An Ottoman Mentality
The World of Evliya Çelebi
Series: - The Ottoman Empire and its Heritage, Volume: 31
Author:
In his huge travel account, Evliya Çelebi provides materials for getting at Ottoman perceptions of the world, not only in areas like geography, topography, administration, urban institutions, and social and economic systems, but also in such domains as religion, folklore, sexual relations, dream interpretation, and conceptions of the self.
In six chapters the author examines: Evliya’s treatment of Istanbul and Cairo as the two capital cities of the Ottoman world; his geographical horizons and notions of tolerance; his attitudes toward government, justice and specific Ottoman institutions; his social status as gentleman, character type as dervish, office as caller-to-prayer and avocation as traveller; his use of various narrative styles; and his relation with his audience in the two registers of persuasion and amusement.
An Afterword situates Evliya in relation to other intellectual trends in the Ottoman world of the seventeenth century.
In six chapters the author examines: Evliya’s treatment of Istanbul and Cairo as the two capital cities of the Ottoman world; his geographical horizons and notions of tolerance; his attitudes toward government, justice and specific Ottoman institutions; his social status as gentleman, character type as dervish, office as caller-to-prayer and avocation as traveller; his use of various narrative styles; and his relation with his audience in the two registers of persuasion and amusement.
An Afterword situates Evliya in relation to other intellectual trends in the Ottoman world of the seventeenth century.
Robert Dankoff, Ph.D. (1971), Harvard University, is Professor of Turkish and Islamic Studies at the University of Chicago. He has published extensively on Turkish texts from Central Asia and the Ottoman Empire, including text editions and translations of portions of the Seyahatname of Evliya Çelebi.
Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2005!
'…the most comprehensive biography of Evliya Çelebi...'
' ... destined to be classic.'
'…the most comprehensive biography of Evliya Çelebi...'
' ... destined to be classic.'
All those interested in the Ottoman Empire and in early modern perceptions of the world in the Middle East and the Balkans.