Being deeply religious, he appears to have been affiliated with the Gülşeni branch of the Halveti brotherhood. was especially talented in music, Koran recital, and story telling and described himself as a bachelor (mücerred), mystical seeker (derviş), humble (faqir), and as someone who has many friends and interests (hezar-aşina). By the time he left the Palace as a cavalryman (sipahi) (1048/1638), his extraordinary abilities as a witty and well-informed entertainer had been fully developed. was introduced to Murad IV (1032-49/1623-40) and began his studies in a wide variety of arts and sciences at the Palace School (enderun). frequented intellectual circles and made the acquaintance of well-known figures of the time such as Zekeriyazade Yahya Efendi (d.
He then graduated from a school for Koran recitation, and attended public lectures in mosques as well as private lessons in the palace led by figures such as Keçi Mehmed Efendi (d. learned the essentials of a religious education at the undistinguished medrese of Hamid Efendi in Zeyrek (Istanbul). had relatives in Istanbul as well as in several places like Demürci (Demirci), Kutahiyye (Kütahya), Brusa (Bursa) in Anatolia.Į.Ç. As various references to relatives and real estate (e.g., a çiftlik in Sandıklı) found in his travelogue clearly indicate, E.Ç. 1073/1662) was her cousin), a fact which was to play a decisive role in his future life. 1026/ 1617), E.Ç.’s mother had family relations with leading statesmen and provincial governors of the time (e.g., Melek Ahmed Paşa (d. Even though his claim that his father was a warrior of faith under Süleyman I (926-74/1520-66) is anachronistic, his statement that he contributed as a court jeweler to pious works of art during the reign of Ahmed I (1012-26/1603-17) is more reliable.īorn an Abkhaz and brought up as a slave-girl in the palace of Ahmed I (d. 687/1288), trying to unite in his person the two main legitimating strands of the Ottoman dynasty, namely the Turkish and Islamic heritage. claims that his ancestor Ece Yaqub (13 c.?) originated from the Transoxanian region Mahan and came to Anatolia with Ertugrul Gazi (d. 562/1166) all the way back to the imams of early Islamic history, a pedigree reflecting the folk stories of gazis and dervishes preserved in Ottoman popular memory. He traces his paternal genealogy through Ahmed Yesevi (d. was born on 10 Muharrem 1020/25 March 1611 in Unqapanı (Istanbul) as the son of the imperial goldsmith (quyumcubaşı) Derviş Mehmed Zılli Aga (d. In 2011, the year which would have been his 400th birthday, Evliya is being paid homage as UNESCO’s Man of the Year.E.Ç.
Sometimes these encounters lead to nothing but sometimes they lead to stories which are so deeply felt, and so universally melodic that they leave echoes which can still be heard and felt today. This 17th century Muslim traveller can sometimes seem narrow-minded and yet this same man can stand in St Stephens Cathedral in Vienna and be moved by the music he hears. Through his stories, we are prompted to think more imaginatively about our own travels and journeys to other cities. These are not just factual accounts, Evliya had a great imagination and just as important as his journal entries was the imaginative storytelling that ran alongside, elaborating, exaggerating, and fantasizing. ‘Seyahatname’ – Book of Travels – is a unique and important text, representing one of the few accounts of the 17th century and the Ottoman world from the perspective of a Muslim. Over the course of his travels he wrote ten volumes detailing his adventures. Evliya Celebi was an enlightened man in a variety of ways who believed in equality, freedom of thought and intellectual debate, and found all of these things present in Islamic societies.
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