Travelers of the medieval and early modern worlds Venetian merchants Review Travelers of the medieval and early modern worlds Venetian merchants Marco Polo

Today’s Lecture Review Introduction for Response Paper Growing up in the seventeenth century Istanbul -education -career choices -opportunities and challenges Evliya Çelebi and his Seyahatname

For the Response Papers How to read primary and secondary sources -factual information, view points Historian as a detective, looking for clues, painting a picture Importance of revision Katip Çelebi, Evliya Çelebi, Readings for this paper

Imagine yourself in the seventeenth century Istanbul Imagine yourself in the seventeenth century Istanbul. How would your life have been as a twenty year old?

Young Greek Woman and Standing Turk, Gentile Bellini, 1479-81

Janissary recruits playing musical instruments, from Johannes Lewenklaw’s history,, dating from 1586

Seated Scribe, Gentile Bellini, 1479–81

Fatih complex

Cafer Aga Medresesi, late sixteenth century, view of the courtyard

Gazanfer Ağa medresesi. Divân-i Nâdirî.

Weekend of the medrese students, Album of Ahmed I, seventeenth century

Page from the Seyahatname of Evliya Çelebi

Illuminated title page from the Sultan Süleyman’s Divan-ı Muhibbi, transcribed by Mehmed Serif, Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi, R. 738, dating from 1565/66.

Ottoman geographers and the far away lands 1520s a merchant named Ali Ekber traveled to China, and after his return produced a detailed account of Chinese administration and customs named as Hitay-name. In 1554 an Ottoman naval contingent was shipwrecked in India. Its commander Seydi Ali Reis wrote the adventurous tale of his return, Miratü’l-Memalik, giving glimpses of Indian and Central Asian culture. Mehmed Aşık (d. 1598) from Trabzon compiled a voluminous cosmography from a number of classical sources in Arabic and Persian. For the Ottoman lands he included his own observations during his travels. Katip Çelebi (1609-1657) wrote his geography Cihannüma using European geographies like Mercator’s Geography, dismissed Ali Ekber’s accounts on China, but used non-literary accounts of merchants. His draft does not contain anything that originates in his own experiences, even though he marched through Anatolia several times on a campaign.