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Many of the impressive places he visited – mosques, monuments, palaces, castles, covered markets and hammams – have stood the test of time and can still be visited today. He also described popular local excursion spots – much in the way that modern-day travel writers do today. In his 42 years of travelling he visited many places describing in detail the history of the place, places of interest including fortifications, mosques and Turkish baths, as well as bringing to life the traditions of the local inhabitants, their clothes and ways of speaking. His masterpiece ‘Seyahatname’ is a 10-volume travel book and memoir detailing 17th century Ottoman life and Turkish culture in the places under Ottoman rule, travelling from Cairo to Vienna, from Crimea to Baghdad and from Lebanon to Russia, sometimes as an official of the government on duty and on military campaigns and sometimes on his own Cover of Seyahatname by Evliya Çelebi, 1895 edition After his 35 day long trip, seeing his son's love of travel, his father gave his blessing for him to travel from then on. Later, he set out from Istanbul to go to Bursa on 27th April 1640, without his father’s knowledge. His first travels were in and around Istanbul. So where should we look to for inspiration when we’re looking forward to resuming our own travels, but to the great Muslim travellers of the past.Įvliya Çelebi, born Derviș Mehmed Zilli in Istanbul was one of the first travel writers, taking up official duties with the Ottoman Court of Murad IV in order to travel throughout the Ottoman Empire. In the past year of the corona pandemic, which made travel very difficult and sometimes impossible for us, we understood, perhaps more than ever before in modern times, the various factors that travelling encompasses, whilst also appreciating the ties which bind us together as we go through shared experiences. Travel is, undoubtedly, one of the best ways to explore and understand the world around us. He travelled the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century and described it vividly in his great work: ‘Seyahatname’ (Book of Travel).

Evliya Çelebi, born in Istanbul – then Constantinople – in 1611, is known as one of the first travel writers and chroniclers of his age.