TRAVELS IN THE OTTOMAN HISTORY WITH EVLİYA ÇELEBİ HIST 317, SPRING 2012

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1 TRAVELS IN THE OTTOMAN HISTORY WITH EVLİYA ÇELEBİ HIST 317, SPRING 2012 Course Description Aslı Niyazioğlu Office hours: TueThur or by appointment SOS 263 This course explores the world of the seventeenth-century Ottoman globe-trotter Evliya Çelebi as depicted in his Book of Travels. Our readings of Evliya Çelebi s travels will take us into Ottoman cities such as Salonica, Bursa, Aleppo and Cairo, as well as İstanbul, and will offer us glimpses into various areas of the social and cultural life. The aim of this course is two-fold. First, it aims to introduce some of the recent examples in Ottoman historiography, especially the new approaches to urban history. And second, it provides an opportunity to work closely with a primary source to discuss the ways in which a seventeenth century Ottoman observed, and commented upon, the life in the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands. Lectures will include day-trips in Istanbul. Course Requirements Preparation for each class by doing the assigned readings is an essential part of this course. You will be expected to participate in discussions, make presentations and submit 3 short response papers and one final paper. There will also be assignments where you will be asked to identify major issues, people or concepts in a short paragraph. The aim of the response papers (due February 28 th, March 21 st, Aprıl 18 th ; 2 pages double-spaced) is to prepare you for the discussions. Please answer the questions clearly and briefly supporting your argument with specific examples from your readings. In your final paper (proposal due March 28th ; paper due May 16 th ), you are expected to choose a neighborhood in Istanbul and discuss Evliya Çelebi s depiction with your visit to the site and your research on the seventeenth century Istanbul. For each paper, you are expected to submit a hardcopy in class and an electronic copy through turnitin (class name: Hist 317, class id: , password: password). In these papers and during your presentations, you will be expected to discuss your readings by addressing the following questions: What does Evliya Çelebi emphasis or omit in his writings about this topic? What do we learn when we compare the writings of Evliya Çelebi with the studies by modern historians? And last, but not least: What do you find interesting in your readings and why? Grading will be as follows: Presentation, Assignments, Participation 20% Response papers 45% (Papers 1,2& 3 15% each) Final paper 35% Readings are electronically available at: search Reserves by Course under Hist 317. You could also purchase a reader in hardcopy from the photocopy center at the library. Late papers will not be accepted without a valid medical excuse. 1

2 Syllabus is subject to change. Recommended Scholarship Robert Dankoff, An Ottoman Mentality, The World of Evliya Çelebi, (Leiden and Boston: 2004) [Also available as an e-book] Hakan Karateke and Hatice Aynur, Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi nin Yazılı Kaynakları (Ankara: 2012). Öcal Oyuz and Yeliz Özay eds. Evliya Çelebi nin Sözlü Kaynakları, (Ankara: 2012) Nuran Tezcan and Semih Tezcan, eds. Doğumunun 400. Yılında Evliya Çelebi, (Ankara: 2011). Marianna Yerasimos, Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi nde Yemek Kültürü, Yorumlar ve Sistematik Dizin, (İstanbul: 2011). Caroline Finkel, Osman s Dream, History of the Ottoman Empire, (New York: 2005). Suraiya Faroqhi, Subjects of the Sultan, Culture and Daily Life in the Ottoman Empire, (London and New York: 2000). Evliya Çelebi Bibliography by Robert Dankoff and Semih Tezcan, 3 rd September 2012 is available online: edition, COURSE SCHEDULE Part I Evliya Çelebi and his Book of Travels Week 1(Feb 5-7) Cemal Kafadar, Introduction The Ottomans and Europe, in Handbook of European History, , eds. T.A. Brady, et at., (Leiden: ), p [Recommended background reading] Week 2 (Feb 12-14) Travels, Travel-Writing and the Seyahatname Roxanne L. Euben, Journeys to the Other Shore, Muslim and Western Travelers in Search of Knowledge (Princeton and Oxford: 2006), p and Robert Dankoff, An Ottoman Mentality, The World of Evliya Çelebi, (Leiden and Boston: 2004):

3 Sooyong Kim, Mehmet Tütüncü, Dünya Seyahat Edebiyatında Seyahatname nin Yeri in Nuran Tezcan and Semih Tezcan, eds. Doğumunun 400. Yılında Evliya Çelebi, (Ankara: 2011), Seyahatname de Kitabeler ve Evliya nın Hattat ve Hakkaklığı Hakkında in Çağının Sıradışı Yazarı Evliya Çelebi, Nuran Tezcan (ed.) (İstanbul: 2009), Week 3&4(Feb 19-28) Making of an Ottoman Intellectual Robert Dankoff, An Ottoman Mentality, The World of Evliya Çelebi, (Leiden and Boston: 2004): Katib Çelebi, The Balance of Truth, Translated wit an introduction and notes by G.L. Lewis, (London: 1957), , with Encyclopedia of Islam article on Katip Çelebi. Evliya Çelebi, Seyahatname, Transcription by Orhan Şaik Gökyay, published as Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi, (Istanbul: 1996) vol 1, 9-11 & vol [you are not expected to read the Ottoman-Turkish originals, but try to have a sense of Evliya Çelebi s style] English translation by Robert Dankoff and Sooyong Kim, An Ottoman Traveler, Selections from the Book of Travels of Evliya Çelebi (London: 2011), 3-8 and **Response Paper I due February 28th Compare the intellectual pursuits of Evliya Çelebi and Katip Çelebi. Think about what it meant to grow up in the mid-seventeenth century Istanbul. (How and where did they receive their education? What were their family backgrounds and how did it influence their intellectual life? How did they access books? In which subjects and areas were they interested? Among whom did they share these interests and how?) 3

4 Part II A Curious Young Man in Istanbul Week 5 (March 5-7) Dreams, Legends and History John Freely, Evliya Celebi nin Istanbulu, trans. Müfit Günay, (Istanbul: 2004): (English original not printed). Robert Dankoff, An Ottoman Mentality, The World of Evliya Çelebi, (Leidenand Boston: 2004), p Please note: For this week s lectures, we will visit Ayasofya, Hippodrome and Ahi Çelebi Mosque (setting for Evliya Çelebi s dream). Date and Time to be announced. Week 6 (March 12-14) Urban Pleasures and Gardens Suraiya Faroqhi, What happened in Istanbul Gardens and Beauty Spots? Evliya Çelebi on Religion, Commination and Entertainment, unpublished paper presented at Bogazici University Symposium, September Semih Tezcan, Başka Yüreğin Kanı, in Evliya Çelebi nin Sözlü Kaynakları, Öcal Oyuz and Yeliz Özay eds. (Ankara: 2012): Evliya Çelebi, Seyahatname, Transcription by Orhan Şaik Gökyay, published as Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi, (Istanbul: 1996), vol , [recommended required] English translation by Robert Dankoff and Sooyong Kim, An Ottoman Traveller, Selections from the Book of Travels of Evliya Çelebi (London: 2011), Week 7&8 (March 19-28) Robert Dankoff, trans., Evliya Çelebi, Nuran Tezcan, Social Circles and Love at a Palace The Intimate Life of an Ottoman Statesmen, Melek Ahmed Pasha ( ) as Portrayed in Evliya Çelebi s Book of Travels, p. 6-12, (by Rhoads Murphey), , Seyahatname, Transcription by Yücel Dağlı, Seyit Ali Kahraman and İbrahim Sezgin, published as Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi, (Istanbul: 1996), vol 5, [Suggested not required] "Seyahatname'deki Aşk Öyküsü: Bir Kaya Sultan Vardı!," Kebikec, 2006, 21,

5 **Response Paper II due March 21st What is the intimate life of an Ottoman princess and her husband according to Evliya Çelebi? (Focus on Evliya Çelebi s presentation of fears, family ties, gender relations, and being a royal son-in-law in the seventeenth century.) Final Paper Proposals (20% of your paper grade) due March 28th PART III Raconteur of the Early Modern Urban Lives Week 9 (April 2-4) Cairo Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Egypt s Adjustment to Ottoman Rule, Institutions, Waqf, and Architecture in Cairo (16 th and 17 th Centuries), (Leiden, New York, Köln: 1994); Evliya Çelebi, Seyahatname, Transcription by Seyyit Ali Kahraman, Yücel Dağlı and Robert Dankoff, published as Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi, (Istanbul: 1996), vol 10, , [Suggested not required] English translation by Robert Dankoff and Sooyong Kim, An Ottoman Traveller, Selections from the Book of Travels of Evliya Çelebi (London: 2011), Mustafa Ali, Description of Cairo, Translated by Andreas Tietze as Mustafa Ali s Description of Cairo, (Vienna: 1975), 7-8, 36-37& Spring Break, 8-12 April Week 10 (April 16-18) Salonica Mark Mazower, Salonica, City of Ghosts, Christians, Muslims and Jews, , (N.Y.: 2005), p Evliya Çelebi, Seyahatname, Transcription by Seyyit Ali Kahraman, Yücel Dağlı and Robert Dankoff, published as Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi, (Istanbul: 2003), vol 8, pp [Suggested not required] Modern Turkish translation by Seyit Ali Kahraman and Yücel Dağlı, Günümüz Türkçesiyle Evliya Çelebi Seyatnamesi (İstanbul: 2004), vol 8, [Alternative Reading for Non-Turkish Speakers] Evliya Çelebi, Seyahatname, English translation by Robert Dankoff and Sooyong Kim, An Ottoman Traveller, Selections from the Book of Travels of Evliya Çelebi (London: 2011), **Response Paper III due April 18th Discuss Evliya Çelebi s description of Salonica in comparison with the study of the city by the modern historian Mazower. (What do we learn from Mazower s work on Salonica? What does Evliya Çelebi emphasis, omit or alter in his account?) 5

6 Week 11 (April 25) Vienna Nabil Matar, In the Lands of Christians, Arabic Travel Writing in the Seventeenth Century, (New York and London: 2003), xiii-xlviii. Robert Dankoff, An Ottoman Mentality, The World of Evliya Çelebi, (Leiden and Boston: 2004), Evliya Çelebi, Seyahatname, Transcription by Seyyit Ali Kahraman, Yücel Dağlı and Robert Dankoff, published as Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi, (Istanbul: 1996), vol 7, and [Suggested not required] English translation by Robert Dankoff and Sooyong Kim, An Ottoman Traveller, Selections from the Book of Travels of Evliya Çelebi (London: 2011), Official Holiday No Class on April 23rd Week 12&13 (April 30-May 9) Eyüp Çiğdem Kafescioğlu A Shrine at the City s Edge in Constantinopolis/Istanbul Cultural Encounter, Imperial Vision, and the Construction of the Ottoman Capital,(University Park: 2009), Cemal Kafadar, Evliya Çelebi, Eyüp te Kılıç Kuşanma Törenleri in Eyüp: Dün/Bugün (ed.) Tülay Artan (İstanbul: 1994): Seyahatname, Transcription by Orhan Şaik Gökyay, published as Evliya Çelebi Seyahatnamesi, (Istanbul: 1996), [Suggested not required] Modern Turkish translation by Seyit Ali Kahraman and Yücel Dağlı, Günümüz Türkçesiyle Evliya Çelebi Seyatnamesi (İstanbul: 2004), vol Please note For the twelfth week s lecture, we will visit Eyüp on Saturday. Date and Time to be announced. Week 14 (May 13-16) Looking at Istanbul with Evliya Çelebi Presentation and discussion of the Final projects **Final Paper due May 16th Discuss your visit to a neighborhood you choose from the Seyahatname and what you discovered by visiting it with Evliya Çelebi.(Rather than giving an inventory of buildings, focus on the ways in which Evliya Çelebi perceived and presented his city. Compare it with your ways of observation and narration. Base your discussion on library research.) 6