nearly destroyed by a great earthquake, nothing having escaped except a castle built by Solomon, and a temple on the site of Ayâ Sofiyyah. From Puzan- tin, Islâmbûl was formerly called Pûzenteh (Byzantium). The sixth builder was one of the Roman emperors ; the same as built the cities of Koniyah, Nlkdeh and Kaisariyyah (Caesarea). He rebuilt Islâmbûl, 8 THETRAVELSOF which, for seventy years, had been a heap of ruins, a nest of serpents, lizards, and owls, 2288 years before its conquest by Sultân Mohammed. The seventh builder of the city of Mâkedûn was, by the common consent of all the ancient historians, Vezendun, one of the grandsons of Yânk6 Ibn Mâdiyân, who, 5052 years after the death of Adam, being universal monarch, forced all the kings of the earth to assist him in rebuilding the walls of Mâkedûn, which then extended from Seraglio point {Scrâ'i bûnoıâ), to Silivri {Sclymbria), south- wards, and northwards as far as Terkos on the Black Sea, a distance of nine hours' journey. Both these towns were united by seven long walls, and divided by seven ditches a hundred cubits wide. The remains of these walls, castles, and ditches, are still visible on the way from Silivri to Terkos ; and the khans, mosques, and other public buildings in the villages on that road, as Fetehkoi, Sâzli-koi, Arnâûd-koi, Kuvûk-dereh, 'Azzu-d-din-li, Kiteh-li, Bâklâli, and Tûrk-eslıeh-li, are all built of stones taken from these walls ; the remains of some of their towers and seven ditches appearing here and there. Chatuljeh, which is now a village in that neighbourhood, was then a fortified market-town close to the fortress of Islâmbûl, as its ruins shew. The line of fortifications which then surrounded the city may still be traced, beginning from Terkos on the Black Sea, and passing by the villages of Boruz, Tarâpiyah {Therafia), Firândâ near Rûm-ili hisar, Or- tahko'i, Fundukli, to the point of Ghalatah, and from thence to the lead-maga- zines, St. John's fountain (lyw Yanko âyâzmah-sİ), the Ghelabah castle, the old arsenal, the castle of Petrinah, the Arsenal-gardeu-Point, the castle of Alinah, the village of Sudlijeh, and the convent of Ja'fer-âbâd. All these towns and castles were connected by a wall, the circuit of which was seven days' journey. Concermug the Canal from the river Dönâ (Danube). King Yânvân, wishing to provide water for the great city of Islâmbûl, undertook to make a canal to it from the Danube. For that purpose he began to dig in the high road near the castles of Severin and Siverin, not far from the fortress of Fet'h-islâm, on the bank of that river ; and by those means brought its waters to the place called Azâd-li, in the neighbourhood of Con- stantinople. He afterwards built, in the bed of the river, a barrier of solid stone, with an iron gate, which is still to be seen, as the writer of these sheets has witnessed three different times, when employed there on the public service. The place is now called the iron gate of the Danube {Dönâ demir kapıı-sî), and is much feared by the boat-men, who sometimes unload their vessels there, as, when lightened of their cargoes, they can pass over it in safety. EVLİYA efendi. 9 He also built another wear or barrier in the Danube, now called Tahtah-lu sedd, upon which many ships perish every year. It was when that river overflowed in the spring, that king Yânvân opened the iron gate and the barrier, to allow the stream to pass down to Islambul, where it discharges itself into the White Sea, at the gate called Istirdiyah kapu-si (the Oyster-gate), now Lan- ghah kapû-sî. All this was done by king Yânvân during the absence of king Vezendun, who was gone on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. On his return, his uncle Kojah Yânvân went over to Scutari to meet him ; and as soon as they met: "Well, my uncle," said Vezendan, "have you succeeded in your un- dertaking with regard to the Danube?" — " I dragged it, O king," said he, "by the hair, like a woman, into Mâkedûniyyah (Constantinople), through which it now runs." Scarcely had he uttered this haughty answer, when, by the command of God, the river suddenly returned, deserting its new bed, and bursting forth in a large fountain, at a place called Dona-degirmânleri (the Mills of the Danube), between Vârnah and Parâvâdı, where a mighty stream turns a great number of mills, which supply all the people of Döbrûjah with flour. Another branch of the Danube bursts forth near Kirk Kilisâ (the Forty Churches), from the rocks of Bunâr-hisâr (Castle of the Source). A third branch broke out in the lakes of Büyük and Kuchuk Chekmejeh, whence it unites with the Grecian (Rami) sea. The proof that all these streams have their source in the Danube is that they contain fish peculiar to that river, such as tunnies, sturgeons, Sec, as I myself have more than once wit- nessed, when observing what the fishermen caught in the lakes just named. It is also mentioned in the historical work entitled Tohfet, that Yilderim Bâya- zid (Bajazet) when he conquered Nigehboli (Nicopolis) and Fet-h-islam, hav- ing heard of the ancient course of the Danube, caused straw and charcoal to be passed into it through the iron gate, and that they afterwards appeared again at the above-named lakes Bunâr-hisâr and Donah-degirmânleri. When travelling with the Princess Fâtimah, daughter of Sultân Ahmed, and Suleiman Beg, we stopped at the village of Azâd-li, between Chatâljeh and Islambul, where there are evident marks of the ancient channel of the Danube, cut by art through rocks towering to the skies. We penetrated into those caverns on horseback, with lighted torches, and advanced for an hour in a northerly direction ; but were obliged to return by bad smells, and a multitude of bats as big as pigeons. If the sultans of the house of 'Osman should think it worth their while, they might, at a small expense, again bring the waters of the Danube by Yenibâghcheh and Ak-serai to Islambul. The eighth builder of that city was a king of the name of Yaghfur, son of C 10 THETRAVELSOF Vezendûn, who placed no less than three hundred and sixty- six talismans (one for every day in the year) near the sea at Seraglio- Point, and as many on the hills by land, to guard the city from all evil, and provide the inhabitants' with all sorts of fish. The ninth builder was Kostantin (Constantine), who conquered the ancient town and gave his name to the new city. He built a famous church on the place where the mosque of Mohamed II. now stands, and a large monastery, dedicated to St. John, on the hill of Zirek-kishi, with the cistern near it ; as well as the cisterns of Sultan Selim, Sıvası tekiyeh-si, near Majunji Mahal- leh-si, and Kedek-Pasha. He erected the column in the tâük-bâzûr (poultry market), and a great many other talismans. SECTION IV. Concerning Constantine, the ninth Builder, who erected the Walls and Castle of Constantinople. He was the first Roman emperor who destroyed the idols and temples of the Heathens, and he was also the builder of the walls of Ishimbul. 'Isa (Jesus) having appeared to him in a dream, and told him to send his mother Hellaneh (Helena) to build a place of worship at his birth-place Beitu-1-lahm (Bethlehem), and another at the place of his sepulchre in Kudsi Sherif (Jeru- salem), he despatched her with an immense treasure and army to Felestln (Palestine) ; she reached Yâfah (Jaffa), the port of Jerusalem, in three days and three nights, built the two churches named above, and a large convent in the town of Nab ulus. Tlie Discovery of the true Cross. By the assistance of a monk called Maghariyiis (Macarius), she found the place where the true cross was buried. Three trees in the form of crosses were found in the same grave, and the moment, as the Christians relate, a dead body was touched by them, it came to life again : this day was the 4th of Eiliil (September), which is therefore celebrated by the Christians as the feast of the Invention of the Cross, and has ever since been held as a gi'eat festival by the Greeks. Hellaneh also built the convent of the Kamameh (i. e. the church of the holy sepulchre) on the spot where the dead body had been restored to life, spent immense sums of money in repairing and adorning the mosque of Al-aksa built on the site of the temple of Solomon, restored Bethlehem, and did many other charitable and pious works. She then returned to Ishimbul, and presented the wood of the cross to her son Constantine, who received it with the greatest evliya efendi, 11 reverence, and carried it in solemn procession to the convent on the summit oC Zirek-bashi. The noblest monuments of his power and resolution to surpass all other princes in the strength and durability of his works, are the walls of Constantinople. On the land side of the city, from the Seven Towers at its western extremity to lyyub Ansari, he built two strongly fortified walls. The height of the outer wall is forty-two cubits, and its breadth ten cubits ; the inner wall is seventy cubits high and twenty broad. The space between them both is eighty cubits broad, and has been converted into gardens blooming as Irem ; and at present, in the space between the Artillery (Top-kapu) and Adrianople gates (Edreneh-kapu), are the summer-quarters {yudâk) of the Za- gharjies, or C4th regiment of the Janissaries. Outside of the exterior wall he built a third, the hight of which, measured from the bottom of the ditch, is twenty-five cubits, and its breadth six cubits ; the distance between this and the middle wall being forty cubits : and beyond the third wall there is a ditch one hundred cubits broad, into which the sea formerly passed from the Seven Towers as far as the gate of Silivri ; and being admitted on the other side from the gate of lyyub Ansari to the Crooked gate (Egri-kapu), the town was insulated. This triple row of walls still exists, and is strengthened by 1225 towers, on each of which ten watchful monks were stationed to keep watch, day and night. The form of Islâmbûl is triangular, havino- the land on its western side, and being girt by the sea on the east and north, but guarded there also by a single embattled wall, as strong as the ram- part of Gog and Magog. Constantine having, by his knowledge of astrology, foreseen the rise and ascendancy of the Prophet, and dreading the conquest of his city by some all-conquering apostle of the true faith, laid the foundation of these walls under the sign of Cancer, and thus gave rise to the incessant muti- nies by which its tranquillity has been disturbed. It is eighteen miles in circuit ; and at one of its angles are the Seven Towers pointing to the Kiblah (Meccah). The Seraglio-point (Serai-buruni) forms its northern, and the gate of lyyub its third and north-western angle. Constantine having taking to wife a daughter of the Genoese king (Jenuz Knili), allowed him to build some strong fortifica- tions on the northern side of the harbour, which were called Ghalatah, from the Greek word ghalah {yaKcx. , milk), because Constantine's cow-houses and dairy were situated there. Names of Constantinople in different Tongues. Its first name in the Latin tongue was Makduniyyah (Macedonia) ; then Yân- kövîchah in the Syrian (Süryâni), from its founder Yanko. Next in the Hebrew C 2 12 THETRAVELSOF ('Ibri) Alkesıindeîrah (Alexandria) from Alexander ; afterwards Puzenteh (By- zantium) ; then for a time, in the language of the Jews, Vezendiuiiyyeh ; then by the Franks Yaghfi'iriyyeh. When Constantine had rebuilt it the ninth time, it was called Puznatiydm in the language of the Greeks, and Kostantaniyyeh ; in German Kostantin-opol ; in the Muscovite tongue Tekdriyyah ; in the lan- guage of Africa, Ghiranduviyyeh ; in Hungarian, Vizendu-vur; in Polish, Kanaturyah ; in Bohemian, Aliyana ; in Swedish (Esfaj), Khirakliban ; in Flemish, Isteghaniyyeh ; in French, Aghrandonah ; in Portuguese, Kosatiyah ; in Arabic, Kostantinah ; in Persian, Kaisari Zemin ; in Indian, Takhti Riuii (the throne of Rome) ; in Moghol, Hakdürkan ; in Tatar, Sakalibali ; in the language of the Osmanlus, Islambul. Towards the sea it was never defended by a ditch, which is there superfluous, but by a single wall ; but to guard the entrance of the Bosporus and Hellespont, and to increase the security of the city, the castles called Kilidu-1-bahrein (i. e. the key of the two seas), were built. It is said to have had three hundred and sixty-six gates in the time of Constantine, who left only twenty-seven open, and walled up the rest, the places of which are still visible. SECTION V. Concerning the circumference of Constantinople. In the year 1044 (1G34) (when I was first come to years of manhood, and used to walk with my friends all over Islambul, at the time that Sultân Murâd IV. had marched against (Rivan) Erivan, and Kojah Bairam Pasha was left as Kâyim-makâm (viceroy), he used to visit my late father ; and, in the course of conversation, inquire about the history of Islambul. "My lord," said my father, " it has been built nine times, and nine times destroyed ; but had never, since it has been in the hands of the house of Osman, fallen into such decay as now, when waggons might be any where driven through the walls." He then suggested to the Pasha, that this city, being the envy of the kings of the earth, and the royal residence of the house of 'Osman, it would be unv/orthy him to suffer its walls to remain in that ruinous condition during the period of his government ; and that when the Sultân returned victorious from Rivan, he would be overjoyed on seeing " the good city," his nest, as brilliant as a pearl, and compensate this service by large remunerations, while the name of the Pâshâ would also be blessed by future generations for so meritorious a work. All who were present applauded what my father had said, and he concluded by repeating the Fiitihah. The Mollâhs of Islambul, lyyub, Ghalatah, and Uskudâr (Scutari), the Shehr emini (superintendent of the town), four chief architects, Seybânbâshî (the evliya efendi. 13 third in rank among the officers of the Janissaries), and all other men in office were immediately summoned together, with the Imams of the 4,700 divisions (mahallah) of the city, for the purpose of giving aid in repairing the fortihcations. Many thousands of masons and builders having been assembled, the great work was begun, and happily finished in the space of one year, before the return of the Sultân from his victorious campaign at Rivan. On receiving intelligence of the conquest of that fortress the joy was universal, and the city was illuminated for seven days and seven nights. It was then that a causeway, twenty cubits broad, was formed at the foot of the wall, along the sea-shore, from Seraglio-Point to the Seven Towers ; and on it a high road was made for the convenience of the sailors, who drag their vessels by ropes round the point into the harbour. Close to the wall, all the houses, within and without, were purchased by government, and pulled down to make room for the road, and I then was enabled to measure the circumference of the city, by pacing it round as I shall now explain. Having said a bismillah on setting out, and going along the edge of the ditch, from the Seven Towers to Abu lyyub Ensari, I found the distance measured 8,810 paces, exclusive of the eight gates. From the little gate of lyyiib to the Garden-gate (Baghcheh kapa), including the Martyr's gate (Shehid kapu-si), a space comprehending fourteen gates, there are 6,500 paces. The new palace (Yeni senii), which is the threshold of the abode of felicity (Asitanehi Dâru-s-se'âdet), beginning from the barley-granary (Arpâ-enbâri), which is near the head-lime-burner's gate (kirej-chi bashi kapu-si), has, in its whole circum- ference, sixteen gates, ten of which are open, and six closed, except on extraor- dinary occasions. The entire circuit of this new palace, built by Mohammed (II.) the conqueror, is 6,500 paces. The distance from the Stable gate (Akhor-kapu), along the new-made high road to the angle of the Seven Towers, measures 10,000 paces, and comprehends seven gates. According to this calculation, the whole circumference of Islâmbül measures 30,000 paces, having ten towers in every thousand paces, and four hundred towers in the sum total ; but, taking into the account those in the triple wall on the land side, there are altogether 1,225 large towers; of which, some are square, some round, some hexagonal. When Bairam Pasha had undertaken a complete repair of the fortifications, he ordered the walls to be measured by the builders' ell (arshin), and the whole circumference of the city was found to be exactly 87,000 ells or cubits (zira"). In the time of Kostantin (Constantine), there were five hundred cannons planted on the arsenal (Top-khanah) near the lead-magazine, of which the iron gates are still visible ; the same number was planted near Seraglio-Point, and 14 THETRAVELSOF a hundred round the foot of the Maiden's Tower (Kiz kuUeh-si, ?'. e. the Tower of Leander). Not a bird could cross without being struck, from one of these three batteries, so secure was Ishimbul from any hostile attack. There was then a triple chain drawn from Ghalatah to Yemish Iskeleh-si, upon which a large liridge was built, affording a passage for comers and goers, and opening when necessary to allow the ships to go through. There were two other bridges also across the sea, from Balâtkapû-si (Palace gate) to the garden of the arsenal (Ters-khaneh-baghcheh-si), and from lyyub to Siidlijeh. In the time of Yanko Ibn Madiyan, also, a triple chain of iron was drawn across the straits of the Black Sea (Karah deniz boghazi), at the foot of the castle called Yoruz {i.e. the castle of the Genoese), in order to prevent the passage of the enemy's ships. I have seen fragments of these chains, which are still preserved at Islambiil in the magazines of the arsenal, each ring of which is as wide across as a man's waist, but they now lie covered with sand and rubbish. Islâmbûl was then in so flourishing a state, that the whole shore to Silivri one way, and to Terkoz on the Black Sea the other, was covered with towns and villages to the number of twelve hundred, surrounded by gardens and vineyards, and following each other in uninterrupted succession. Constantine, having reached the summit of great- ness and power, could easily have conquered the world, but he preferred em- ploying the remainder of his life in the embellishment of his capital. On the great festivals, such as the Red-egg-days (Kizil yumurtah günleri, /. e. Easter), Mother Meryem's days (the Feasts of the Virgin), Isvat Nikolah (St. Nicolas), Kasim (St. Demetrius), Khizr Ilyas (St. George), Aûsh-dûs, (i. e. the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, on the 14th of September), the casting of the crosses into the water (the Epiphany), the days of Karah-kondjoloz (pro- bably days on which evil spirits were exorcised), and on all Sundays (Bazar günleri, i. e. market days), the walls of Constantinople were covered with scarlet cloth, and the emperor himself, having his beard adorned with pearls, and the Kayanian crown of Alexander on his head, walked in solemn processian through the streets of the city. The number of Paces between each of the twenty -seven Gates. From the Koshk (Kiosk) to the gate of the Seven Towers - - 1,000 paces. From thence to the Silivri-gate ---- 2,010 To the Yeni-kapii (New-gate) -.-..----. 1,000 To the Top-kapu (Cannon-gate) - 2,900 To the Adrianople-gate 1,000 To the Egri-kapu (Crooked-gate) 900 These six gates are all on the west side of the city, looking towards Adrianople. evliya efendi. 15 From thence to the lyyı'ıb Ensiiri-gate 1,000 paces. To the Baliit kapû-si (the gate of the Palatium) ----- 700 F;inûs-kapu-si (Fanal-gate) - . - 900 To the Petrah-kapu- - GOO To the Yeni-kapu (New-gate) 100 To the Ay;\-kapu - 300 To the Jubâli-kapû 400 To the Un-kapani-kapu (Flour-market-gate) ------ 400 The Ayazmah-kapii (Fountain-gate) 400 To the Odun-kapu (Timber-gate) --------- 400 To the Zindân-kapû-si (Prison-gate) - - 300 To the Bâluk-bâzâri-kapû (Fish-market-gate) 400 To the Yeni jâma'-kapû-sî (New Mosque-gate) 300 This, which is also called the Valideh kapu-si (Queen Mother's-gate), was erected in order to give access to the new mosque built by that princess. From thence to Shehid kapu-si (Martyr"s-gate) 300 paces. These fourteen gates, from lyyûb-kapû-sl to Shehid-kapû-sî, all open to the sea-shore, and face the north. The gates in the circuit of the imperial palace {serai hümâyûn) are all private, and are, 1. the Kirech-ji (lime-burners) ; 2. the Oghrim, from which the corpses of criminals executed in the seraglio are thrown into the sea ; 3. the Balukchi (fishmongers); 4. the Ich akhor (privy stable gate), looking southward ; and 5. the gate of Bayazid khan, which also faces the south, but is not always open. 6. The imperial (B;'ibi hümâyûn) or gate of felicity (Babi Sa'adet), also open to the south, and within it there are three gates in the same line: one of them is the (7.) Servi-kapu-si (the cypress gate), by which the Sultan issues when he visits Sancta Sophia, or takes his rounds through the city in disguise: another is (8.) Sultân Ibrahim's gate, also opening to the south, near the cold spring {söük cheshmcJi) ; a third is (9.) the Sokolll Mohammed Pasha kapii-si, a small gate near the Alâi-koshk, looking to the west; a fourth, also facing westward, is (10.) Suleiman Khân kapu-si, a small gate now always shut.> (11.) The iron gate (Demir kapû) is a large portal facing the west, and appropriated to the use of the Böstânjis and imperial favourites (Musâhibler, i. e. 'Era-ipot) , The above-mentioned eight private gates, from the Akhor kapû to the D^mir kapû, all open into the city ; but there are nine other pri- vate gates opening to the sea on the Seraglio-Point, and facing the north. The whole circuit of the Seraglio measures 6,500 paces. From the Privy Stable to the Public Stable-gate'(khâss-û-'âm akhor kapu-sl), there are ,-.-- 200 paces. 16 THE TRAVELS OF From thence to the Chatladi (Broken-gate) 1,300 paces. To the Kum-kapu (Sand-gate) 1,200 To the Lankah-gate - - - 1,400 Thence to the gate of Daiid Pasha _._._ 1,600 To the Samatiyah-gate - 800 To the Narli-gate 1,600 To the gate of the inner castle of the Seven Towers - - . - 2,000 Seven of these gates open towards the east, and as the winds blow from the south-east with great violence, the quay built by Bairam Pasha was soon destroyed, so that when I paced the circuit, as mentioned above, in the reign of Ibrahim Khan, I was obliged to pass between the Stable-gate and the Seven Towers, within the walls. I then found the whole circuit to be 29,810 paces ; but, in Bairam Pasha's time, when I went outside the walls, it measured exactly 30,000 paces, or 87,000 builders' cubits (ıni'mâr arshünı). SECTION V. On the wonderful Talismans within and without Kostantineh. First talisman. In the 'Avret-Bâzâri (female-slave-market), there is a lofty column (the pillar of Arcadius) of white marble, inside of which there is a winding staircase. On the outside of it, figures of the soldiers of various nations, Hin- dustanies, Kurdistiinies, and Multanies, whom Yanko ibn Madiyan vanquished, were sculptured by his command ; and on the summit of it there was anciently a fairy-cheeked female figure of one of the beauties of the age, which once a year gave a sound, on which many hundred thousand kinds of birds, after flying round and round the image, fell down to the earth, and being caught by the people of Rum (Romelia), provided them with an abundant meal. Afterwards, in the age of Kostantin, the monks placed bells on the top of it, in order to give an alarm on the approach of an enemy ; and subsequently, at the birth of the Prophet, there was a great earthquake, by which the statue and all the bells on the top of the pillar were thrown down topsy-turvy, and the column itself broken in pieces : but, having been formed by talismanic art, it could not be entirely destroyed, and part of it remains an extraordinary spectacle to the present day. Second talisman. In the Tauk-Bazar (poultry-market) there is another needle- like column (the pillar of Theodosius), formed of many pieces of red emery {sûmpârelı) stone, and a hundred royal cubits {zira meliki) high. This was also damaged by the earthquake which occurred in the two nights during which the Pride of the World was called into existence ; but the builders girt it round with evliya efendi. 17 iron hoops, as thick as a man's thigli, in forty places, so that it is still firm and standing. It was erected a lumdred and forty years before the era of iskender ; and Kostantin placed a talisman on the top of it in the form of a starling, which once a year clapped his wings, and brought all the birds in the air to the place, each with three olives in his beak and talons, for the same purpose as was related above. Third talisman. At the head of the Serraj-khaneh (saddlers' bazar), on the summit of a column stretching to the skies (the pillar of Marcian), there is a - chest of white marble, in which the unlucky-starred daughter of king Puzentin (Byzantius) lies buried ; and to preserve her remains from ants and serpents was this column made a talisman. Fourth talisman. At the place called Alti Mermer (the six marbles), there are six columns, every one of which was an observatory, made by some of the ancient sages. On one of them, erected by the Hakim Filikiis (Philip), lord of the castle of Kavulah, was the figure of a black fly, made of brass, which, by its incessant humming, drove all flies away from Ishimbol. Fifth talisman. On another of the six marble columns, Iflâtûn (Plato) the divine made the figure of a gnat, and from that time there is no fear of a single gnat's coming into Islâmbûl. Sixth talisman. On another of these columns, the Hakim Bokrat (Hippo- crates) placed the figure of a stork, and once a year, when it uttered a cry, all the storks which had built their nests in the city died instantly. To this time, not a stork can come and build its nest within the walls of Ishimbol, though there are plenty of them in the suburbs of Abu lyyub Ensari. Seventh talisman. On the top of another of the six marble columns, Sokrat the Hakim (^i.e. Socrates the sage) placed a brazen cock, which clapped its wings and crowed once in every twenty-four hours, and on hearing it all the cocks of Islâmbûl began to crow. And it is a fact, that to this day the cocks there crow earlier than those of other places, setting up their kü-kiri-küd (i. e. crowing) at midnight, and thus warning the sleepy and forgetful of the approach of dawn and the hour of prayer. Eighth talisman. On another of the six columns, Fisâghorât (Pythagoras the Unitarian), in the days of the prophet Suleiman (Solomon), placed the figure of a wolf, made of bronze (tig), the terror of all other wolves ; so that the flocks of the people of Ishimbol pastured very safely without a shepherd, and walked side by side with untamed wolves very comfortably. Ninth talisman. On another of these columns were the figures in brass of a youth and his mistress in close embrace ; and whenever there was any cool- D 18 THETRAVELSOF ness or quarrelling between man and wife, if either of them went and em])raced this column, they were sure that very night to have their afflicted hearts restored by the joys of love, through the power of this talisman, which was moved by the spirit of the sage Aristaüilîs (Aristotle). Tenth talisman. Two figures of tin had been placed on another of the six columns by the physician .Jâllnûs (Galen). One was a decrepit old man, bent double ; and opposite to it was a camel-lip sour-faced hag, not straighter than her companion : and when man and wife led no happy life together, if either of them embraced this column, a separation was sure to take place. Wonderful talismans were destroyed, they say, in the time of that asylum of apostleship (Mohammed), and are now buried in the earth. Eleventh talisman. On the site of the baths of Sultan Bayazid Veli there was a quadrangular column, eighty cubits high, erected by an ancient sage named Kirbariyii, as a talisman against the plague, which could never prevail in Islambol as long as this column was standing. It was aftei-wards demolished by that sultan, who erected a heart-rejoicing hammcim in its place ; and on that very day one of his sons died of the plague, in the garden of Daud Pasha outside of the Adrianople-gate, and was buried on an elevated platform (soffah) without : since which time the plague has prevailed in the city. Twelfth talisman. In the Tekfur Serai, near the Egri kapii, there was a large solid bust of black stone, on which a man named Muhaydak placed a brazen figure of a demon {'ûfrît), which once a year spit out fire and flames ; and whoever caught a spark kept it in his kitchen ; and, as long as his health was good, that fire was never extinguished. Thirteenth talisman. On the skirt of the place called Zirek-bashi there is a cavern dedicated to St. John, and every month, when the piercing cold of winter has set in, several black demons {könjdlöz) hide themselves there. Fourteenth talisman. To the south of Aya Sofiyah there were four lofty columns of white marble, bearing the statues of the four cherubs (kerri'tblir), Gabriel (Jebrayil), Michael (Mikayil), Rafael (israfil), and Azrael (Azrayil), turned towards the north, south, east, and west. Each of them clapped his wings once a year, and foreboded desolation, war, famine, or pestilence. These statues were upset when the Prophet came into existence, but the four columns still remain a public spectacle, near the subterraneous springs (chukitr cheshmth) of Aya Sofiyah. Fifteenth talisman. The great work in the Atmeidan (Hippodrome), called Milyon-par (Millium?), is a lofty column, measuring a hundred and fifty cubits {arsh'hi) of builder's measure. It was constructed by order of Kostan- evliya efendi. 19 tın, of various coloured stones, collected from the 300,000 cities of which he was king, and designed to be an eternal monument of his i)ower, and at the same time a talisman. Through the middle of it there ran a thick iron axis round which the various coloured stones were placed, and they were all keijt to<>-ether by a magnet, as large as the cupola of a bath {hammâm), fixed on its summit. It still remains a lasting monument ; and its builder, the head architect Ghiir- bârîn by name, lies buried at the foot of it. Sixteenth talisman. This is also an obelisk of red coloured stone covered with various sculptures, and situate in the At-meidan. The figures on its sides foretell the different fortunes of the city. It was erected in the time of Yanko ibn Madiyan, who is represented on it sitting on his throne, and holdino- a rino- in his hand, implying symbolically, ' I have conquered the whole world, and hold it in my hands like tliis ring.' His face is turned towards the east, and kings stand before him, holding dishes, in the guise of beggars. On another are the figures of three hundred men engaged in erecting the obelisk, with the various machines used for that purpose. Its circumference is such that ten men cannot span it ; and its four angles rest on four brazen seats, such that, when one experienced in the builder's art has looked at it, he puts his fino-er on his mouth. Seventeenth talisman. A sage named Surendeh, who flourished in the days of error, under king Puzentin, set up a brazen image of a triple-headed dragon {azhderha) in the Atmeidan, in order to destroy all serpents, lizards, scorpions, and such like poisonous reptiles : and not a poisonous beast was there in the whole of Mdkedoniyyah. It has now the form of a twisted serpent, measuring ten cubits above and as many below the ground. It remained thus buried in mud and earth from the building of Sultan Ahmed's mosque, but uninjured, till Selim II., surnamed the drunken, passing by on horseback, knocked oft' with his mace the lower jaw of that head of the dragon which looks to the west. Serpents then made their appearance on the western side of the city, and since that time have become common in every part of it. If, moreover, the remaining heads should be destroyed, Islambol will be completely eaten up with vermin. In short, there were anciently, relating to the land at Islambol, three hundred and sixty-six talismans like those now described, which are all that now remain. Talismans rclathig to the Sea. First talisman. At the Châtkidi-kapıı, in the side of the palace of an emperor whom the sun never saw, there was the brazen figure of a demon {div) upon a D 2 20 THETRAVELSOF square column, which spit fire, and burnt the ships of the enemy whenever it was they approached from the White Sea (Archipelago). Second talisman. In the galley-harbour {kadirgliah limanı) there was a brazen ship, in which, once a year, when the cold winter-nights had set in, all the Witches of Islambol used to embark and sail about till morning, to guard the White Sea. It was a part of the spoils captured with the city by Mohammed II. the conqueror. Third talisman. Another brazen ship, the counterpart of this, was constructed at the Top-khanah (cannon-foundery), in which all the wizards and conjurors kept guard towards the Black Sea. It was broken in pieces when Yezid Ibn Mo'aviyyah conquered Ghahitah. Fourth talisman. At Seraglo-Point there was a triple-headed brazen dragon, spitting fire, and burning all the enemy's ships and boats whichever way they came. Fifth talisman. There were also, near the same place, three hundred and sixty-six lofty columns bearing the figures of as many marine creatures ; a White sun fish {khamsin balighi) for example, which, when it uttered a cry, left not a fish of that kind in the Black Sea, but brought them all to Makedun, where all the people got a good bellyful of them. The sixth talisman was, that, during all the forty days of Lent, all kinds of fish were thrown ashore by the sea, and caught without any trouble by the people of Eum (Turkey). All these talismans having been overthrown by the great earthquake on the night of the prophet's birth, the columns which bore them still lie strewed like a pavement along the Seraglio-Point, from the Selimiyyeh Koshk, to the castle of Sinan Pasha, and are manifest to those who pass along in boats. Though upset they still retain their talismanic virtues, and every year bring many thou- sand fishes to the shore. There were also twenty-four columns round Islambol, each bearing a talisman. All could be visited by a man in one day, provided it was a day of fifteen hours : now the longest day at Islambol, from sun-rise to sun-set, is fifteen hours and a half. That city is situated in the middle of the fifth climate, and therefore enjoys excellent air and water. SECTION VII. Concerning the Mines within and without the City of Kostantin. By God's will there was anciently a great cavern in Islambol, below the Sul- tan's mosque (Sultan jami'-si), filled with sulphur, nitre, and black powder, from which they drew supplies in time of need. Having, by the decree of heaven. evliya efendi. 21 been struck by lightning in the time of Kostantin, or, according to our tradition, at the time of the taking of the city by the conqueror, all the large buildings over the cavern were blown up, and fragments of them scattered in every direc- tion ; some may still be seen at Uskudar (Scutari), others at Sahijak buruni, and Kâzı koi (Chalcedon) ; one large piece, particularly, called the Kaba-tash, and lying in the sea before the chismehler tekkiyeh, to the north of the village of Funduk-li, near Top-khanah, was probably thrown there when the city was blown up. In the neighbourhood of the castle of Kûm-bûrghaz, half a day's journey from the Seven Towers, to the south of Islambol, a fine white sand is found, in great request among the hour-glass makers and goldsmiths of Islambol and Firengistan (Europe). Near the privy-garden of Daud Pasha, outside of the Adrianople-gate, there are seven stone quarries, which appear to be inexhaustible. It is called the stone of Khizr, because it was pointed out by that prophet for the construction of Aya Sofiyah. A kind of soft clay {tin) like electuary (jnaji'in), found near the suburb of Abu lyyub ansari, is called tin ansari; it is has a sweet scent like terra sigillata {tini makhtlim), from the island of Alimani (Jezirehi Alimani, i. e. Lemnos) ; and it is used for the sigillate earth found at Lemnos ; making jugs, a draught from which refreshes like a draught of the water of life. From a pool {bulmreh) between the suburbs of lyyub Sultan and Khâs-k6i, divers bring up a kind of black clay, which is excellent for making jugs, cups, plates, and all kinds of earthenware. The springs of Jendereh-ji, in the delightful promenade {mes'ıreh-gâh) called Kaghid Khânah (Kiahet-haneh, or les eaux douces, i. e. fresh- water springs), are famous all over the world. The root of a kind of lign-aloes {eker) is found there superior to that of Azak (Assov), the city of Kerdeh, or the canal of the castle of Kanizzhah. One of its wonderful properties is, that when a man eats of it it occasions a thousand eructations; it fattens tortoises marvellously, and the Franks of Ghalatah come and catch them, and use them in all their medicines witli great advantage. At Sari Yâr, north of Kaghid Klianeh, a kind of fermented clay is found, which smells like musk, and is used in making jugs and cups, which are much valued, and offered as presents to the great. At the village of Sâri Yâr, near the entrance of the strait of the Black Sea, there is a lofty mountain of yellow-coloured earth, covered with gardens and vineyards up to its summit. On its outside, near to the sea-shore, there is a 22 THE TRAVELS or cavern containing a mine of pure gold, free from any alloy of Hungarian (Ungurûs) Bûndûkiinî brass. From the time of the infidels till the reign of Sultân Ahmed, it was an imperial domain, farmed out for one thousand yiik of aspers (loads, each equal to 100,000). The Defterdar, Ekmek-ji-zadeh Ahmed Pasha, closed it, as bringing little into the treasury ; it is now, therefore, neglected, but if opened again by the Sultan's order would be found a very valuable mine. From this mountain in the valley of Gök-sû, near the castles (his/tr) on the Bos- phorus, a kind of lime is obtained which is whiter than snow, cotton, or milk, and cannot be matched in the world. In the same favourite place of resort, the valley of Gok-sii, a kind of red earth is found, of which jugs, plates, and dishes are made ; and the doctors say, that pure water drunk out of vessels made of this earth cures the basuri demevi (blood-shot eyes ?). In the mountains near ths town of Uskudâr (Scutari), is found a kind of fossil whetstone (Jtayâghâu), which breaks in large slabs, and is much used for tomb- stones. Beneath the palace known by the name of Ghalatah-serai, above the suburb of Top-khanah, is an iron mine, called the mine of old Islambol, and the ore extracted from it is known by that name all over the world. Not a soul in the universe knew any thing of it till Khizr pointed it out, in the time of king Fe- rendu, for the building of Aya Sofiyah ; and all the ironwork of that edifice, as well as the iron hoops round the column in Taûk-bazâr [Forum Theodosii], were made of iron from Eski Stambol. The mine was worked till the time of Sultiin Bayazid Veli, who was much pleased with the air and water of the place, and often spent some time there; and having been admonished in a dream by the Prophet, founded a hospital and college on the spot; and having finally made it a school for pages of the seraglio, the mine was abandoned. The humble writer of this remembers, in the time of his youth, when 'Osman the Martyr was on the throne, there was between the lead-magazine {kurshıınlî makhzcii) and Top- kapu a manufactory of Damascus blades, made from the iron of this mine, where Mohamed the Conqueror, who established it, had most excellent blades made. I myself have seen Mustafâ, the head sword-maker of Sultân Murâd IV., and master of little David, working in that manufactory. It was a large building, outside of the walls, on the sea-shore. Afterwards, when Sultân Ibrahim ascended the throne, Kara Mustafâ Pâshâ became a martyr, and every thing was thrown into confusion ; this building was turned into a house for the Jews, by 'Ali Aghâ, superintendant of the custom-house, and neither the name, nor any trace of the mine or the sword manufactory, are to be found. evliya efendi. 23 The thirteenth mine is that mine of men, the Good City, i. e. Kostantiniy- yeh, which is an ocean of men and beautiful women, such as is to be found no where else. It is said, that ifa thousand men die and a thousand and one are born, the race is propagated by that one. But Islambol is so vast a city, that if a thousand die in it, the want of them is not felt in such an ocean of men ; and it has therefore been called Kani Insân, 'a mine of men.' SECTION VIII. Sieges of Constantinople, In the forty- third year of the Hijreh (A.D. 663), Mo'aviyyah became Comman- der of the Faithful ; and in the course of his reign sent his commander in chief Moslemah, son of 'Abdu-1-malik, at the head of a hundred thousand men of the Syrian army, with two hundred ships, and two hundred transports laden with provisions, ammunition, &c. from the port of Shâm-Tarah-bolûs (Tripoli in Syria), and trusting in God, first against the island of Miiltah, which at that time was Rodos (Rhodes), and of which they made a conquest almost as soon as they disembarked. They next proceeded to the islands of Istanko'i (Cos), Sakiz (Scio), Medelli (Mitylene), Alimaniyah (Lemnos), and Bozjah (Tenedos), which were taken in a few days ; and they immediately afterwards laid siege to Kostantaniyyeh, having taken four hundred ships in their passage, and inter- cepted all vessels laden with provisions coming from the White or Black Sea. The infidels soon sued for peace, on condition of paying the annual tribute of a galley laden with money ; and the victorious general returned to Arabia with joy and exultation, carrying with him the impure son of that erring king (kirâl) Herkil (Heraclius) as a hostage, with treasures to the amount of some millions of piastres. Secof id Siege. In the fifty-second year of the Hijrah of the pride of the world (A.D. 671), Ebu lyyub Ansari, the standard-bearer of the Prophet, and 'Abdu- llah ibn 'Abbas ibn Zeid, proceeding with some thousands of the illustrious companions of the Prophet, and 50,000 brave men, in two hundred ships, followed by reinforcements under the command of Moslemah, first carried supplies to the warriors of Islam in garrison at Rodos, and then, casting anchor before the Seven Towers and landing their men, laid siege to IsUimbol by sea and land. Thus, for six months, did this host, which had the fragrance of Paradise, contend day and night with the infidels. By the wise decree of God. Ebu lyyub their leader suftered martyrdom in one of these assaults, by an arrow from a cross-bow : but, according to a sure tradition, he was received into mercy (i. e. he died) of a disorder in his bowels. 24 THE TRAVELS OF Tliird Sies;e. In the year of the Hijrah 91 (A.D. 710), by order of the khalif Suleiman, son of 'Abdu-liah of the Beni Ummayyah, his nephew 'Omar ibn 'Abdu-l-'aziz marched by land against Islambol with 87,000 men, who ravaged Ghalatah with fire and sword, and having carried off an immense booty, crossed over into Anatoli (Natolia) ; and after having laid siege to Sinob, which made its peace at a great price, and Kastemuni, the capture of which likewise it did not please God to make easy to him, he returned to Syria (Sham). The fourth Siege. In A.H. 97 (A.D. 716), the same khalif again sent his nephew 'Omar ibn "Abdu-l-'aziz against IsLimb61, with an army of 120,000 men by land, and 80,000 embarked in three hundred ships at sea. They established their winter-quarters that year in the town of Belkis-Ana, near Aidinjik (Cy- zicus), in the district of Brusah, and in the following spring they laid siege to Islambol, and reduced the inhabitants to the greatest distress, by laying waste all the surrounding fields and meadows. The Jifth Siege. In the year of the Hijrah , 'Omar ibn 'Abdu-l-'aziz, having become khalif of Sham (Syria), sent an army of 100,000 men, by land and by sea, against Islambol, and crossing the Strait of the Black Sea at Ghalatah, conquered it, and built the mosque of the lead magazines ; and the mosque of the Arabs (Arab jami'si) in that suburb was likewise named from its havino- been built by. him. Having erected a lofty heaven-aspiring tower at Ghalatah, he called it Medineto-1 Kahr (the City of Oppression). He made peace with the Tekkiir of Islambol on condition that Mohamedans should be allowed to settle in that city, from the Crooked (Egri) and Adrianople gates, and the hill on which the Suleimaniyyah stands, to that of Zirek-bashi, and from thence by the flour-market (un-kapani) as far as lyyub Ensari. He built the rose-mosque (Gul-jami'i) in the market of Mustafli Pasha, erected the court of justice near the Sirkehji tekiyeh, and formed a new district of the town at the summer-quarters of Kojah Mustatli Pâshâ, near the Seven Towers. Another condition on which this unilluminated Tekkur (emperor) obtained peace, was the annual payment of a tribute (kharaj) of 50,000 pieces of gold. 'Omar ibn 'Abdul'-aziz fixed his winter-quarters at Ghalatah for that year, having received the tribute due for three hundred years in consequence of a former treaty, departed, leaving Suleiman ibn 'Abdu-1 Malik governor of Ghalatah, and appointing Moselmah his Grand Vizir. His fleet having met near Rodosto one of two hundred sail, sent by the infidels to succour the Tekkur, a great battle ensued ; and just as the infidels were about to be destroyed, a stormy wind sprung up and drove both fleets on shore, notwithstanding all the cherubims in heaven emulated the zeal of the true believers on earth. The Moslims disem- EVLİYA efendi. 25 barked, laid waste all the villages round about, carried away more than 3,000 horses, asses, and mules, and 23,000 prisoners. The treasures taken from the ships which were sunk, were so great, that God only knows their amount ; and the number of the dust-licking infidels passed over the edge of the sword such that their bones lie piled up in heaps in a well known valley, called even now 'Omar Kirdughi Jördû, i.e. 'the camp broken up by 'Omar.' After gaining another signal victory by sea and land, he returned into Syria (Sham). ThesLith Siege. In the year of the hijrah 160 (A.D. 777) Mervan ibnu-1 Hakem besieged Islambol with an army of 150,000 Moslims and a fleet of a thousand ships during six months, added three new districts and built a mosque in the Mahommedan part of the city, and compelled Mesendun, son of Herakfl (Heraclius), to pay a yearly tribute of 500,000 golden tekyânûses, {i. e. coins called Decianus). The seventh Siege. Seventy-four years after the peace made with Mervan, in the year of the hijrah 239 (A.D. 853-4), after the conquest of Malatiyyah, Islambol was pillaged by the khalif Yahya son of 'Ali, who returned to Khar- rân (Charrhge) after having smote 20,000 infidels with the edge of the sword. The eighth Siege. Sixteen years afterwards, A. H. 255 (A.D. 869), I'liyâ (Elias) son of Herakil being king (kiral) of Islambol, Harunu-r-rashid marched from his paradisiacal abode at the head of 50,000 troops ; but finding it difficult to effect the conquest of the city, he made peace on condition of receiving as much ground within the walls as a bull's hide would cover. He therefore cut the hide into strips, so as to enclose space enough in the district of Kojah Mustafâ Pâshâ for building a strong castle, and he fixed the annual tribute at 50,000 fuluri (florins). He then returned to Baghdad, having levied the tribute (kharaj) due for the last ten years. About this time the infidels, taking advantage of the dissensions which pre- vailed among the Muselmans respecting the khalifat, massacred all those established in Islambol and Ghalatah, not however without great loss on their own side, the king and royal family being all slain ; in consequence of which Ghinindo Mihal (Grando Michael), a grandson of Herakil who had come from Firengistân, was made king ; and on that very day Seyyid Bâbii Ja'fer, one of the descendants of Imam Hosein, and Sheikh Maksud, one of the followers of Veisu-1-Karni, sent by Harunu-r-rashid as ambassadors, entered Islambol. They were attended by three hundred fakirs and three hundred followers, and were received by the new king with innumerable honours. The Sheikh asked and obtained permission to bury the remains of the many thousand martyrs who had been slain in the late massacre, which lasted seven days and seven E 26 THE TRAVELS OF niglits. He immediately set to wuik, and with the aid of his own three hundred fakirs and Baba Ja fer's three hundred followers, buried those many thousand martyrs in the places where they had died. In the ancient burying ground behind the arsenal, there are large caverns and ancient vaults, where, from the time of 'Omar ibn 'Abdu-l-'aziz, some thousand companions (of the Prophet) had been buried. To that place Sheikh Maksad carried some thousand bodies of these martyrs, and buried them there, where, on a hewn stone, there is written in large and legible characters, so that it may be easily read, this inscription, said to be by the Sheikh's own blessed hand : These are the men wlio came and went ! In this frail world (dârijenâ) what have they done ? They came and went, what have they done? At last to th' endless world (dari Imka) they're gone. It is to this day celebrated throughout the world as an extraordinary inscription, and is visited by travellers from Rum (Greece), 'Arab (Arabia), and 'Ajem (Persia). Some of them, who, in the expectation of finding hidden treasures, began to work at these ancient buildings with pickaxes like Ftrhad's, perished in the attempt, and were also buried there. Some holy men make pilgrimages to this place barefoot on Friday nights, and recite the chapter entitled Tekasur (Koran, chap. 102) ; for many thousands of illustrious companions (of the Prophet) JMohc'ijinn, (who followed him in his flight), and Aiixur.s (auxiliaries) are buried in this place. It has been also attested by some thousands of the pious, that this burial ground has been seen some thousands of times covered with lights on the holy night of Alkadr (i. e. sixth of Ramazân). In short, Seyyid Baba Ja'fer, Harimu-r rashid's ambassador, having been enraged, and taking ott'ence at his not having been well received by the king Ghinindo Mihal, reproached him bitterly, and suffered martyrdom by poison in consequence of it. He was buried by Sheikh Maksiid, who received an order to that etiect, in a place within the prison of the infidels, where, to this day, his name is insulted by all the unbelieving malefactors, debtors, murderers, &c. imprisoned there. But when (God be praised !) Islâmböl was taken, the prison having likewise been captured, the grave of Seyyid Ja'fer Baba Sultan, in the tower of the prison [the Bagno], became a place of pilgrimage, which is visited by those who have been released from prison, and call down blessings in oppo- sition to the curses of the unbelievers. The ninth Siege. Three years after that great event related above, Hârû- nu-r-rashid marched from Baghdad with an immense army, to require the blood of the faithful from the infidels of Riirn (Asia Minor and Greece), and evliya efendi. 27 having reached Malatiyyah, which was conquered by Jafer Ghazi, surnamed Seyyid Battiil, that hero led the vanguard of the army into Rum ; and Hân'ın himself brought up the rear with reinforcements. Having taken possession of the straits, they blockaded the city, cut off all its supplies, gave no quarter, slew 300,000 infidels, took 70,000 prisoners, and made an immense booty, which they sent to Haleb (Aleppo) and iskenderun, and then returned laden with sjKiils to Baghdad. Yaghfiir (void of light), the king at that time, was taken prisoner and carried before Harun, who gave him no quarter, but ordered him to be hung in the belfry of Aya Sofiyyah (Sancta Sophia). Having been from my infancy desirous of seeing the world, and not remaining in ignorance, I learned the Greek and Latin languages of my friend Simyun (Simeon) the gold- smith, to whom I explained the Persian glossary of Shahidi, and he gave me lessons in the Aleksanderah (Alexandra), /. e. the History of Alexander. He also read to me the history of Yan van, from which these extracts are taken. But after the race of the Ceesars (Kayasirah) became extinct in Kanâtûr, Kos- tantiniyyah fell into the hands of various princes, till the house of Osman arose in A.H. 699 (A.D. 1.300), and, at the suggestion of 'Akiu-d-din the Seljûkî, first turned its attention to the conquest of that city. SECTION IX. Concerning the Sieges of Constantinople by the Ottoman Emperors. The first portion of the descendants of Jafeth which set its foot in the country of Rum (Asia Minor) was the house of the Seljukians, who, in alliance with the Danishmendian Emirs, wrested, in A.H. 476 (A.D. 1083), the provinces of Malatiyyah, Kaisariyyah, 'Alaiyyah, Karaman, and Koniyah from the hand of the Greek emperors (Kaisari Rum Yûnâniyân). They first came from Mâ- verâu-n-nehr (Transoxiana). On the extinction of the Seljukian dynasty, A.H. GOO (A.D. 1204), Suleiman-shah, one of the begs (lords) of the town of Mâhân in Turan, and his son Ertoghrul, came into Rum, to the court of Sultan 'Alau-d- din. The latter having been set on his feet as a man (er-toghrilub), and made a beg by that prince, made many brilliant conquests, and, at the death of 'Alau- d-din, was elected sovereign in his stead, by all the great men (a'yân) of the country. He died at the town of Sukudjuk, and was succeeded by his son 'Osman, who was the first emperor (pâdishâh) of that race. He resided at 'Osmanjik, from whence the dazzling beams of the Mohammedan faith shed their light over Anatoli, Germiyan, and Karaman. In the time of his son and successor, the victorious O'rkhan, seventy-seven heroes, friends of God (evliyau-l- lah, i. e. saints) fought under the banners of the Prophet. E 2 28 THETRAVELSOF It was in his reign, that the holy (veli) Hâji Begtash, who had been in Kho- rasdn, one of the followers of our great ancestor, that Turk of Turks, Khojah Ahmed Yasevi, came over to his camp with three hundred devout (sahibi sejjddeh) fakirs carrying drums and standards, and, as soon as they had met O'rkhan, Brusah was taken. From thence he proceeded to the conquest of Con- stantaniyyeh. His son, Suleiman Beg, joined by the permission and advice of Begtash and seventy great saints (evliya), with forty brave men, such as Karah Mursal, Karah Kojah, Karah Yalavâ, Karah Bigha, Karah Sighlah, in short forty heroes (bahadur) called Karah (black), crossed over the sea on rafts, and set foot on the soil of Riirn, shouting Bismillah, the Mohammedan cry of war. Having laid waste the country on all sides of the city, they conquered, on a Friday, the castle of Ip-sala (it is called Ip-salâ by a blunder for Ibtida sala, /. e. the commencement prayer), and having offered up the Friday's prayer there, they pushed on to the gates of Adrianople, taking Geliboli (Galipoli), Tekir- tâghî (Rodosto), and Silivri (Selymbria) in their way, and returned victorious, laden with spoils and captives, after an absence of seven days, to Kapu-tdghi on the Asiatic shore, from whence they marched with their booty into Brusah. The brain of the whole army of Islam being thus filled with sweetness, the shores of Rum were many times invaded, all the neighbouring country was laid waste, nor were the infidels (kafirs) able to make any resistance ; while the Moslim heroes found means of raising a noble progeny by being tied with the knot of matrimony to the beautiful virgins whom they carried off". Sultan Murad I., who succeeded O'rkhan, following the advice formerly given by Ahiu-d-din Sultan and Hâji Begtash, made himself master of the country round Kostantaniyyeh before he attempted the conquest of the city itself. He therefore first took Edreneh (Adrianople), and filled it with followers of Mohammed coming from Anatoli, while the infidels could not advance a step beyond Islambol. However, they contrived to assemble an army of 700,000 men in the plain of Kös-ovâ. (Cossova), near the castle of Vechteren in Rum-ili (Romelia), where, by the decree of the Creator of the world, they were all put to the sword by the victorious Khudavendikar (Murad) ; but while walking over the dead bodies in the field of battle, praising God, and surveying the corpses of the infidels doomed to hell (duzakh), he was slain by a knife from the hand of one Velashko, who lay among the slain. The assassin was instantly cut to pieces, and Murad's son, Yildirim Bayazid Khan, mounted the throne. In order to avenge his father's heath, he fell like a thunderbolt on Kafiristan (the land of the unbelievers), slew multitudes of them, and began the tenth siege of Kostantaniyyeh. Yildirim Bayazid wisely made Edreneh (Adrianople) the second seat of em- EVLIYAEFFENDI. 29 pire, and besieged Ishimbol during seven months with an army of a hundred thou- sand men, till the infidels cried out that they were ready to make peace on his own terms, offering to pay a yearly tribute (kharaj) of 200,000 pieces of gold. Dissatisfied with this proposal, he demanded that the Mohammedans (ümmeti Mohammed) should occupy, as of old in the days of 'Omar ibn Abdu-l-'aziz, and Hariinu-r-Rashid, one half of Islambol and Ghalatah, and have the tithe of all the gardens and vineyards outside of the city. The Tekkur king (J. c. the Emperor) was compelled of necessity to accept these terms, and twenty thousand Musulmans having been introduced into the town, were established within their former boundaries. The Gul jami'i, within the Jebali kapu-si, was purified with rose-water from all the pollutions of the infidels, whence it received its name of Gul-jami'i (/. e. Rose mosque). A court of justice was established in the Sirkehji Tekiyeh in that neighbourhood; Ghalatah was garrisoned with six thousand men, and half of it, as far as the tower, given up to the Mohammedans. Having in this manner conquered one half of Islambol, Bayazid returned victorious to Edreneh. Soon afterwards Timur Leng issuing from the land of I'nin with thirty-seven kings at his stirrup, claimed the same submission from Bâyazîd, who, with the spirit and courage of an emperor, refused to comply. Timur, therefore, advanced and encountered him with a countless army. Twelve thou- sand men of the Tatar light-horse (eshkinji), and some thousands of foot soldiers, who, by the bad counsels of the vazir, had received no pay, went over to the enemy; notwithstanding which Bayazid, urged on by his zeal, pressed forwards with his small force, mounted on a sorry colt, and having entered the throng of Timur's army, laid about him with his sword on all sides, so as to pile the Tatars in heaps all around him. At last, by God's will, his horse that had never seen any action fell under him, and he, not being able to rise again before the Tatars rushed upon him, was taken prisoner, and carried into Timur's presence. Timur arose when he was brought in, and treated him with great respect. They then sat down together on the same carpet (sejjadeh) to eat honey and yoghurt (clotted cream). While thus conversing together, " I thank God," said Timur, " for having delivered thee into my hand, and enabled me to eat and dis- course with thee on the same table ; but if I had fallen into thy hands, what wouldst thou have done?" Yildirim, from the openness of his heart, came to the point at once, and said, "By heaven ! if thou hadst fallen into my hand, I would have shut thee up in an iron cage, and would never have taken thee out of it till the day of thy death!" " What thou lovest in thy heart, I love in mine," replied Timur, and ordering an iron cage to be brought forthwith, shut Bayazid up in it, according to the wish he had himself expressed. Timur then set out on his 30 THE TRAVELS O F return, and left the field open for Chelebi Sultân Mohammed to succeed his father Yildirim. He immediately pursued the conqueror with 70,000 men, and overtaking him at Tashâk-6v;i-si, smote his army with such a Mohamme- dan cleaver, that his own men sheltered themselves from the heat of the sun under awnings made of the hides of the slain, whence that plain received the ludicrous name by which it is still known. But, by God's will, Yildirim died that very night of a burning fever, in the cage in which he was confined. His son Mohammed Chelebi, eager to avenge his father, continued to drive Timur forwards, till he reached the castle of Tokat, where he left him closely besieged. He then returned victorious, carrying the illustrious corpse of his father to Brusah, where it was buried in an oratory in the court before his own mosque. His brothers 'I'sa and Musa disputed his right to the empire ; but Mohammed, supported by the people of Rum, was proclaimed khalifah at Edreneh (Adria- nople), where he remained and finished the mosque begun by his father. On hearing of these contentions for the empire, the king (tekkur) of Ishimbol danced for joy. He sent round cryers to make proclamation that, on pain of death, not a Muselman should remain in the city of Kostantin, allowing only a single day for their removal : and he destroyed a great number of them in their flight to Tekirtagh (Rodosto) and Edreneh (Adrianople). The empire, after the demise of Chelebi Mohammed, was held first by Murad II., and then by Mohammed (II.) the conqueror, who during his father's lifetime was gover- nor (hâkim) of Maghnisâ (Magnesia), and spent his time there in studying history, and in conversing with those excellent men Ak-Shemsu-d-din, Karah- Shemsu-d-diu, and Sivâsi, from whom he acquired a perfect knowledge of the commentaries on the Koran and the sacred traditions (hadis). While he was at Maghnisâ, having heard that the infidels from Frânsah (France) had landed at 'Akkah (Acri), the port of Jerusalem, on the shore of the White Sea, and in the dominions of Kelâûn, Sultân of Egypt, and taken possession of Askelân and other towns, from which they had carried off much plunder and many prisoners to their own country, he was so much grieved at the thoughts of thou- sands of Muselmâns being can-ied into captivity, that he shed tears. " Weep not, my Emperor," said Ak-shemsu-d-din, " for on the day that thou shalt conquer Islâmbol, thou shalt eat of the spoils and sweetmeats taken by the unbelievers from the castle of 'Akkah : but remember on that day to be to the faithful an acceptable judge as well as victor {kâzı ve-ghâzi râz'i), doing justice to all the victorious Moslims." At the same time taking off" the shawl twisted round his 'urban, he placed it on Mohammed's head, and announced the glad tidings of his being the future conqueror of Ishimbol. They then EVLİYA efendi. 31 read the noble traditions (hadîs) of what the Prophet foretold relative to Ishimbol, and observed that he was the person to whom these traditions applied. Mohammed on this, coverin