Evliya Çelebi

25 March 1611 – c. 1682

Evliya Çelebi (1611-c. 1682) was an Ottoman explorer and writer who travelled through the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands for over forty years. His ten-volume travelogue, the Seyahatname ('Book of Travel'), is one of the most important sources for the geography, culture, and daily life of the seventeenth-century Ottoman world.

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Life events

Born in Istanbul
25 March 1611

Evliya Çelebi was born in the Unkapanı district of Istanbul; his father was chief goldsmith to the Ottoman court.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Educated at court and trained as a Quran reciter
c. 1635

Evliya received a palace education, studied Quranic recitation and music, and was presented to Sultan Murad IV, entering palace service.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Began his travels by exploring Istanbul and its surroundings
1640

Evliya started the journeys recorded in the Seyahatname by systematically describing Istanbul, its guilds, and its monuments, which fill the first volume.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Travelled across Anatolia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans in official service
c. 1640 – c. 1670

Attached to the retinues of Ottoman governors and commanders, including his kinsman Melek Ahmed Pasha, Evliya journeyed through much of the empire on diplomatic and military missions.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Accompanied the Ottoman embassy to Vienna
1665

After the Battle of St. Gotthard, Evliya travelled with Kara Mehmed Pasha's embassy to Vienna, leaving a colorful account of the Habsburg capital.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Made the pilgrimage to Mecca
1671

Evliya performed the hajj, travelling through Syria and the Hejaz, a journey described in the ninth volume of the Seyahatname.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Settled in Cairo
c. 1672

After decades of travel, Evliya settled in Egypt, which he described in the tenth volume, and spent his final years in Cairo compiling the Seyahatname.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Completed the ten-volume Seyahatname
c. 1680

In Cairo Evliya assembled his life's work, a ten-volume travel account covering the Ottoman lands and beyond, blending observation, statistics, and anecdote.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Died, probably in Cairo, at about age 71
c. 1682

Evliya Çelebi is believed to have died around 1682; the exact date and place are not recorded, though Cairo is most likely.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓