Chapter VI: Part 6

“The end of the letter said, ‘But we poor fellows, giving to you, great Monarch, an island as rich as that of Creta, we beg of you the favour to make us a present of the ports of Acra, Saida, Beirút, and of the old seat of our religion, Jerusalem. It is only for this purpose we can cede to you the island of Creta, and it would be more reasonable to deliver your hereditary countries from the rebels, who infest it, than to form such strange demands:—Our compliments to you!’ Ahmed hearing this answer was deeply afflicted, and began to cry. Mahmúd Efendí said, ‘Why should your Majesty be afflicted; they began by saying, that they were ready to give up the island, it is God who has dictated these words to them, according to which they shall be obliged to yield the island.’ A Fátihah was said, and the Mahommedan shouts (Allah!) repeated. Then they said, ‘If it please God, it shall most certainly be conquered,’ and saying so, they changed the conversation. When this letter was again read at the Diván, the Emperor happened to be in his innermost garden at the place called Chemensoffa, conversing with the abovenamed learned and virtuous gentlemen. At this moment the gate of the innermost Harem opened, and the Kislar-agassí walked out, followed by seven Princes, who kissed the hands of the Emperor, and then of the Sheikhs, who were with him, and the Sultán said, ‘Gentlemen, the Princes my sons, are your most humble servants.’ He then ordered that they should play before him, to dissipate the melancholy which the answer of the Venetians had caused. They played ball, and Prince Osmán, the strongest and stoutest of them, was superior to the rest. Coming near his father’s throne, he asked him, ‘My Osmán! wilt thou conquer Creta?’ The Prince answered, ‘What shall I do with Creta? I will conquer the land of the white Russian girls, and shed blood there.’ Saying so, he continued to play; Evliyá Efendí, praise to God, the innocent boy could not reach the meaning of the Emperor’s words. Mahmúd observed, that he had understood well the word Creta, but that there was something mysterious in his answer about the white Russian girls. Now Prince Osmán came up pursuing his brother Mohammed even under the throne, where Mohammed sheltered himself, and having crept forth again, the ball, which Osmán threw at him, touched his gilt turban, and hurt his neck so that blood was flowing, and he turned giddy.

“Sultán Ahmed said, ‘Look Mohammed, Osmán is thy brother, and yet he has hurt thee, this is the course of the world: strike him in your turn.’ He wiped his blood off, and having seated him at the foot of the throne, he asked him, ‘Will you conquer Creta, Mohammed?’ Mohammed said, ‘I will, but my brother Osmán sheds my blood; if it is not me, another Mohammed will finish the conquest begun by me.’ The Senior of the Surgeons, Ibrahím said, ‘Praise be to God, what secrets are revealed to-day! but nobody yet understands them.’ Now the Princes continued to play at ball; Bayazíd and Súleimán were chasing each other, when all at once, Prince Murad sallied forth from the place called the black cypress, and threw a ball at them, which hurt them both, so that blood dropped from their noses. Sultán Ahmed said, ‘My Murad, why dost thou beat thy brethren so.’ The Prince replied, ‘It was not my intention, but such is the play of the world, I was obliged to do it because they gained upon me, and were going to take my place!’ Omer Gulshení said, ‘There is also some mystery in that.’ Now came Prince Ibrahím in a ruby-coloured dress: Sultán Ahmed asked him, ‘Where have you been my Ibrahím?’ ‘I,’ said he, ‘have taken the ablution of martyrdom, and am now come to wrestle and play with all my brethren.’ He entered wildly and threw a ball at Sultán Osmán’s head, so that he knocked off his turban and set him crying. Prince Murad now threw a ball at Ibrahím, which he received undaunted, feigned to direct his ball at Bayazíd, but turned round in a moment, and threw it at Murad with such violence, that he was for some time senseless. Ibrahím now ran to his father’s throne, sat at the foot of it, and said, ‘Have I not aimed a good ball at Murad,’ and then fell to indelicate play. Murad was crying on the ground, saying, ‘I had rather died, than have been beaten in that way by Ibrahím!’ The play continuing, to the surprise of all the beholders, Murad again pursued Ibrahím, and threw the ball at him, which he received as boldly as the first time, and retreated under the throne, from whence he then issued without his turban and in a state of undress. Sultán Ahmed caught hold of his ear, and said, ‘Wilt thou conquer Creta, and make of it an endowment for my mosque for Mecca and Medina.’ The Prince said, ‘If God assists me, and helps me, in God’s name, and if it pleases God, my son Yússúf shall conquer it under Yússúf the Prophet’s favour!’ All who were present now said a Fátihah that this might happen, and Sultán Ahmed said, ‘Now, how curious it is, that I am fallen into melancholy since the Venetian letter has been read, that wishing to divert myself with my children’s play, they got bloody necks and noses, and made me more melancholy than before, till Ibrahím has at once chased away my spleen by saying that he will conquer Creta by his son.’ God’s mercy on Sultán Ahmed! All that had been foreshewn in this play, really happened.

“1. Sultán Osmán who hurt his brother Mohammed’s neck, ordered him to be executed when going to Khotyn.

“2. Sultán Osmán, who was hurt by Ibrahím’s ball in his groin, died after his unsuccessful return from Khotyn, at the Seven Towers, when one Piniál tortured him till he died by compression of the scrotum.

“3. The two Princes, Bayazíd and Súleimán, overtaken by Murad at the black cypress, were strangled in the same place, the blood dropping from their noses, by Sultán Murad’s order in the year 1045, when he sent Beshír Aghá to Constantinople with the news of the conquest of Eriván. They were buried in their father Ahmed’s tomb, twenty-one years after this play had happened in their father’s presence.

“4. The ball received by Ibrahim from Murad foreboded that Ibrahím would be, as he was, Murad’s successor.

“5. Ibrahím’s indelicate play at the foot of the throne, showed the luxury of his reign passed in weddings and pleasure parties.

“6. His having then said; ‘woe to my cullies,’ was the forerunner of the infamous disease of which he died.

“7. The reply given by Ibrahím, when coming forth from beneath his father’s throne, and saying, that he would conquer Creta with his son Yússúf, is to be understood of Yússúf Pashá the Commander-in-chief of the expedition to Canea.

“8. God knows my son (continued Evliyá’s father) whether the name of Yússúf may not be applied to Ibrahím’s son, who shall finish the conquest of Creta begun by his father.

“My son, all these mysteries I witnessed in Sultán Ahmed’s presence, and have waited ever since for the conquest of Creta promised by Sultan Ibrahím to his father, and now fulfilled accordingly. I, thy poor father, was present at the prayers then said at the suggestion of this conquest, and thou my son hast witnessed the fulfilling of it. If it please God, thou shalt witness also its entire conquest.”

It was in this manner that my father, Dervish Mohammed, the chief of the goldsmiths at Constantinople, related the story of the Princes. God’s mercy upon him! As some thousand descriptions of the siege of Canea exist, I would not expatiate too much on this subject, but have related what I witnessed in a plain way.

Jowánjí Kapújí Mohammed Páshá the great Vezír being deposed, he was named Commander-in-chief at Creta, and the Vezírat given to the Defterdár Sáleh Páshá, who bestowed on his brother, Murteza Páshá, the governorship of Bude with three tails; and on Ibrahim Chelebí, who had been Khazinedár, the governorship of Baghdád. The son of Sáleh Páshá, Chelebí Mohammed, known by the name of the hanged Defterdár-zadeh Mohammed Páshá, was made Aghá of the janissaries, with the character of Vezír, but, as he did not accept of it, he was sent as Commander-in-chief to Erzerúm. I, poor Evliyá, was appointed clerk at the custom-house of Erzerúm, Moëzzin and companion to this Páshá. He was a man of agreeable conversation, great acquirements in all sciences, generous, brave, a poet and statesman. He bestowed on me rich presents, and I prepared my tents for the journey to Erzerúm. I was invested with a robe of honour (caftán) in Sultán Ibrahím’s presence. He said unto the Páshá, giving him the Imperial rescript, “Thou art my absolute Vezír and Commander against the Persians; if they should become rebels, all the army of Anatolia as far as Eriván is under thy command.” He gave him five purses, fifty mules and as many camels for the journey, a splendid tent, and two sable pelisses. We passed under Sultán Ibrahím’s blessing to Scutari, where we pitched our tents at the place called Agháchairí. The same day, Cherkess Derzí Mustafa, one of the Imperial armsbearers (Silahshor), was sent express to Erzerúm to Malatialí Silihdár Súleimán Páshá. During our stay at Scutari, the treasurer of the Páshá Dilber Chelebí was deposed by an Imperial firmán, and his place given to Alí Aghá one of the relations of the Páshá; we remained a week at Scutari, and then, on the first day of Rejeb, set out on our journey for Erzerúm.

JOURNEY TO ERZERUM.

Having remained a month in Scutari, the buildings of which town have been minutely described in our first volume; the news arrived that the Mossellem (substitute of the Páshá) had happily taken possession of the governorship; the Páshá immolated victims, and everybody rejoiced, because the principal reason for conferring this governorship on Defterdár-zadeh was the rumour which prevailed, that Abaza Páshá the famous rebel, whom Sultán Murad had spared, contrary to the wishes of the troops, had returned from his travels in Africa and India, but most happily Súleimán Páshá, the governor of Erzerúm (predecessor of Abaza) killed this pretender and sent his head to Constantinople, and the Mosellem, Mustafa Aghá, took possession of the governorship. We set out from Scutari in the early part of Sha’abán, and arrived at the end of seven hours march at Pendík, a great village on the seabord, it belonging to the foundation of Kirechjíbashí at Scutari. Its numerous gardens supply the Capital with vegetables. Here our master received from the Great Vezír Sáleh Páshá, ten purses, ten horses, and a great number of other valuable presents. From hence the quarter-master (Konakjí) and chief of the cellar (Kilárjí), with the inspector of the kitchen (Mutbakhemíní), and the purveyor at market (Bazára giden), led the van with five hundred men and a tail.

_Gebíze._

This was formerly a large town. At the time when Sídí Battál besieged Constantinople, a great convent existed at Constantinople, within the gate of Sílívrí, at the place now called the mosque of Koja Mustafa Páshá. Harún-ur-rashíd, built a fortress here and garrisoned it with three thousand men, in order to keep the infidels in check. The inhabitants of Gebíze having killed some men belonging to Sídí Battál, who commanded the garrison of the said fortress, he laid the town of Gebíze in ruins, and retired to Malatia; traces of this havoc are still visible. It was conquered by Mohammed I., who destroyed the castle, that it might not be a refuge for the infidels; but Sultán Mohammed II. rebuilt it after the conquest of Constantinople. It is now a jurisdiction of one hundred and fifty aspers in the sanjak of Koja Ilí. Mustafa Páshá, who built the bridge which bears his name in Rúmelí, built a mosque here, whose administrator (Mutevelí) is at the same time commanding officer of the place. It lies an hour’s distance from the sea, at the top of a dry mountain; there are about one thousand houses with gardens, in the ancient style, three mosques, the largest of which covered with lead, outshines the mosques of the Vezírs at Constantinople; it was built by Mustafa Páshá, the builder of the bridge called by Sultán Súleimán, the bridge of the illiberal (Namerd), who when governor of Egypt had the finest stones cut in plates to adorn this mosque, and made a stone candelabrum of them, which has no equal in the world. The stones came direct from Egypt to the landing-place of Daríjí, where they were disembarked. The interior of the mosque is lined with marble and granite to the height of three men, which is not to be seen in any other mosque in the capital. The minber (pulpit), mihráb (altar), and mahfil (oratory) of the Moëzzins are of most excellent workmanship, which is impossible to describe to those who have not seen it. It was built by the architect Hassám, the first assistant to the architect Koja Sinán, who showed his skill here most minutely. The windows on the four sides are composed of small painted glass, which in sunshine illuminates the mosque with a most delicious light, therefore it is that you read on the middle vault the verse of the Koran, God is the light of Heaven. The interior of the cupola is adorned with circles of lamps and a great number of suspended decorations. The Egyptian carpets on the floor vie with those of Isfahan. The pulpit of the preacher (Kursí) is inlaid with pearl-shell. Outside of the walls is a delicious garden, where flowers and odoriferous herbs fill the air and brain with perfumes, and nightingales enrapture with their warbling notes. The mosque has but one gate opposite the altar; on the threshold is written the chronograph in the writing of Kara Hissárí Hossein, and in the mosque seventy Koráns are kept, each of which is worth an Egyptian treasure. A copy of Yakút Mostea-assemí, like that which is seen here on the left of the altar, is not to be found elsewhere, except it be at the mosque of Sultán Ahmed at Constantinople. On both sides of the gate are six cupolas supported by as many columns, and the cupola immediately over the gate is the seventh. The Harem or courtyard, as spacious as those of imperial mosques, is adorned with trees, the mináreh, with one gallery, is well proportioned. Close to the mosque is a Caravánseraï, affording accommodation for three thousand men, and two thousand horses, with a stable appropriated for camels. In the dining-room (dar-ul-ita’ám), old and young men and women dine in plenty; and at the Caravánseraï, every evening, every fire-place is furnished with a dish of soup, a loaf of bread, a candle, and a bag of forage for every horse, ass, mule or camel. A bath is attached to it, covered with lead like all the other buildings of this foundation. Besides this Caravánseraï there are forty large and small kháns, and one hundred and eighty shops, all the work of Sinán; the mosque in the market is an old simple building; the houses are all faced with red bricks, the water of the wells is a little thick, but the air is good.

We advanced from hence five hours towards the east to the Castle of Helke or Herke, conquered by Mohammed I. with considerable loss of men. It is a nice small castle, of immense stones, built on the seashore, on a cliff between two vallies. Its gate opens to the north and has no houses within. The district belongs to the sanjak of Koja Ilí. At the end of eight hours journey along the seashore, we arrived at Isnikmíd (Nicomedia), which has been already minutely described in our former journey. After a day’s rest we again started and came, at the end of six hours march, to Sabánja, called so from Sabánjí Koja, who first cleared the thick woods here by the plough. In Súleimán’s time it was cultivated, and Sárí Rostem Páshá founded a khán here with one hundred and seventy fireplaces, a pleasant mosque and bath covered with lead, and about one thousand houses faced with brick built by Koja Sinán. The administrator of these endowments of Rostem Páshá, is at the same time the first public officer of the place. Besides its white cherries, it is renowned for its white bread, Súmún, which is baked in a shop underneath the bath, and which keeps its flavour and does not become mouldy for the space of six days. It has often been sent by couriers to the Sháh of Persia, has arrived fresh, and obtained general approbation. Its good qualities are due to the water.

_Praise of the Lake of Sabánja._

Its circumference is twenty miles, and seventy-six villages adorn its shores. The people who drink of its water are of ruddy complexion, and the products of the land are abundant; there are no vineyards, but a great number of gardens. On the borders of the lake there are melons and water-melons of such a size that two make an ass-load. On the lake are from seventy to eighty kaiks and boats, which are employed in the passage from village to village, and for the transport of wood. There are a great number of most delicious fish. Its depth is twenty fathoms, the water is clear and brilliant, and excellent for washing without soap. It is this water which gives a whiteness resembling cotton to the bread Súmúní. On the east side of the lake, at two hours distance, passes the river Sakaria, which disembogues into the Black Sea in the province of Koja Ilí at the place called Irva; it would require but little spirit of enterprise to unite the lake with the sea, by means of this river, a branch of which goes down to the salt-marshes of Nicomedia. As early as the reign of Mohammed III. a great number of workmen were employed in establishing a communication between the gulf of Nicomedia and the lake of Sabánja, but the undertaking was given up at the request of the inhabitants. If the Sakaria were united with this lake, and the lake with the gulf of Nicomedia, this town would be quite an inland port; the timber and wood might be brought down to Bolí, and it would cost no more than five aspers the quintal. God make it easy!

We marched to the eastward six hours, along the seashore, through thick forests, called “Ocean of trees,” and crossed the Sakaria by a wooden bridge; this river issues from the mountain Chifteler, passes through Koja Ilí, and goes into the Black Sea near Irva.

_The Station of Khandak-bazárí._

A small place belonging to the territory of Koja Ilí, with woods, mountains, gardens, a mosque, a khán, a bath, a market, a judge appointed with one hundred and fifty aspers, an officer of the janissaries, and a Súbashí. In the woody marsh here, is a long wooden bridge (causeway) famous all over Arabia and Persia. We marched twelve hours further on through thick forests, and came to Dúzje-bazár, the first place belonging to Bolí, in a mountainous region, with a mosque and two kháns founded by Shemsí Páshá, who also paved the road. In the neighbourhood are many villages.

West of this place on the side of Akcheshár, and two hours beyond the river Melán is the place of Úskúbí, a khass of the territory of Bolí, with a mosque, a khán, and a bath. Nine hours further on we reached Bolí, conquered in Osmán’s name by Sonkor Baí Shemsí, to whom and to whose descendants it was given as hereditary property (Ojáklik). Its castle was built by the Greek Commander of Brússa, it is a small ruined castle, on a high mountain without vestige of cultivation. According to the division of Sultán Mohammed II. it is the seat of a sanjak. The khass of the Beg amounts to three hundred thousand one hundred and twenty-two aspers, fourteen ziamets, and fifty-five timárs, with the Jebellis two thousand eight hundred swords. The judge is appointed with three hundred aspers: five districts belong to it, viz. the district round the town of Bolí, that of Gokjesúí, that of Sázák Kerde to the left of Bolí, that of Túrtúr-diván, and that of Yaflije. The annual revenue is five thousand piastres, and those of the Beg fifteen thousand. But the judge and Beg are obliged to be very cautious, because if they commit the smallest injustice, the Rayas can reach Constantinople in three days, and complain of the oppressor. There is an officer of the janissaries, of the Sipahís, and a Nakíb-ul-íshráf. Though the inhabitants are Turcomans, yet there is a great number of merchants. It is a large town of thirty-four quarters and as many mosques, three thousand well covered houses, some of which are faced with bricks; some seraïs and mosques. In the market-place is that of Mustafa Páshá and of Ferhád Páshá, much frequented; they are both the work of Koja Sinán the great architect: the best and most pleasant bath is that of Shemsí: seven kháns, and seven fountains, all founded by Shemsí Páshá; four hundred elegant shops, but no college or school of tradition, as far as I know of; but there are seventy schools for boys, and more than two hundred of whom know the Korán by heart. The book Mohammedieh is much read here; they have also story-tellers who recite moral maxims (Oghúz). The mildness of the air contributes to the beauty of the inhabitants. The women wear Ferrájís and large head-dresses, they are very decent and modest ladies. There are a great number of gardens and vineyards. Of its eatables and products the cherries are the most renowned. The water-cans of fir-tree refresh those who drink out of them like the living spring; these cans are called Akasik and Podúch. The inhabitants for the most part are merchants. The surrounding forests being composed of fir-trees, the inhabitants live by cutting and making planks of them, which are much esteemed at Constantinople. Two journies to the west from this place is the landing-place of Akcheshár; those of Ereglí, Bartín, and Hissárogí, also belong to the sanjak of Bolí. The hotbath lies to the south, on the outside of the town; amidst the gardens is a small hotbath, extremely hot and particularly useful against the itch. It purifies the stomach and cleanses the body. People of all degrees flock to this hotbath on waggons.

_Places of Pilgrimage at Bolí._

The convent of Yúzghád Baba near the hotbath. We marched twelve hours to the east, through cultivated villages to Kerde, the seat of a Súbashí subordinate to Bolí; a judge with one hundred and fifty aspers. The town consists of a thousand wooden and brick-built houses in a large valley, nine quarters, and eleven mosques, besides the Mesjíds; three convents, three kháns, two hundred shops, and seven coffee-houses. The knife-cutlers and tanners of Kerde are renowned for the knives and Safien of this place. The air is pleasant, and the inhabitants healthy; they are mostly students eager for information (Súkhte Thalebí). It is a common saying that Kerde is famous for its thieves, its tanners, and its winter, which is compared to that of Erzerúm; the inhabitants are a set of lively stout Turks. At the four points of the compass, and particularly on the south towards Kánghrí, are cultivated districts inhabited by forty or fifty thousand Turks. The names of the districts are, Kizíl-úzú, Alaja-úzú, Aleh-diván, Bir-diván, Ikí-diván, Uch-diván, and so on to seven Diváns, all in the mountains. The name of Diván given to these districts originated in the time of Ertoghrúl, who, being named Beg by Ala-ud-dín the Prince of the Seljúk family, granted to the Infidels, whose districts he conquered, the privilege of kettle-drums. The name is thus preserved in seven districts, whose inhabitants are a rebellious people, speaking a peculiar language of their own.

From Kerde we travelled to the eastward for the space of eight hours, through cultivated villages, to the village of Bayander in the district of Bolí, a jurisdiction of one hundred and fifty aspers. The conquest of these villages situated amongst steep mountains cost much blood to Osmán. Here are three hundred covered houses, a khán where every passenger is allowed to stay, and receives wood, straw and water, gratis. We travelled thence through a straight, called Hamámlí Bogház, and came with a thousand difficulties at the end of nine hours to the place Jerkesh, the seat of a Súbashí in the sanjak of Kánghrí. Here is a judge with one hundred and fifty aspers, an officer of the janissaries, and Sipáhis. The town consists of three hundred houses, a mosque, a bath and from forty to fifty shops. Mustafa Páshá, the sword-bearer to Sultán Murad IV., built a khán here of fifty fire-places, and one hundred shops, but died before it was finished. Once a week a great market is held here. Seven hours further on is the village of Karajalar, a ziámet in the jurisdiction of Kánghrí, three hundred houses of poor but very obstinate Turks; they will sell a trunk of a tree forty times over, putting it in the water every night, so that you may be compelled to lay out ten aspers in brushwood to set it on fire. A traveller marked one of these trunks by fixing a nail in it, and when he returned three years afterwards from the siege of Eriván, they gave him the very same trunk, which he had tried in vain to burn three years before. Thus they will sell a trunk forty times, and praise it as being forty years old. They also trade in different small articles, particularly in girdles, for which Karajalar is renowned.

_Pilgrimage to Habib Karamání._

Habíb was born at Ortakoí near Nikde, and is buried here. He died a Sheikh of the Beirámí in the reign of Mohammed II. Hamza Efendí was one of his disciples. We left Karajalar, and after nine hours walk, we came to Kojhissár a jurisdiction of Kánghrí. Its castle was conquered in the year 708 by Osmán, and destroyed in order that it should no longer afford shelter to the Infidels. Nine hours further on, we reached the town of Tússia, conquered by Mohammed I, the seat of a Súbashí, and of a judge appointed with one hundred and fifty aspers. The public officers are a commander of the janissaries (Serdár), an officer of the Sipáhís (Kiaya-yerí), a Muftí and Nakíb; though it is a Turkish town, yet there is a great number of learned divines. The town is situated on an elevation, and consists of three thousand wooden houses faced with brick, there are eleven quarters, twenty-one mosques, besides the mesjíds, seven kháns, three hundred and forty shops, and a Bezestán with an iron gate. The Kúzlí and Leblebí Halwa (two sorts of sweetmeats) of the place, are famous. The air is heavy; the inhabitants are Turks, but very kind to strangers. Outside the town in a fine meadow is the tomb of Sheat Baba Sultán, to which pilgrimages are performed.

Our road now led for eight hours, amongst the mountains along the border of the Kizil Irmák (Red river) when we arrived at the village of Háj Hamza, the companion and disciple of Habíb Karamání; this village was his birth-place: there remains only an ancient mosque on the great road, the other houses are in ruins. It is on the banks of the Kizil Irmák, the opposite shore of which is laid out in elegant gardens. The Kizil Irmák issues from the mountains of Churúm and enters the Black Sea near the village of Báfra, where it forms a cascade, the noise of which alarms men like the rolling of thunder; the river rushes on with great impetuosity, and is not navigable. Its colour is red both in winter and summer; it is a cruel water, for, in attempting to cross to the opposite shore on horseback I was upset with my horse in the middle of it, and saved with difficulty by getting hold of a willow. We left Hájí Hamza and continued our road to the eastward among the mountains and along the Kizil Irmák. The road winds along the rocks at the base of the high mountain called Sárímáshiklí, so that on the right side are the cliffs, and on the left a precipice, at the bottom of which flows the Kizil Irmák, which in some places must be crossed. After eight hours march we came to the Castle of Osmanjík. Some say that Osmán was born at this place, and the castle built by his successors. In the year 795 it was taken out of the hands of the Turks by Ilderím Bayazíd. It is the seat of a Voivode belonging to the sanjak of Chúrúm, and has a judge with a salary of one hundred and fifty aspers appointed to it; there is a Serdár and Kiaya-yerí, but no Muftí or Nakíb. There are few distinguished inhabitants, but a great number of gardens. You cross the Kizil-Irmák by a bridge to the castle, it is of a strong architecture, no more than eight hundred paces in circumference, with an iron gate. As it is situated so amazingly high I did not see the interior, but only the outer town or suburb, consisting of a thousand old Tátár houses covered with planks and earth, there are seven quarters and as many mosques, three kháns, and a small bath, the water of which is drawn from a well supplied by the Kizil Irmák. On three sides of the town is sandy ground. Raisins are very sweet here on account of the heat of the soil. In the sand grows a plant called Kabre (Capers) which preserved in vinegar is in great use. The poor and almost all the inhabitants are Dervishes of the order of Hají-Begtásh, because one of their principal Saints is buried on the west side of the town on an elevated spot.

_Pilgrimage to the tomb of the great Saint Koyún Baba, (Father of the Dynasty of the Sheep.)_

He was the true successor of Hají Begtásh. Having appeared to Sultán Bayazíd, he ordered him to build a cupola on his tomb, a mosque, a convent, a meeting-place for the Dervishes, (Meidán), a caravanseraï with kitchen and cellar. All these establishments are covered with lead, which with the golden crescents on them dazzle the eyes of beholders even at a distance. The Imaret (kitchen for the poor) is smoking day and night. As soon as I, poor Evliyá, arrived here, I went to visit this place of pilgrimage; I kissed the threshold, saying, “Es-selám aleik,” and entered the tomb, where I read the Korán, thanking God for the grace he had granted me to visit it. The cupola is perfumed with musk and amber, which is very agreeable to the senses of visitors, on whom the keepers of the mausoleum also sprinkle rose-water. The preacher and the other Dervishes Begtáshí who watch and pray at the tomb, said prayers on the head of me, poor Evliyá, wishing me a happy journey, with good sight, and perfect health and happiness in both worlds. The Dervishes all uttered the Mohammedan shout (Allah!) and read a Fátihah. When the Sheikh covered my head with his cap, I felt a wind blowing on both my ears, and my eyes were lighted up like Arab torches. Since the shipwreck which I had suffered in the Black Sea, swimming naked for three days and nights, my sight had suffered cruelly, and was only restored by this head-dress (the Crown of felicity) being put on my head. I then conversed with all the poor of the convent, and dined with them, and I have ever since kept the symbols of Dervishship, which I received at the Convent, viz. the habit (Khirka); the carpet (Sejáde;) the standard (A’alem); the drum (Tabl Kúdúmí); the halter (Pálehenk); the stick (Assa); and the head-dress or crown, (Táj).

Inside of the cupola are different inscriptions by the visitors, to which I added one of my own composition which suddenly occurred to me. The name of Koyún Baba was given to this Saint, because when he came from Khorassán in Hají Begtásh’s company, he bleated like a sheep once in twenty-four hours, which was the signal for prayer. The Dervishes of the order of Begtásh are generally in bad repute, but those of this convent are indeed meek like sheep, devout, pious, praying people, and in all my travels in Rúm, Arabia, and Persia, I met nowhere a more worthy convent.

_Pilgrimage to the Tomb of Burhándedeh._

A great Saint renowned for many miracles. The bridge, a work of Bayazíd II. is a marvellous pile of building of nineteen arches, each arch gives an idea of the rainbow, of the galaxy, of the girdle of Divine Power, or of the Ták Kosra. Its length, from one end to the other, is four hundred and fifty paces; and although the river was so rapid, the architect built it straight as the bridge of Sirát (over which souls are to pass on the day of the last Judgment). We halted here for a day, then again crossing the bridge, and marching towards the west, amidst frightful mountains, we arrived at the small pass of Direglibíl; which, if one man only ascends to the top of the rock, and rolls stones down, he may defend against a thousand men. It is known in all Asia, and called Diregli-bíl (the pass with trees), because the mountain being excavated in many places, and threatening to fall down, the rocks are supported by trees, which were placed there by well-meaning people. Here our gracious lord the Páshá descended from his horse, and taking some of the stones out of the road, which encumbered it, himself threw them down the precipice; this example was instantly followed by the whole suite, four hundred men, who dismounting, cleared the road of the stones, shouting Allah, with the clarions sounding. After nine hours march from Osmánjik, we came to the village Hájíkoï, the frontier of the sanjak of Amasia, a ruined village, with a khán in ruins, though it is very well situated for cultivation. Six hours further on we reached the field of Márziván, and the village of Kerkiráz, belonging to Amasia, with sixty villages, a mosque, and khán, also falling into ruins. At the end of eight hours we came to the mountain town of Amasia, which is said to have been built by the Amalekites, and, according to others, by Ferhád, the mountain cutter. In the year 476 (1083) it was conquered by Sultán Melek Ghází, of the Dánishmend family. The princes of Azerbeiján laid siege to it more than once, without being able to take it. From the hands of the Dánishmend family it passed into those of the Seljúk. It was then conquered by Sultan Ilderím, who thus prevented its falling into the hands of Timúr. He then made his son Issa Chelebi governor, and coins were struck, which bear the inscription of Amasia, of the purest silver, which is found in three mines here. At the division of the empire by Sultan Mohammed II, Amasia is described as the seat of a Beg. It has sometimes been given as Arpalik to Vezírs of three tails. According to the Kanún, its khass amounts to two hundred thousand aspers, nineteen ziámets, and forty-two timárs; it has an Alaï Beg and Cheri-bashí. The Zaims and Timáriots, with the Jebellí, amount to three thousand men; the judge has three hundred aspers a day. The districts (Náhie) are those of Aine-bazár, Kildighán, Aktágh, and Kafála; the jurisdictions those of Koprí, Samara, Zeitún, Gumish, Búlák, Merzifún, Kerkerár, Ládik, Veraï, and Zenún-abád. The annual revenue of the judge is valued at seven thousand piastres, and those of the Páshá at seventy thousand piastres. Five Súbashis are attached to the khass of the Pásha, viz., Shehrbáh-bazár, Weraï, Aine-bazárí, Aktágh, and Súliova. Its magistrates are, the Sheikh-ul-Islám, the Nakíb-ul-ishráf, the Serdár of the Janissaries, and the Kiayayerí of the Sipahis. There are many learned divines and rich merchants.

_Form and size of Amasia._

Its towers, crowning the height of the mountains are always veiled with clouds, and it is only at noon that the spires of the mosques, and the roofs of the houses are visible. Its circumference is nine thousand and sixty paces. In form it is a pentagon, extremely strong, worthy of being a work of Ferhád, with forty-one towers, and eight hundred battlements altogether. The number of the houses is not known to me. There are magazines, cisterns, and a road cut in the rock, leading down to the water, called Chapán Yolí, of three thousand and seven steps. It has no market-place (Charshú), or market (Bazár). There are four iron gates looking to the east. In the castle is a mosque built by Sultán Ilderím, and a marvelously deep dungeon, resembling the pit of hell; and seventy cannons, but of no great calibre, as it is not a frontier fortress. This castle has six wonderful caverns, where the rich inhabitants hid their valuable effects in the time of the Anatolian rebellions of Kara Yazijí, and Kara Sáid.

Timúr besieged this fortress with an innumerable army for the space of seven months, and was obliged to retire in confusion. Though it is situated in the midst of the province, yet a commander (Dizdár) and a garrison is appointed, lest rebels should gain possession of it. The lower castle is built on the banks of the river Túzánlí, a small castle, whose circumference is not known to me. It has three gates, the first opens towards the Kiblah, Karánlik Kapú; the second Ma’adenos Kapú, looks in the same direction; and the third, Meidán Kapú, to the west; from whence a great bridge leads to Gok-medresse, on the opposite side of the town. The gate Serkíz leads over a wooden bridge to the mosque of Gháríblar. The number of mosques, palaces, and houses are six hundred. The river Túzánlí, which passes through the town, issues from the mountains of the same name above Tokát, passes by Eskí, Aine-bazár, Kargol, the castle of Túrhál, Chengellí-bíl, Sárikúsún, the bridge of Davíkaví, Chapán, through the pass of Ferhád to Amasia, where it joins the river Chekerek, opposite the great stone bridge. This river springs from the lake of Ladek, comes from Súliova, and joins the Tuzánlí near Amasia as aforesaid. It is vulgarly called Yava; the proverb, “Tokát defiles it, Amasia drinks it,” is applied to it because it flows from Tokát to Amasia. After it has passed Amasia it is called Chehár Shenbesú (Wednesday’s water), and after irrigating many fields, it disembogues in the Black Sea, on the western side of Samsún. Below the village Chehár Shenbeh it is joined by several springs, and below Nígissár, in the province of Sivás, it receives the river Kerkúk; thus it reaches Samsún, after having increased its stream by those of seven other rivers. The town of Amasia is built on both sides of this river, and on the hills and mountains bordering on it. A bridge worth seeing, the work of Sultán Bayazíd, crosses it. This river comes to Amasia from the south, running northward, and turning many mills and water-wheels; which at Amasia are not less to be praised than those of Hama and Adana. Amasia is divided into forty-eight quarters of Moslíms, and five of Christians; there are altogether five thousand houses, besides palaces.

The Seraï of the Sultán is situated on the banks of the river, surrounded by delightful gardens, curious trees, and many seats; it is cultivated by a master gardener (Usta), and fifty gardeners, who wear yellow caps. The Seraï of Mahommed Páshá is close to the mosque; within the castle is the Seraï of Sultán Bayazíd, and many others, faced with brick; there are altogether two hundred and forty mosques. Among them is the mosque of Bayazíd II. In his youth Bayazíd was first made governor of Trebisonde, and then of Amasia; his father, Mahommed II, having died at Máldepeh, he went to Constantinople to ascend the throne, but gratefully remembering that he was made Emperor at Amasia, he freed the inhabitants from all contributions, and built this mosque, one hundred feet square: the mihráb, minber, and mahfil of the Muëzzins are of elegant workmanship. The cupola is not very large, but adorned, like those of other imperial mosques, with circles for suspending lamps and other ornaments. The chronograph on the gate opposite the Kiblah gives the date of its building, 892 (1486), it has two minarehs, and in the middle of the court-yard a water-basin for ablutions. The mosque of Kúchúk Aghá, opposite the river Chekerek; the mosque of Bayazíd Páshá, covered with lead, and paved with marble; the mosque of Mohammed Páshá, covered with lead, and one minareh; the mosque of Khizr Elias, a large building, covered with lead; the mosque of Mekkeme, built of wood, as also is the minareh; the mosque Fethie, formerly a Christian church and convent; the mosque of Yogúrch Páshá, who was Vezír to Mohammed I.; the mosque of Gokmedresse, covered with lead, but without a minareh; besides a great number of Mesjids. There are ten colleges, the most elegant of which is that of Sultán Bayazíd; nineteen houses for reading the Korán; at that of Sultán Bayazíd there are more than three hundred Háfizes (who know the Korán by heart); ten houses of tradition; and two hundred schools for boys, some of which are covered with lead. There are forty convents for Dervishes, the best of which is that of Jelál-ud-dín Rúmí, and ten dining establishments; at that of Sultán Bayazíd all the poor dine twice a day. Of the Caravánseraïs, that of Sultán Bayazíd is covered with lead, as is also that of Bairám Páshá, the Vezír of Murad IV. The Kháns are lead-covered, with iron gates, besides those for merchants (Khoja), there are those for single men (Mújerred); these last have their own gatekeepers, and are shut up every night, so that those who do not come home before the hour for closing are not let in, and those who are within cannot go out till the gates are thrown open in the morning, when every person goes to his work.

In the market-place (Charshú) there are altogether one thousand and sixty shops, and one hundred and sixty different workmen, with vaults of stone like the market place of Brússa. A Bezestán with four iron gates. The market place is paved with large slabs. There are many distinguished inhabitants.

_Inhabitants, Language, Dress, Provisions, &c._

The inhabitants are a set of merry jolly fellows, and are all red-faced and fresh-coloured; their occupation may be thus described;—first, the Zaims and Timariots and the Páshá’s court; secondly, the divines, judges, and professors; the Imáms, Khatíbs, Muëzzins, &c.; and thirdly, the merchants and handicraftsmen. There are many well-bred highly-finished gentlemen, who speak with great eloquence, but the dialect of the common people is harsh. The wealthy dress in sable pelisses and Ferráji of cloth, the middle classes in Bogassin. The women are Turkish beauties, with well-ranged teeth and words.

From the district of Kághla comes a sort of corn called Dárdevedíshí, of which most excellent bread is made, called Levásha, Kerde, Chákil; there are forty sorts of pears, ruby-coloured cherries, and seven sorts of grapes and quinces, of which a far-famed _robb_ is made, and sent to Princes as a present.

Sherbet of must, scented with musk; sherbet of quince jelly, which, on account of its heating quality, is as useful in medicine as terra sigillata. The sherbets called Khardalie, Búldáklí, are exported into Persia; a pleasant white beverage.

The workmen are clever in all kind of handicraft, but the tailors and cotton beaters are the most famous, as well as the barbers and confectioners. In the time of the Amalekites, the river Túzánlí did not pass through the town; it was Ferhád, the lover of Shirín, who cut these mountains like cheese, and the traces of his work is yet to be seen in the mountains on the west side of the town.

The situation of this town in a deep valley, and on the banks of a river, contributes to the mildness of the air, and the riches of its cultivation. The windows of the houses look to the west and north; the winter is temperate. The water which Ferhád carried to the town from the opposite mountains is delightful; it is distributed from house to house.

_Of the Walks, and Pilgrimages or Tombs._

There are seventy different walks; the first is that of the bloody fountain (Kánlí bínar;) it is so called because a wicked old woman having brought false news to Ferhád here, of Sherín’s death, he threw his hatchet into the air, and himself down the precipice, by which means he was killed.

The tomb of Ottoman Princes, who are buried in the cypress wood, their names I do not know; the tomb of Zekeria Khalvetí, he was the first disciple of Pír Elias, and is buried near the saddlers’ shops (Serrájiler). The pilgrimage of the Sultán of the faith, the Simorgh of truth Sheikh Abd-ur-rahman Ben Hassám-ud-dín Gomishlí-zadeh, he is the nephew of Pír Elias, and was a dervish of the order of Khalvetí, of whom many miracles are related. The three Princes, sons of Murad II. having visited this Sheikh, two of them kissed his hand, and the third, Mohammed, kissed his feet. The Sheihk took the handkerchief (Reda) he wore on his neck, tied it round the neck of Prince Mohammed, and admonished him to take care of the Moslíms at Constantinople. This Sheikh has left many poems on divine love; his poetical name is Hossámí. His tomb is near that of Pír Elias, in the convent of Yakúb Páshá. Molla Kassem Khatíb Ben Yakúb, who was born and buried at Amasia, one of the deepest of learned divines. Molla Ala-ud-dín Ilíkámi, born and buried at Amasia. Molla Abd-ul-jebbár Ajemí, near the tomb of the Ottoman Princes. Molla Abd-ur-rahman Ben Ali Ben Moyed, born and buried at Amasia. The Sultán of poets, Munírí Efendí, born and buried at Amasia, he improvisated Arabic, Turkish, and Persian poems, and was one of the Vezírs of Prince Ahmed, when Governor of Amasia. The excellent female poet, Mihrmáh Khatún, descending from Pír Elias’s family, was a virtuous lady like Rábie Adúye, who knew seventy scientific books by heart, and beat the most learned men in disputing: her true name being Mihrmáh, she took the name of Mihrí for her poetical surname; she left a Diván, and some theological treatises, and was buried near her grandfather, Sheikh Pír Elias.

Pilgrimage of the Pole of Poles, the Sheikh, _par excellence_, the cream of saints, the column of the Princes, Sheikh Pír Elias. He was one of the Sheikhs of Sultán Bayazíd I., and went with Timúr to Shirván, from whence he returned to Amasia, his birth-place, where he is buried on an elevated spot, called Sevádie, near Amasia. He is famed for many miracles, one of the most celebrated is, that when his corpse was washed, he straightened the hand which had been placed crooked by the washing-man. His mausoleum, with all the foundations belonging to it, was erected by Bayazíd II., son of Sultán Mohammed II. Strangers and poor persons are here most liberally entertained. Praise be to God, that I was so happy as to visit it, and to finish a complete lecture of the Korán there. The pilgrimage of Kelíj Arslán, a Sheikh of the Mevlevís, buried in the convent of that order. The pilgrimage of Ferhád; he is buried on the top of the mountain which he cut for the love of Sherín, and the old woman who was the cause of his death is buried between him and his mistress. The thistles and thorns which grow on the tomb of the old woman prevent the flowers uniting, which grow on the tombs of Ferhád and Sherín.

There are a great number of pilgrimages of great and holy men, but I visited only those I have given an account of, and at each, in honour of their souls, said the Súra Yass, asking for their spiritual assistance. On the third day of our stay the clarions of departure sounded; we took leave of our friends, and travelled the same day through the mountains of Chengelli-bíl, reaching, after six hours march, the station of Kánlí-bínár, which is the spot where Ferhád killed himself. It is a pleasant place, with a luxuriant spring of most delightful water. We watered our horses here, and pitched our tents, and continued our road next morning towards the north for seven hours. We arrived at the village of Ezíl, a district belonging to Amasia, three hundred houses with gardens, a khán, a mosque, and a bath.

_The Town and Castle of Nígíssár._

The next day we reached, in eight hours time, the seat of the Dánishmend family, the old town and stronghold of Nígíssár. Its builder was a Greek Emperor; it was conquered in the year 476 (1083) by Sultan Melek Ghází, of the Dánishmend family, and became the seat of this dynasty; their second residence was Amasia. The Seljúks, who anxiously wished to possess it, laid siege to it several times without success. Its name is a corruption of Níg-hissár, the good castle. It is an ancient, strong-built castle, on a limestone rock, five hundred and sixty paces in circumference, of an hexagon shape: the three gates face the east, west, and south; within the castle are three hundred houses and magazines, and a mosque, which was formerly a church. The garrison is small in number, because it is not a frontier fortress; they only keep watch against rebels; the lower suburb is a large town, but its streets being narrow, and going continually up and down hill, it is with difficulty that a horseman can make his way to the market-place, and for a waggon to do so is out of the question. This town belongs to the khass of the Páshá of Sivás, the residence of a Súbashí of seven hundred purses’ revenue, the judge is appointed with one hundred and fifty aspers, and there is a Muftí, Nakíb, Serdár, and Kiaya-yerí. The town comprises forty-three quarters, with sixty mihráb (Jámí and Mesjids), of which nine are Friday mosques, wherein the Khutbe is performed. The mosque of the castle was formerly a church, an ancient place of worship. To the mosque of Melek Ghází, the visitor descends by five or six steps; it has a slender, thin, well-proportioned minareh: its equal is not to be seen elsewhere. The mosque of Chaplakáneh is faced with bricks. At the west end of the town is the mosque of Júregí; outside of the castle is the mosque of Khalíl Efendí, just finished, faced with brick; also outside of the castle is the mosque of the Muftí. The houses of the town, in the valley, and on the hill, ascending one above the other, are two thousand seven hundred in number, faced either with earth or bricks. There are three baths, viz., that of the Muftí in the castle, that of Chaplakháneh outside of the castle, and that of the Infidels, also outside of the castle, besides forty-five private baths in the palaces.

_The Hot-spring of Nigíssár._

It is a small hot-bath outside of the town to the south; the women and boys of the town wash their clothes here; it is a well-flavoured water, has no sulphurous smell, and is useful as a remedy in leprous and arthritic diseases. It is visited every year, in the month of July, by a great number of people, who amuse themselves for a month, and then return to their homes. There is a college, and house for reading of the Korán and tradition, but no kitchen for the poor; there are seventy schools for boys. The inhabitants are an honest set of people, with some beautiful women amongst them. There are seven convents, the first of which is the great convent of Chevregí; that of Elias-dedeh is not less famous. There are a great number of springs and fountains, which move as many corn and fulling mills, also five hundred elegant shops, but no Bezestán. The narrow street, which leads down from the castle, is lined on both sides with shoemakers’ shops; the principal streets are paved with large slabs. The inhabitants are fresh-coloured lively looking Turks, who pay great attention to strangers. Among the eatables, pomegranates are much famed; they each weigh an occa, and some even as much as five hundred dirhems, and are of the size of a man’s head. The cheese, Kufte and Passdagh of this place are famous; the environs are laid out in rice plantations (Cheltuk). The Black Sea is two journies distance from this place.

_Pilgrimages of Nígíssár._