Evliya Çelebi

“ The architect, to shew his skill in the construction of this basin in the centre of the court, placed over it a brazen cage like a net, which is also itself a masterpiece. The water rushing out, day and night, from the pipes of this basin, affords abundantly wherewith to quench the thirst of the devout, and enable them to perform their ablutions. The great cupola of the mosque seems also to hang without support, like the vault of heaven. Before the Mihráb is the monument of Mohammed the Conqueror and his family. ”

“ Rocks towering to the sky take the appearance here of many strange shapes, such as dragons, elephants and eagles. We mounted still further in the direction of the Kiblah through flowery meadows, where no tall trees were to be seen, and after five hours came to the station of Sultán Suleïmán’s fountain-head. A delightful spot with a spring of water so cold that a man cannot take out of it three stones in succession. There is here a large mass of rock the size of the cupola of a bath, which vibrates on being touched, and also many rivulets containing trout of one or two becas each. ”

“ Here is a spring so cold that the hand cannot bear it, and close to it one in which eggs and sheep’s feet are cooked. Only one of these hot springs is covered with a cupola, the rest are exposed to the open air; every one is large enough to drive a mill. We now turned to the west, along the mountains of Súnjáb-Ainí, and arrived after nine hours at the castle of Atík, built like the former, by Zia-ud-dín, the Prince of Azerbeiján; it is a square castle on a rock. ”

“ All these talismans having been overthrown by the great earthquake on the night of the prophets birth, the columns which bore them still lie strewed like a pavement along the Seraglio-Point, from the Selímiyyeh Kóshk, to the castle of Sinán Páshá, and are manifest to those who pass along in boats. Though upset they still retain their talismanic virtues, and every year bring many thousand fishes to the shore. ”

“ The next day clouds of dust rising on the side of the Jorúgh announced the arrival of a new army, whose glittering armour dazzled the eyes; it was that of Koja Sefer Páshá, the Vezír of Chaldir, who summoned by the command of our Lord the Páshá of Erzerúm, arrived with the Georgian army in great speed to the assistance of the Castle of Gonia; Sídí Ahmed Páshá went with the other Páshás to meet them, and it was a grand sight to see these troops on fine horses, well armed with spears, swords, shields, and muskets, with flying hair and strange figures. ”

“ The young people are extremely pretty, with eyes like the roes of Khoten, sweet-tongued with merry faces, who, if they walk dressed in red embroidered dresses, like peacocks of Paradise, make all their lovers lose their wits, and by half a look make as many Mejnúns of them. We spent three days and nights here with Eyúb Khán the Khán of the town, continually entertained by music. ”

“ Neither the Ottoman nor any other dynasty of Moslem princes ever produced a prince so athletic, so well-made, so despotic, so much feared by his enemies, or so dignified as Sultán Murád. Though so cruel and bloodthirsty, he conversed with the rich and poor without any mediator, made his rounds in disguise night and day to be informed of the state of the poor, and to ascertain the price of provisions, for which purpose he frequently went into cookshops and dined incognito. ”

“ Yússúf Aghá may be called the last builder of this town which he enriched by a great many endowments; the bezestán was also his building. The most elegant market-place is that of the tanners, who illuminate every night their shops with candles; there are also a great many dyers. Its gardens are in full cultivation and produce excellent fruits. The pears, grapes, cotton wares, wove and spun, and the blue linen are as famous as its rosy-cheeked beauties. The harbours of this town on the shores of the Black Sea are Báfra and Sinope, which are but a journey distant. ”

“ He lavished the treasures of Egypt on his favourite women Políeh, Sheker Pára, Tellí, and Sájbághlí Khásekí; and squandered his revenues in circumcision feasts, building koshks lined with sable, and in presents to his favourite Jinjí Khoájeh, who at last, with the vezír Ahmed, fell under the displeasure of the public. So loud was the cry for vengeance, that the vezír was obliged to call to his assistance the Ottoman troops who had served in Candia under the command of Delí Husain Páshá. Jinjí Khoájeh, the favourite, was constantly about the person of the Sultán, the vezír, or the válideh ”

“ The immense blocks of stone used in the formation of the walls, show that it must have been built by Alexander, because five hundred men of the present age would not be able to move one of them; it stands on a high hill, and is of a square form; it has one gate opening to the south, a mosque, a bath, a khán, and forty small streets; the gardens are beautiful owing to the mildness of the climate; the river which passes below it, issues from the mountains of Akhiska through which it passes, and waters the gardens of the town, falling into the Araxes. ”

“ Some hundred copies of the Korán lying near the mehráb, on gilt desks inlaid with mother-o’-pearl, are presents from sultáns and vezírs. The library consists of 9,000 volumes marked with the toghra of the Sultán, the care of which is entrusted to the Mutavellí (curator) of the mosque. On the outside, facing the mehráb, is a most delightful garden, where the sweet notes of a thousand nightingales give life to the dead-hearted, and the fragrant odour of its flowers and fruits gratifies the senses of the faithful assembled to prayer. ”

“ Koja Lala Mustafa Páshá ordered a general attack, which was instantly made on one side by Uzdemir-oghlí, on the second by Mohammed, the governor of Haleb, and on the third by Mustafa, the governor of Mera’ash, who cut to pieces more than a thousand men, and drove the rest like sheep to the ferry of Koyún-gechid, where a great many of them were drowned, some in the river Kanúk and some in the Kapúr. In short there remained altogether more than forty thousand men on the field of battle, whose bones are piled up as an everlasting monument ”

“ If a mosque be upon a plain, and low and open, worship in it is not thereby prevented. If thy stone had been a precious stone, its value would have been only that of a stone; but of this man, who has now for these forty years subsisted by his skilful workmanship, you have illegally cut off the hands. He can henceforward do nothing more than cohabit with his wife. The maintenance of him and his numerous family necessarily, by law, falls upon thee. What sayest thou, Prince (Begum) ?” Sultán Mahommed answered: “Thou must pronounce the sentence of the law!” ”

“ Great men have abundance of asbestos linen; Captain Hassám-zadeh gave me such a handkerchief, which having become dirty, in the presence of Melek Páshá, I threw into the fire, when it became as pure as a white rose. God knows whether this carpet is not also made of this Cyprian stone. We left Uch Kilisse and passed towards the east through cultivated fields and populous villages, so that we did not see a cubit of ground which was not productive or cultivated, and arrived after eight hours march at a well cultivated village on the border of Mount Sokún, like a small town. ”

“ Returning from the garden we took a view of the outside of the mosque of Evhad Allah, it is an incomparable mosque with a well-proportioned minareh; near it is the bath of Táj-ud-dín Munshí, and seven Kháns. The beautiful women of the place have such fine and brilliant eyes, that one glance from them delights the heart more than a thousand from others. The next morning three hundred Persian horsemen joined us, and accompanied us on our way, which led through a mountainous tract, thirteen hours towards the east, to the station of the village of Kend Massír ”

“ On the east side of the upper gallery there are five or six smooth flat slabs of various coloured stones, which reflect the rays of the rising sun with so bright a light that the eye of man cannot look stedfastly on them. In short, there are some thousands of holy places of pilgrimage in Ayá Sófiyah, which is a Ka’beh for Fakírs, but the writer of these pages has only described those which he knew. The whole of this mosque is also covered with lead, which has remained uninjured for so many thousand years from its being mixed up with some thousand quintals (kantár) of gold. ”

“ It is an elegant, bright mosque built by Kojá Sinán. There is no establishment for reading the Korán or tradition. The best bath is also that of Pertev-Páshá, it is a fine building, there is good air and water, and attentive waiters. The bath of Rostem-Páshá, like the former, is Sinán’s work. The best khán is that of Pertev-Páshá with seventy fire-places. Besides the kháns, two hundred magazines for wood and other materials are in the port, one thousand one hundred shops of handicraftsmen, and forty coffee-houses, the most brilliant of which is that of the Serdár, famous for its waiters. ”

“ Seven thousand purses, and many hundred thousands of Ottoman subjects were lost, together with the glory of the Sultán, against whom they rebelled on his return to Islámbol. When Sultán Othmán went to their mosque, the Orta-jáme’, he was assailed with the most abusive language; and when he held by one of the windows on the left side of the mehráb, whilst he earnestly appealed for assistance from the people of Mohammed, an abject wretch, worse than an infidel, and of the ignominous name of Pehleván, thus insulted him: ’Othmán Chelebí! you are a fine boy ”

“ The Khán, a person of great repute, had been the treasurer of Sultán Sifí, who had delivered the castle of Baghdád to Sultán Murad; he was a man of great judgment, of Georgian extraction, and his name was Devlet Murád Khán. After dinner he gave to Alaja Atlí Hassan, who came as envoy from the Páshá, and to me, brilliant robes of honour, ten tománs of Abbássí, and a horse, investing his own envoy also with a caftán. He has from forty to fifty delightful companions excelling in various arts. ”

“ He immediately rode to the At-maidán, and throwing his jeríd to the height of the mosque, struck the crow, which fell dead at his feet. The At-maidán of the old palace is distant one mile from the minareh of Sultán Báyazíd. If the jeríd had not hit the raven, but had pursued its course, it would certainly have fallen in the poultry-market. On the spot where the crow fell there now stands a white marble column of the height of a man, with a chronogram by Júrí inscribed with letters in gold. ”

“ Ipshír Páshá laughed and said, “What art thou doing at thy master’s; wert thou not previously with Melek Ahmed Páshá?” “By God,” I, poor Evliya, answered, “I am the common servant and joint subject of two Vezírs, whom I accompany alternately as they come into high offices for the pleasure of travelling. Defterdár Zádeh must now be removed from office at this place, and your Excellency is most likely to go as Governor to Damascus or Baghdád, in which case I attach myself to your service.” ”

“ The top of Seilán is always covered with snow, which shines like silver in the middle of summer, and furnishes all the water of the town; it is a very digestive water, which enables the inhabitants to feast like Ma’adikarb. The inhabitants pretend to be Sháfiítes; they are great liars. The distance between Tabríz and Erdebíl is twenty-five farsangs, which with a good horse may be gone over in two days. The climate much resembles that of Erzerúm; hard winter, and a fruitful soil, the corn multiplying eighty fold: there are no fruit-trees and vines, but gardens for vegetables and rosebeds. ”

“ Of the troops on the seven sides of the attack one thousand two hundred men became martyrs and ascended to Heaven. On this night the Infidels made incredible efforts to repair the works of the castle, by raising walls and digging ditches, opening loopholes and pointing guns. The foundations of the castle resembled the wall of Gog and Magog, to the great consternation of the Moslims, who solaced themselves, saying: “Man proposes and God disposes,” recommending their business to God. ”