Ayp deil! (No Disgrace!

)
Robert Dankoff

Evliya elebi, in his huge Seyahatname or Book of Travels, uses the term ayb
shameful, disgraceful in two different ways: to express his own opinion; to
express the norm of the place or community being described. The first implies
that the reader will agree with the sentiment; the second that the reader may be
surprised to learn that a certain practice is considered disgraceful. A variant of
the second usage is the expression ayb deil, meaning no disgrace. This
characterizes a custom or practice that Evliyas readers might indeed find
objectionable, but is considered all right by the people in question. Evliya often
feels obliged to give a reasonsociological, historical, or medicalfor the
practices that others judge to be shameful or not shameful, or a reason for their
judgment. This paper explores such usages to shed light on Ottoman social norms
in the 17th-century; touches on Ottoman attitudes toward women, notions of
honor and shame, and related topics; and includes an extravagant example of
Evliyas literary art.

In Seyahatname, Evliya uses the term ayb, expressing the judgment that a certain practice
is shameful or disgraceful, in two different ways.
In the first, the term expresses his own opinion (or, in direct speech, the opinion
of the speaker). For example, he says about the women of Sofya going to the public
baths at night that this is a disgrace on the city.1 Evliya assumes that his readerselite
Ottomans like himself, with Istanbul as the reference pointwill agree that gallivanting
at night is not something women should do; it is disgraceful.
In the second usage, the term expresses the judgment of the populace in
question. Thus of Aintab (modern Gaziantep) he writes that it is very disgraceful for
women to go about in the marketplace.2 The Ottoman normthe Istanbul normis
that women are seen in the marketplace; so if in Aintab this is not the case it requires a
sociological explanation, viz. that here it is considered to be disgraceful. We find similar

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language with regard to the women of Cairo, who never go out in the street during the
day, except when it is an emergency and then they do it secretly. But at night they light
torches and go to visit their relatives attended by servants. Otherwise it is shameful for
a woman to go about in the marketplace.3
These examples reflect Evliyas attitude toward women (a topic I failed to deal
with in my book An Ottoman Mentality: The World of Evliya elebi). Let me say a bit more
about this before resuming our main topic. His term for women as a classnisvn- (or
bintn- or zenn-) shib-syn rebellious ladieslike the other rhyming epithets in the
Seyahatname is not to be taken too seriously.4 In the course of his travels he very often
remarks that the women of a given town dress and go about covered (mestre) and
modestly (mteeddibne). I think this can be taken as the default position, the expected
norm. In some instances he says that the only time the women of a certain town leave
their houses is for their funerals.5 I take this as a clich indicating an extreme of female
seclusion. At the other extreme are the uncovered women he observed in Europe. (We
will see examples of this later in the text.) As to the attitude of European men toward
the opposite sex, he was astounded that the Hapsburg emperor should stand aside to let
a woman pass, or doff his hat if a woman addressed him. This high regard toward
women he considered a marvel (garb acb). In this land, he writes, and throughout
Christendom women are in charge; and he attributes this to the peoples reverence for
the Virgin Mary.6
Coming back to our main topic, I have distinguished between ayb as expressing
Evliyas own value judgment and ayb as expressing the judgment of others. Another
example of the first usage occurs when he introduces foul languagewhat we would
call four-letter wordsin his sample lexicon of Ukrainian: it is shameful, he says, to
write down such expressions;7 but he excuses himself on the grounds that travellers in
that region must know them in order to know if they are being abused.
By the same token, if the term is used in direct quotation we may be certain that
it expresses the speakers own valuesincluding, in the first instance, Evliyas himself.
When a Safavid official offers his sword as a gift to Evliya, who is travelling in
Azerbaijan on an official mission, Evliya refuses saying No, I wont take your sword,
that is considered disgraceful among Ottomans,8 and so the official gives him a
different swordand a horse as well. The appeal is to an Ottoman norm that the
Persian official might not be aware of.
Similarly, when the general of Split (Croatia) insists that Evliya, who is again on
an official mission, and his retinue remove their arms before entering the city, Evliya
appeals to kanunOttoman dynastic lawaccording to which it would be disgraceful

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for a military unit to break ranks and abandon weapons,9 and threatens to go back
unless permitted to enter armed. Eventually permission is granted.
In yet another mission, Evliya is charged with ransoming an Ottoman officer
being held captive by the Ban of Herzegovina. Before crossing the border, Evliya
addresses the men in his retinue:
See here, ghazis! The territory we are about to enter, under a truce, is the land of the
infidels, where wine, women and boys are permitted. If I find any of you with a
woman or a boy, or befuddled with wine or rak, I will cook your goose and beat you
black and blue. Is that understood?
God please you, they replied, none of us would do a thing like that.
Well, we have all been suckled on raw milk. A father cannot really vouch for his son,
or a son for his father. Its the way of the world. We have come this far with so much
money and goods. Let us just ransom that ghazi, according to our sultans command,
and then take our leave. If you do something shameful, the infidel may take it as a
pretext not to release the captain; if he is a gentleman he will drive us out, and if he is
not he will kill us.10

Here Evliya appeals to the norm in the Ottoman realm where wine, women and
boys are shameful (ayb), as opposed to Europe where they are permitted (mbh). As
Ottoman representatives his men have to behave like proper Ottomans and not be
tempted by European vices just because they have crossed the border. The reason he
gives, however, is not to safeguard their morality, but to safeguard the mission!
After wrangling with bandits near Kabirova (Bulgaria) and taking some booty
and captives, Evliya tries to shame a local commander who demands his share: We
fought seven hours with no help from you, and now you get on your high horse and ask
for booty. Isnt that a shameful way to act toward a fellow-Muslim?11 Here Evliya
appeals to a code of military honor or punctilio that he assumes his interlocutor will
understand.
When Melek Ahmed Pasha, Evliyas kinsman and patron, had a falling fit and
covered himself with dirt at the grave of his beloved wife Kaya Sultan, he was upbraided
by the grand vizier Kprl: Arent you ashamed to act like this for the sake of a
woman? he said.12 Evidently such an extreme display of grief on the part of one of the
Ottoman elite was considered disgraceful.
All these examples illustrate the first usage of ayb, expressing the speakers own
judgment.
The second usage, expressing the judgment of others, occurs when Evliya
characterizes a custom or practice that may be within the Ottoman norm (and therefore
may seem unobjectionable to his readers) but is considered wrong by the people he is

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describing. The Persians, being Kzlbash13, have a reputation for immorality;

nevertheless, says Evliya, in Dumbuli (Azerbaijan) I never saw a single tavern or a
drunken Persian: they consider that extremely shameful, though they are quite liberal in
other matters.14
The people of Belgrade think that lying and calumny are shameful.15 In
Temesvar it is drinking winethey drink mead instead.16 The Tatars of Or Kalesi
(Crimea) also consider wine to be shameful, while they have no objection to boza, even
though the boza there is very intoxicatingafter one cup people start singing
raucously.17 In Kstendil, and also in Elbasan (Albania) and in Ionina, it is closing
ones door and sitting at home rather than welcoming guests.18 In Vlandova (Bulgaria) it
is wearing black, which they consider both shameful and unlucky.19
In Rhodes it is putting rubbish in the streetsthis is even forbidden by statute,
since otherwise the rubbish gets washed down into the harbor when it rains, causing a
public nuisance.20 In Cairo only certain groups (Circassians, musketeers, and those in
the gnll and mteferrika corps) are permitted to wear red trousers; if any others do so it
is considered shameful, and is a punishable offense.21 Again in Cairo it used to be
considered disgraceful for anyone other than begs to wear furs. But in those days it
used to rain very little, and there was no winter to speak of. Nowadays, Evliya was
told, climate change has occurred, we get lots of cold and rainy weather, and so we too
have begun wearing furs.22
Among the Tatars it is rancor and holding a grudge and slandering other people.
The only exception is feeling hatred toward a common enemy when the Tatars go on a
plundering expeditionin that case it is considered rancor for Gods sake.23 The
Tatars generally do not approve of taking heads in warfare (a common Ottoman
practice), considering it shameful; but Evliya witnessed an exception to this rule in a
skirmish with the Kalmyks when those who brought back enemy heads were rewarded.
The reason, as Evliya explains, is that the Tatar warriors had become terrified because
the Kalmyks fought so ferociously (being reincarnationists they had no fear of death but
believed that they would immediately be reborn) and also because they used magical
spells to break the Tatar ranks.24 This is an example of terror tactics causing a
breakdown in civilized norms.
We have discussed two usages of ayb, one expressing ones own judgment, the
other characterizing the judgment of others. A variant of the second usage is the
expression ayb deil, which characterizes a custom or practice that Evliyas readers
might indeed find objectionable, but is considered all right by the people in question.
The phrase does not appear in Book 1 of Seyahatname, devoted to Istanbul. But as

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soon as Evliya steps outside the capital he finds practices that he labels in this fashion,
even in such an Ottoman town as Bursa. There, he says, the notablesthe elite of
societyfrequent boza shops and it is not considered disgraceful.25 The explanation he
gives is that in Bursa the boza shops, like the coffee shops, have singers and musicians!
He also says that the ninety-three boza shops in Bursa are unlike those anywhere else
(bir diyra mahss deildir)tiled stone buildings holding up to a thousand customers,
who are served the finest boza by elegant young waiters. In all these respects the
situation in Bursa seems very different from that in Istanbul where, Evliya reminds his
readers, the coffee shops were shut down by order of Sultan Murad IV.
So, judging by Evliya, entertainers in coffeehouses were quite the norm, and no
cause for censure. But in Karasu (Bulgaria) he came across female entertainers (avret
engiler) who go from house to house playing their instruments. His readers might
disapprove, but, no, Evliya says, there is nothing disgraceful about it, and all the
notables of the town are addicted to this vice.26 In Aydn the vice is eating helva27 in the
shopsbut there is nothing wrong with this because, as Evliya explains, the helva shops
in Aydn are not dirty as they are in other places.28
In Ottoman culture making love to boys was fraught with ambiguities and
scruples, as a recent book has reminded us.29 But in Imadiyye openly embracing your
beloved while swimming in the pool in the park is acceptable behavior.30 In Belgrade it
is the town sophisticates openly conversing with their loverboys in the shopsbecause,
Evliya tells us, the boys shopmasters and parents take it as a point of pride.31 In Cairo,
on festival days, if you see a lovely boy, whether an acquaintance or a stranger, you may
approach him and greet him and even get a kiss from him, and thus attain your
desiresuch is the custom in Egypt, says Evliya, it is not considered improper.32
In Ionina women are strictly secluded: it is very shameful for a woman to go
about in the marketplace, and if people see a woman outdoors they kill her immediately.
Here, of course, women means Muslim womenthe default categorysince Evliya
goes on to say that the Greek women go about the streets and carry on their business
with their faces uncovered, and it is not shameful.33 As we saw earlier, Evliya never
ceased to be amazed at Europeans attitude toward women. In Ligradk, also
Dubrovnik and Gingsh and in Muscovy, girls sit in the marketplace and sell their wares
with no stigma attached.34 In Peshpehil men and women do not flee from each other,
he notes, and women may go outdoors without their husbands permission, and even sit
and chat and drink with us Ottomans, and none of this is considered shameful.
Here again he gives as the reason that throughout Christendom women are in charge,

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and they have behaved in this disreputable fashion ever since the time of the Virgin
Mary.35
Surprisingly (perhaps) Evliya distinguishes two sorts of women in Mecca along
the same lines he did in Ionina. First are the women (without qualification),
swathed in veils and burkas so that the only part visible is their kohl-bedaubed gazelle-
like eyes. They are extremely covered women. But then there are the Abyssinian
slavegirls, tawny as raw ambergris, the famous Meccan singing girls who dance in
public in the coffeehouses. They are the pride of Arabia, says Evliya, and no cause for
shame.36 He expands on the theme when he reaches Kna in Upper Egypt: the
Abyssinian slavegirls wear earrings and necklaces and ankle bracelets and red silk
blouses; some dance and sing in the coffeehouses, with no stigma attached. But the
women who practice purdah37 are quite different: they go nowhere except on Fridays to
the cemeteries.38
The people of Peuy, like the Tatars mentioned above, hate slanderers and
backbiters, and also drug addictsthey wont even talk to them; but when it comes to
singing and partying, or killing by shooting, hanging, stabbing, etc. they do not raise an
eyebrow.39 In Circassia and Abkhazia robbery is considered heroic. Not only is it
beyond reproach, but people sing robbers praises and give them their daughters in
marriage.40
Evliya marvels at the strange customs in Ergirikasri (Gjirokastr, Albania), such
as mourning for long-dead relatives; but he excuses them by saying that every country
has its own rites and traditions. He goes on:
They have another bad habit. In weddings, on festival days of St George, Nevruz, St.
Demetrius, and St. Nicholas, and on the two feasts of Bairam, they put on their finery
and drink alcoholic beverages. Lovers go hand in hand with their pretty boys and
embrace them and dance about in the manner of the Christians. This is a wicked
practice, being a rite of the infidels; but it is their custom, so we cannot censure it.41

We cannot censure it is literally we cannot say it is ayb in other words, ayb

deil! No passage in the Seyahatname is more revealing of Evliyas attitude toward such
customs.
Of all the countries Evliya visited, it is with regard to Egypt, where he spent the
last years of his life, that he most often uses this expression. Perhaps, as his adopted
home, Egypt especially called for such excuses. But travellers since Herodotus have
been struck with the oddities of Egypt. Of course, Evliya did not go so far as
Herodotus who thought that the Egyptians customs (thea) and laws (nmoi) were the
opposite of all other peoples.42 Aside from the instances already mentioned, Evliya
uses ayb degil of the following:

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Everyone in Egypt rides donkeys, including the notables and the women. You
see women in all the public places, mounted on their donkeys and making their way
through the crowds shouting Make way! And there is nothing objectionable in this,
says Evliya, because the donkey is Egypts caique and ferryboat.43 This is an analogy
that someone who knows Istanbul would understand.
During the festivities associated with the flooding of the Khalj (canal) in Cairo,
the lovers of the city jump into the water and openly embrace their beloveds. They
deck out small boats with pennants and lamps and go about with their Arab boys
drinking wine and shouting Hu! to the accompaniment of various musical
instruments. During these days there is nothing disgraceful about this behavior. At this
season, Evliya says, everything ugly is covered up, and Cairos beauty shines through.44
Syphilis is rampant in Egypt. According to Evliya, most of the poor people of
Cairo are afflicted with it. But it does not carry the stigma it does elsewhere. Peasants
from the countryside mingle with the syphilitics who may have lost a hand or foot to the
disease. They even eat with them, and have no fear that it might be contagious. Its
jaundice, they say. (The Egyptians call syphilis jaundice [safr], just as the Turks call
it French itch [Freng uyuz] or, ameliorating, French affliction [Freng zahmeti].) The
reason it is tolerated, says Evliya, is that Egypt has no special hospitals for syphilis
(misknhne), whereas in other countries such institutions exist and they do not let
syphilitics go into the cities. And the reason the disease is so prevalent in Egypt is that
red-light districts (bbullklar) are tolerated and prostitutes roam freely.45
Finally there is this: In that country, having sex with crocodiles, and killing
crocodiles and nailing their skins to the gates, are nothing to be ashamed of but are
rather considered heroic deeds.46 Evliya offers this as the reason why a group of
people who were present while someone was telling a story of such heroic deeds
approved the story and bore witness that it was true. This took place in Upper Egypt,
near Aswan and Shallal (at the First Cataract), where crocodile lore seems to have been
cultivated. Evliya avidly relates this lore, and never voices skepticism about it, though
some of it belongs in the category of tall tales.47 The story in question, as told by his
venerable host, a certain Ebu Cedullh, is as follows:
When I was young I had a crocodile in the Nile. It was a female. At that time I was
making a living by fishing with nets. Sometimes I netted a big fish and set it aside.
One day this crocodile swam by. It was a very beautiful specimen. I snipped off some
fish heads and threw them to her. She ate them and went on. This continued for
several days: I gave her fish like this every day. One day she just strode out of the
water, raised her tail and lay on her back. I recalled that our Arabs have sex with
crocodiles. So I too girded my loins and went to it. The pleasure drove me out of my

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mind. Afterward I took a club and propped it between the sand and the crocodiles
back, then stood to one side. She wriggled onto her feet, gave me a glance, then went
back into the river and cavorted like mad.
I cohabited with her for three years. All my clansmen in Shallal knew about it. If one
day I failed to show up she would look for me. Eventually I stopped going to the edge
of the Nile out of fear of the other crocodiles. Whenever my crocodile came to the
shore she left a kind of fragrant oil like civet. I used to fill jars with it and sell them for
ten gurush a piece. I earned my living that way for three years.
Then one day I happened to go over to one of the islands in the Nile, and my crocodile
followed me onto the shore. She walked around a bit, then rolled over and expired.
Suddenly it grew dark, and when the darkness lifted what should I see: the crocodiles
head and torso had transformed into that of a beautiful girl. But her legs and her vulva
were still those of a crocodile. It turned out that she was the daughter of the shaikh of
the Knuz Arabs and had been bewitched. By Gods command, at the moment she
died the spell became ineffective and she resumed her original form. The people of
that island and I buried her.48

While I have labelled this a tall tale, it is worth examining also from the point
of view of Evliyas literary art. Evliya sets the stage with Ch. 47 of Book 10, Animals
of the Nile and their Characteristics (X 160b8). This is largely devoted to the
crocodile, which he describes at great length. He includes the information that in Hafir-
i Kebir the fortress gate is not made of iron but rather is the skin of a huge crocodile,
nailed to the wall, which Evliya himself measured at 14 cubits high and 7 cubits wide
(161b17). Coming to the sexual habits of the crocodile, in a section labelled A
Wonder (Ve minel-garib, 161b24), Evliya informs us that the couple comes on to
land and the male lays the female on her back. At this point he introduces the lore:
Some Arab tribesmen, in order to rid themselves of gonorrhea, or else prompted by
lust, hide in the sand and scrub and, while the female is lying on her back and before
the male has done the deed, rushes out of his ambush with a shout. The male runs off
into the Nile, but the female is left paralyzed, like a tortoise, unable to move. This is
because her forelegs are short, her locomotion in the water being through her tail and
mouth; and unless the male, after sex, turns her right side up, she is stuck there with
her vagina sticking out beneath her hind legs. So the lustful pervert covers her hind
legs with sand and piles sand over her tail as well, then fearlessly performs the ugly
deedGod be our refuge! But the rakish devil swears that the pleasure derived from a
crocodile is greater than that from a virgin maid, indeed that the female crocodile is
exceedingly hot and that each time she has sex she is a virgin and gushes with blood.
Also, the pudendum of a man who has sex with a crocodile exudes a musk-like
perfume for an entire week. As for the crocodiles vagina, it is reportedly white and
Chinese49 like that of an Abassynian slavegirl. And that is a fact, as I can witness,

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since they once brought a female crocodile to zbek Beg, the governor of Circe, and it
had a rounded vagina exactly as I have described.50

Evliya now introduces the marvelous story (hikyet-i garyib) related above, as
told by his host in Shallal, Ebu Cedullh, a venerable sheikh, one who had experienced
the vicissitudes of fortune, one of the class of lovers, an upright individual.51 At the
end of the story Evliya says that a number of individuals who were present bore witness
that it was so. The reason, says Evliya, is that in that country, having sex with
crocodiles, and killing crocodiles and nailing their skins to the gates, are nothing to be
ashamed of but are rather considered heroic deeds, and anyone who does not do battle
with a crocodile is not considered a man.
The narrative, then, is a concoction of Nile animal lore, local practices, and
Evliyas personal engagement; wrapped in a verisimilar setting, with a fairy-tale twist at
the end; and capped with a sociological explanation (adding the observation that such
practices are not considered shameful in that society). It is similar in these respects to
other examples of Evliyas skill as a raconteur.52
Evliya also gives a scientific explanation for the practice of having sex with
crocodiles. The men of that region suffer from incontinence and gonorrhea, and they
engage in intercoursewith crocodiles, or with Abassynian slavegirls (who have a
reputation for being very sexy and draining men of sperm and other things)in order
to rid themselves of these afflictions.53
How much of all this is true? I think there are at least three possibilities. 1) No
man ever had sex with a crocodile, nor ever boasted that he did. Evliya made it all up
out of whole cloth. The fairy-tale twist at the end of the narrative would suggest that
the entire episode is in the category of The Girl Who Gave Birth to an Elephant. 2)
While sex with crocodiles is out of the question, the Arabs of that region told each other
(and Evliya) stories about it, which Evliya adapted. These stories made up what I
referred to above as crocodile lore. 3) Sex with crocodiles is a fact, perhaps
accounted for by the reasons Evliya gives, although it is hard to know how far the
accompanying narrative reflects a tale that he actually heard told. This third option
seems to me the most likely, because Evliya is not the only traveller to report the
phenomenon. C. S. Sonnini, who travelled in Egypt at the time of the French invasion
and exploration under Napoleon, wrote about crocodiles:
It is upon the muddy coast of the Nile that they deposit their eggs; it is there also that
they copulate. The female, which in the act of copulation is laid on her back, has much
difficulty in rising again; it is even said, that she can neither change her position nor
turn without the assistance of the male. Will it be believed that in Upper Egypt there
are men to be found who, hurried on by the excess of an unexampled depravation and

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bestiality, take advantage of this forced situation of the female, hunt away the male, and
replace him in a commerce that shakes humanity? Horrible embraces, frightful
enjoyments, the knowledge of which should never have stained the disgusting pages of
the history of human perversity!54

Richard Burton, who cited this passage (slightly modified) in his translation of
the Arabian Nights, commented: The French traveler forgets to add the superstitious
explanation of this congress, which is the sovereignest charm for rising to rank and
riches.55 Burton implies that he had heard something of the sort during his own
travels, and his explanation recalls Evliyas original assertion that it was considered a
heroic deed among the populace in question.
As we have seen, Evliya often feels obliged to give a reasonsociological,
historical, or medicalfor the practices that others judge to be shameful or not
shameful, or a reason for their judgment. Such practices overlap to some degree with
the strange and marvelous (garb acb), a category of phenomena for which he only
occasionally tries to find a rational explanation.56 The pattern of these explanations is a
topic that should be explored further, as revealing how Evliyas mind works.
Another topic worth investigating is shame, as part of a culture of honor and
shame, in Ottoman society as reflected in Evliyas work. A way to get at this would be
to study the vocabulary used to express these notions. Ayb expresses a social norm.
Evliya uses quite different termshicb, hacletto express shame or humiliation as
experienced by an individual. An example is his feeling of shame, accompanied by
profuse sweating and breaking out in goose bumps, related in some embarrasing
situations.57 Terms designating honor (r, nms, rz, gayret) attach to the same men who
never let their women out of doors.58 The honorable women of Caffa do not frequent
the baths in the marketplace, in fact they do not go out in the street at all, it would be a
disgrace.59
In this article I tried to elucidate Evliyas judgments as to what is disgraceful or
not. In the course of the discussion I touched on some other topicshis attitude
toward women, his notion of honor and shamethat certainly deserve more study. I
also dwelt at some length on one narrative that exemplifies Evliyas literary art and also
exemplifies the ambivalent character of judgments as to what is disgraceful or not.
Some might consider the example itself to be disgraceful, but I trust that no one in my
readers will take that view.

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1 III 140b14 bu ehre mahss bir ayb eydir.

References to Books I-VIII are to the autograph mss. as follows:
Badat 304 Books I and II
Badat 305 Books III and IV
Badat 307 Book V
Revan 1457 Book VI
Badat 308 Books VII and VIII
Reference to Book IX is to Badat 306
Reference to Book X is to TY 5973
2 IX 165a3 rs-y bzrda gezmeleri gyet aybdr.
3 X 335a8 avret bzrda gezmek gyet aybdr; similarly Damietta, 347b19.
4 Cf. An Ottoman Mentality, 64. Robert Dankoff, An Ottoman Mentality: The World of Evliya elebi (Leiden:

Brill, 2004; 2nd edition, 2006).

5 II 318a14 Daghestan, IV 257b21 Van, VI 182b31-32 Kanija, VI 98a12 Esztergom, VIII 267b27

Navarino.
6 VII 71a25 Bu diyrda ve gayri kfiristnda sz avretin olup Meryem Ana akna avrete tazm tekrm ederler.
7 V 49b3 yve szlerin yazmak aybdr.
8 IV 290a9 yok, klcn almam, Osmnl arasnda aybdr.
9 V 149a9 ber-knn tertbimiz bozup silhsz girmek aybdr.
10 V 161a16; cf. An Ottoman Mentality, 130.

Bak a gzler, bu varacamz sulh [u] salh zre kfir diyrdr ve arb ve avrat ve olan mbhdr. Eer birinizi
avrat olanda ve arb ve rakda kzarm bozarm amm pimemi bulursam sizi de de biiririm ve karnnz
iiririm. Buna kail misiz? Cmlesi,
Allh senden rz ola, bizde eyle dem yokdur dediler.
Bire ben dem i sd emmidir. Baba oulun, oul babann keyfiyyet i hllerine muttali olama[m]lar. Ahvl i dny
byledir. u kadar ml hazne ile geldik. u gz yiidi pdihmzn fermn zre hals ede, sonra gidelim. Eer bir
ayb ederseniz kfir, kapudan vermemee bahne edp ml da alkor. Bizim cmlemizi mrvvet ederse kovar, mrvvet
ve kerem etmezse cmlemizi krar.
11 VI 54b2 yedi sat ceng-b etdik, imddmza yetimediginden gayri bize yaygara edp ml- ganim istersin, ayb

degil midir, mmin olana byle etmek der mi?

12 V 78a34 ayb degil midir bir avret iin byle edersin? Cf. The Intimate Life of an Ottoman Statesman: Melek Ahmed

Pasha (1588-1662), as portrayed in Evliya elebis Book of Travels (Seyahat-name) (State University of New York
Press, 1991), 234.
13 Editors Note: Kzlbash are people originating from different tribes, who played a central part in the

establishment of the Safavid Dynasty of Iran. They are in many circumstances identified as a subgroup of
Persians. The Kzlbash have their name from Azeri language, meaning Red Heads due to their red
headgear known in Persian as Tje-e Haydari, meaning Haydars crown. They have kept their identity,
and live in central Iran, eastern Turkey and other countries outside the Middle East/North Africa. Today
Kzlbash live in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and even Pakistan. In Turkey they are largely identified
with certain groups of Alevis.
14 IV 298b16 egeri Kzlba diyrdr derler amm asl meyhne grmedim ve mest-i medh bir Acem grmedim, zr

gyet aybdr; gayri eylarda mubhlerdir.

15 V 116a31 bu ehir ahlsinde kizb gybet gyet aybdr.
16 V 119b3 arb imek bu diyrda gyet aybdr, ekseriyy bal suyu ierler.
17 VII 108b26 bir tostagan bozasn ien sermest olup klalay ve bolalay trkisi rlar, t bu mertebe sekir verir bozas

vardr. Bu diyrda arb imek aybdr.

Boza or millet beer was a popular beverage served in special taverns called bozahane. Evliya himself
wouldnt be caught dead in such a place. In Ankara he stumbled into onea raucous place frequented by
muleteers and donkey-boysand when he realized he had been seen entering it he wanted to sink into
the ground from shame (II 358b12 hicbmdan yere gedim). Cf. An Ottoman Mentality, 207.

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18 V 174a30 bu ehirde rz rende kapusn kapayup hnednnda oturmak gyet aybdr; VIII 365a24 bu ehirde
kapularn kapamak ve hnedn shibi bal bana msfirsiz hddmlaryla tam yemek gyet aybdr; VIII 348a7
kapular kapatmak ve msfirne riyet etmemek . . . bu ehirde gyet aybdr.
19 VIII 373b20 kara libs geymek aybdr ve meymenet yokdur derler.
20 IX 120b21 ve dim herkes hnesi nn ve dkkn nn eb [u] rz pk edp hr [u] hk dkmezler, gyet

aybdr ve hkim tarafndan tazr ederler, zr mezbele dkseler b rahmet nzil oldukda cmle hr [u] hki limana
gtrp liman dolar.
21 X 66b18 erkize ve tfengci ve gnll ve mteferrika ve avundan mad krmz alvrl kavim var ise aybdr,

haklarndan gelinir.
22 X 228a9 ve ylda bir kerre cz yamur yaar ve yamaz idi ve Msr'da bir kimesnenin krk geydiin bilmezdik, ve

belerden mad krk geymek ayb idi, dediler, ve k olmazd, amm imdi iddet i it olup azm yamurlar yaup
sovukdan krk geyer olduk, dediler.
23 VII 108a8 ve bu kavm i Tatar hergiz gybet ve mesv ve s i zan ve kn kibr ve buz [u] advet ve remm nemm

etmek yokdur, biri birleri iinde gyet aybdr. Bir kii gybet ve mesv kelecisi iitse andan gayri kiiler nefret eder. Ancak
buz u advetleri gayri kavm ve gayri dman zre gidp nehb gret etme advetin ederler kim el-buzu lillhdr.
24 VII 117b2 cemi zamnda Tatar mbeyninde ba getirmek ayb iken Kalmk ba getirenlere ihsn olundu, zr cemi

zamnda bu na dek bir Kalmk ba alnmamdr, zr gyet dilverne ceng ederler. Dim Krmly bozagelp Krm
halknn dn sndrmdr, zr hull mezheblerdir lp yine bir avret karnndaki masm cnna cnm girp yine
dnyya tze gelirim der. Ve dim ceng ederlerken sihr edp asker bozarlar.
25 II 228b22 cmle ayn- kibr bozahneye girmek ayb deildir.
26 III 129b24 ayb deildir, cmle ayn bu derde mbtellardr. The instruments these girls play are listed as

r, ede, ravza, karadzen and klk.

27 Editors Note: Helva, halva or halawa (or halvah, halava, halwa, elwa) from the Arabic root

alw (sweet), refers to many types of sweet confection, across the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia,
the Balkans, and the Jewish World. Helva based on semolina is popular in Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Somalia,
India, and Afghanistan. Another common type, based on tahini (sesame paste), is popular in the eastern
Mediterranean and Balkan regions.
28 IX 77a14 bu diyrda helvc dkknlarnda helv yemek ayb deildir, zr gayri diyr gibi helvclar pis deildir.
29 Walter G. Andrews and Mehmet Kalpakl, The Age of Beloveds: Love and the Beloved in Early-Modern Ottoman

and European Culture and Society (Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2005).
30 IV 381a1 nie bin kn sdkn mahbbn ol havz azmde inverlik edp k mak birbirleriyle bil vsta

ku kuca ... olurlar, ayb deildir.

31 VIII 359b2 cemi yrn erbb marif sdkn knlar cmle dkknlarda dilbernlar ile mushebet ederler,

ayb deildir, zr stdlar ve peder [] mderleri tefhr kesb ederler.

32 X 183b20 eer in ve eer bgne bir dem bir dilbern grdkde b-bk u b-perv yanna varup Iyd i erfin

mbrek ola dey gl cemlinden bselik makmnda gllerin derersin ve murd [u] maksda erersin; knn- Msr
byledir, ayb deildir.
33 VIII 348a7 ve rs y bzrda avret gezmek bu ehirde gyet aybdr, avreti tarada grseler hemn amn u zamn

vermeden katl ederler; amm Urm karlar yzleri ak sokaklarda gezp gn-gn kr ederler ayb deildir.
34 V 162b18 cemi dkknlarnda kzlar oturup her biri birer mh-cibn ve peri-peyker ve melek-manzarlar metlarn

ikr frht ederler, anlarda met satmak ayb deildir; VI 152b19 bzr- hsnde metlarn satan avretler ve bkire
mahbbe kzlar metlarn ikre satarlar, bu kfiristnda ayb deildir; VII 40b3 pene i fitb kzlar ve klme
avretler dkknlarda oturup metlarn ikre frht ederler, asl ayb deildir; VII 174a23 dkknlarnda avretler
oturup her ne metlar var ise frht ederler, ayb deildir.
35 VII 51a22 erleri ve avretleri birbirlerinden kamayup bizim Osmnl ile avretleri bir yerde oturup ay [u] ret etdkde

kocas bir ey demeyp kapudan tara gider, ayb deildir, zr bu Kfiristnn cmlesinde hkm avretindir, t Meryem
Anadan ber yn-i bedleri byle olagelmidir.
36 IX 359a16 siyh izr harr brnp yzlerinde nikb burka ve duduk ve saravu elvn reng harr ile vech i

mnevveri mestr olup mkehhal em i gazlinden gayri bir yerleri grnmez, gyet'l-gye mestre havtnlerdir; amm
Habee cevrleri var kim her biri amber i hm-misl esmer'l-levn gavzleri var kim diller pern olur, bazlar
kahvehnelerde al-melei'n-ns raks ederler, Arabistnn nndandr, ayb deildir.

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37 Purdah or Pardaa (Persian: , Urdu: , literally meaning curtain) is the practice of preventing
women from being seen by men, other than their spouses. This takes two forms: physical segregation of
the sexes, and the requirement for women to cover their bodies and conceal their form. Purdah exists in
various forms in the Islamic world and among Hindu women in those parts of India that were ruled by
Islamic invaders.
38 X 380a22 ve cmle siyh izr harr brnrler, cmlesinin gleri menkl ve gerdenleri tavkl ve kollar ve pylar

halhll l u l ve harr gmlekli bintn- shib-synlar vardr, bazlar kahvehnelerde rakkslk edp gavzlik
ederler, ayb deildir; amm ehl-i perde havtnleri bakadr, anlar cuma gn mezrstndan gayr yere gitrmezler.
39 VI 69a1 bu diyrda sz u sz ve ay u iret, atmak dutmak ve asmak ve basmak ve kesmek ayb deildir, amm

zemmm u nemmm ve kaddh u fassl ve dehhl u lefff demleri ve tirykleri sevmezler ve selm verp konumazlar.
40 VI 46b25 bu erkezistn Abazistn'da hrszlk bahdrlkdr, ayb deil gyet memdhdur; VIII 191b13 bu

diyrda hrszlk ayb deildir, yiitlikdir dey hrsz olana kz verirler.

41 VIII 355a14 355b5 elbette her diyr halknn birer gne yn i kadmleri vardr [. . .] Dier yn i bed-kr kavm i

Ergiri: bunlar dnlerde ve rz Hzr'da ve nevrz Hrezmhde ve Ksm gnlerinde ve Sar Saltk gnlerinde ve
ydeynlerde cmle zer-ender-zere mstarak olup lal-gn bdeleri n edp cemi pene i fitb dilbernlar ile klar el ele
verp yn i kfir gibi ku kuca olup horos depp kuak kuaa yapup hora depme sem ederler; bu dahi bir bed-
snnetdir kim yn-i ke[fe]redir, amm byle gre gelmiler, bun dahi ayblamazz. Cf. An Ottoman Mentality, 72-73.
42 Herodotus, II, 35.
43 X 64a13 Msr'n ayn [u] erf ve cmle nisvn shib-synlar har svrdrlar, eyle fris'l-hmrdrlar kim

zbekiyye ve Salbiyye ve Eski Msr ve Bulak'a ve Kaytbay'a varnca avretler zahrek hek diyerek cirid oynayarak
gm rahtl ve katfe abyili alaca hnnl eeklerle gezmek ayb deildir. Zr Msr'n kay ve peremeleri cmle
eekdir. Cf. 178b17-19.
44 X 130a1-15 . . . bu gnlerde asl ayb deildir. The instruments listed are eng, tanbr, santr, rebb, ney,

musikr, rty, knn, mehterhne, sde cura zurna, nefr, nakare.

45 X 242a27 242b8 . . . Msrda gyet okdur ve ayb deildir. . . . Cf. Gary Leiser and Michael Dols Evliya

Chelebis Description of Medicine in Seventeenth-Century Egypt, I- II, Sudhoffs Archiv 71.2 (1987), 197-
216; 72.l (1988), 49-68; Part I, 205-06 (safr misread as sugara).
46 X 162b9 ol diyrda timsh ile cim eylemek ve timsh katl edp derilerin kapularna mhlamak ayb deildir ve

yigitlikdir.
47 Cf. An Ottoman Mentality, Ch. 5.
48 X 162a16 162b8 lem i fetlmda Nl'de benim bir timshm var idi, dii idi. Ol asrda ebeke ile balk sayd

edp kifflanrdm. Baz iri balklar sayd edp baka kordum. Bir gn bu timsh inverlik ederek ubr etdi, amm
gyet mzeyyin mahbb timsh idi. Hemn sayd etdiim semekelerden bir kann balarn zp bu timsha atdm, ekl
etdi ve gitdi. Netce i kelm birka gn bu hl zre gidp geldi, her gn bu gne balk verirdim.
Bir gn karaya b-pk [] b-perv kup reftr ederek kuyruun kaldrarak srt stne yatd. Benim
htrmdadr kim bizim Arab tifesi timsh ile cim eder. Hemn ben dahi etek der-meyn edp bir kerre vardm. Saf
y htrmdan aklm bamdan gitdi. Badehu elime nobutu alup timshn arkas ile kum mbeynine nobutu sokup bir
cnibe durdum. Oynayarak gidp bana bakarak Nle girp ol kadar oynad kim divne old.
sene kmil bununla geindim. Cmle elll'de olan aretim bilirlerdi. Bir gn ben varmasam beni arard,
amm sir timshlar havfinden Nl kenrna varamaz oldum. Her br bu benim timshm Nl kenrna gelse zebt gibi
bir ryiha i tayyibeli bir ya Nl kenrna yaylrd. Alup bir saksya doldurup onar gurua yla dak satardm.
Hikmet i Hud bir gn Nl cezrelerinden bir cezreye vardm. Hemn benim timshm ardm sra gelp
cezreye kd ve biraz gezp yuvarland ve cn teslm etdi. An grdm, karanlk olup yine f'l-hl zulemt gidp benim
timshmn ba ve gevdesi bir pene i fitb kz ehresi kim aklm gitdi. Amm ayaklar ve ferci yine timsh ferci idi.
Meer Knz Urbn eyhinin kz olduu sbit olup sihrile timsh olup bi-emri Hud hlet i nezde sihir btl olup yine
ke'l-evvel hilkati zre rh teslm edp cmle halk ile ol cezrede defn etdik.
49 See my Glossary, s.v. hty. Cf. Evliya elebi Seyahatnamesi Okuma Szl (Istanbul, 2008), p. 125.
50 X 161b25 162a Bu timsh ei ile cezrelere kup cim murd edindikde diisin arkas zerine yatrup cim

ederken baz Arab tifesi belsovuklu marazna mbtel olup ann defiyn yhd nefs i emmresiyn mezkr herf
kendyi riml ve engelistn iinde pinhn edp dahi timsh cim etmeden diisi arkas zre yatrken herf kemnghdan
zhir olup bir nara haykrnca timshn erkei firr edp kendyi Nle atup hals olur. Lkin diisi arkas zre kaskat

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kalr, gy kaplbaa gibi kalr, asl harekete iktidr olmaz. Zr elleri ksackdr, mahreti suda kuyruyla ve
azyladr. T ki erkei cim edp diisin srt stnden dndrmeyince hli zre kalr ve k ayaklarndan aa ferci
kalr. Cim murd edinen meln timshn k ayaklarn kum ile rter ve kuyru zre dahi hayli kum yar, badehu
havf [u] hayetsiz fil i ena mberet eder, nez billh.
Amm cimndan lezzet alan fal i lan yemn edp bikr i nkfte cimndan lezzdir, dey medh edp
gyet iddet-i hr vardr ve her cim bikriyyet zredir, al kan nzil olurdu, der. Ve cim edenin bir hafta avret yerinde
misk ryihas demin demn muattar edp bir hafta zil olmaz. Ve ferci cevr i Habee ferci gibi beyz hty fercdir,
derler. Ve gerekdir: Circe hkimi zbek Be'e birin getirdiler, dii idi, hemn tahrr etdiimiz gibi bir mdevver ksam
var idi.
51 X 162a15 bir eyh-i kebr ve felegin germ [] serdin ekmi yrndan bir slih kimesne idi.
52 Cf. The Girl Who Gave Birth to an Elephant (An Ottoman Mentality, 173-75); Robert Dankoff and

Semih Tezcan, Seyahat-nameden Bir Atasz, Trk Dilleri Aratrmalar 8 (1998), 15-28.
53 X 162b14 ve bu diyr halknn timsh ile cim etmelerinin asl oldur kim ekseriyy belleri gevekdir, sk sk

belsovuklgna mbteldr, an def in cim edp . . . hals olurlar; bazs timsh cim etmegi irtikb etmeyp siyh
Habee criye vata edp hals olur; Habeenin dahi ol kadar iddet-i harreti olup cezzb oldugundan vcd- insnda
men ve gayr eydan bir ey komayup cezb eder.
54 Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt Undertaken by Order of the Old Government of France. Trans. Henry Hunter. 3

vols. London: 1799), vol. 3, p. 259.

55 The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night. (10 vols., 1885), vol. 4, p. 299.
56 Cf. An Ottoman Mentality, 196ff.
57 IX 250a3-4 (cf. An Ottoman Mentality, 128-29), II 358b12 (cf. An Ottoman Mentality, 207). And see n. 15

above.
58 E.g. IV 208b11 Diyarbekir; 257b20-22 Van; VIII 267b28 Navarino; X 347b18 Damietta.
59 VII 140b33 ehl i rz htnlar bzr hammmna gitmezler ve sokaa dahi kmazlar, gyet aybdr.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Andrews, Walter G. and Mehmet Kalpakl. The Age of Beloveds: Love and the Beloved in Early-Modern Ottoman
and European Culture and Society. Durham: Duke University Press, 2005.
Dankoff, Robert. An Ottoman Mentality: The World of Evliya elebi. Leiden: Brill, 2004.
. Evliya elebi Seyahatnamesi Okuma Szl. Trans. and Contributed. Semih Tezcan. Istanbul: Yap
Kredi Yaynlar, 2008.
and Semih Tezcan. Seyahatnameden Bir Atasz. Trk Dilleri Aratrmalar 8 (1998).
. The Intimate Life of an Ottoman Statesman: Melek Ahmed Paa (1588-1662). Albany, New York: State
University of New York Press, 1991.
Leiser, Gary and Michael Dols. Evliya Chelebis Description of Medicine in Seventeenth-Century Egypt,
I-II. Sudhoffs Archiv. 71.2 (1987): 197-216.
Sonnini, Charles Sigisbert. Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt Undertaken by Order of the Old
Government of France. Trans. Henry Hunter. 10 vols. London: 1885.

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