(Cephalus), the Kalkán-balighí (Rhombus), which if eaten by women
renders them prolific; the fish called Kiziljeh-tekerbálik, with a red
head and delicious to taste; the gold fish, the Sgombro which is taken
in the season Erbain (forty days). But the most precious of all, which
frequently causes bloody strifes and quarrels in the Market-place, is
the Khamsí-bálighí taken in the season of Khamsan, (the fifty days when
southerly winds blow); these fish were formerly thrown on the shore at
Trebisonde by virtue of a talisman erected, as is said, by Alexander,
before the gate of the town, representing a fish of this kind in brass
on a column of stone; but on the birth-night of the prophet, when all
talismans lost their power, the same happened to this at Trebisonde;
thus the fish are no longer thrown on the shore, but the sea abounds
with them during the said fifty days. At this season boats loaded
with these fish arrive in the harbour, and the dealers in fish cry
them in a peculiar manner, at the same time sounding a kind of horn
or trumpet; as soon as this sound is heard, the whole town is in an
uproar, and people who hear it, even when at prayer, instantly cease,
and run like madmen after it. It is a shining white fish of a span’s
length, and is an aphrodisiac of extraordinary potency; strengthening
and easy of digestion, does not smell like fish, creates no fever in
those who eat it, and also cures sore mouths. If the head of this fish,
Khamsí-bálighí, pronounced Khápsi-bálighí, is burnt, serpents and other
venomous reptiles are killed by the smoke. The people use it during
forty days in all their dishes, to which it gives a peculiar flavour,
it is thus used with yakhní, roasts, pies, and baklava (mixed pies),
a dish called pílegí is made of it in the following manner, the fish
is first cleaned, then cut into slices on which is laid parsley and
celery, then another layer of fish, the best oil is then poured on it,
and it is cooked over the fire for one hour, it thus becomes quite a
luminous dish, which may be said to illuminate those who eat it. But
however this fish may be dressed and eaten, it is extremely useful to
the stomach and the eyes, and is a dish of friendship and love. God the
Almighty has blessed this town with all kinds of rare trees, including
box, cypress, and Turkish nut. It is wonderful that in the mountains
of Erzerúm, situated a great deal further to the south, all is winter
and storm, while here are roses, syringas, lemons, oranges, and other
sweet fruits. The winter and the air is mild, and the nature of the
people partakes of this happy equality of the seasons; they are kind
to strangers, but the Greeks and the Lezgians, the Chichú and Chifta
are extremely troublesome people; the language of the Lezgís cannot
be written or expressed in Turkish orthography; they have a peculiar
dialect, which even the inhabitants of Trebisonde do not understand
without an interpreter; they are for the most part boatmen, who
navigate the river Chorúgh to Mingrelia, carrying boxwood and slaves,
with which they trade to the harbour of Trebisonde, one of the best of
anchoring grounds and ports; it is open to the west, and looks towards
the harbour of Kaffa in Crimea, three hundred miles distance.
_Walks of Trebisonde._
On the place of Kawák outside of the gate of Za’anús, the Páshás play
jeríd with their troops on days of recreation. Three masts are erected
in the centre, one of them having a golden top which is shot at by
arrows. There have been no Jews at Trebisonde since the time of Sultán
Selím, who was governor of the town, the following circumstance was
the cause; a Dervish discovered on a piece of leather (saffian), that
was handed about for sale, an inscription, written in a way not to be
observed by every body, which implored the assistance of all righteous
Moslims, to deliver two innocent Moslim youths tyrannically shut up
in the Jewish tanneries. The Dervish having explained the inscription
to Prince Selím, a general search of all the Jewish tanneries took
place by an armed force, when not only the two brothers, lost many
years before, but many other Moslim boys were found, on whose backs
the Jewish tanners had worked in tanning their skins. This discovery
occasioned a general slaughter and banishment of the Jews, none of whom
have since dared to show their faces at Trebisonde, the inhabitants of
which town are a religious and devout people.
_Praise of the River Khosh-oghlán._
It rises in the province of Erzerúm, in the southern part of the
District Kerkdeh, from the mountain called Yailak-mesjidí, and after
supplying water to many gardens, passes on the right side of Trebisonde
into the sea. On the mountain whence it issues, stands a castle built
by one Khosh-oglán of the Chobanián family, but the mountain itself is
called Agháj-bashtághí by the inhabitants; it is passed on the way from
this town to Baiburd by a gate.
_Visit to the Monuments of Sultáns and Saints._
The mother of Selím I. is buried before the gate of Za’anús beneath
a high cupola, ninety men are appointed there to be monument-keepers
and readers of the Koran, which is read through three times a day.
She was a pious lady, a second Rabia Adúyeh. The cupola is covered
with lead as well as the mosque near the monument. God’s mercy upon
her! I remained three months at Erzerúm making the acquaintance of all
learned and distinguished men, and then accompanied Hossein-aghá, the
kiaya of Ketánjí Omer Páshá, who set out with presents on an embassy to
Mingrelia.
JOURNEY TO GEORGIA AND MINGRELIA.
We embarked in Lezgian boats with an escort of two hundred men, and,
trusting in the Lord, sailed from the harbour of Trebisonde to the
north. The station of Menzil Degermen Deressí is near Trebisonde, and
is a large harbour. From thence we sailed northward to Shána where
there is a harbour called Rútha. The forests are principally hazel,
the nuts of which are everywhere famous. At the end of some miles
from this place we arrived at the castle of Súrmena, built by the
infidel Greeks, and conquered by Mohammed II. from whom it was taken by
Hersek-oghlí; there is a Súbashí, a judge with an income of one hundred
and fifty aspers, a Dizdár and a garrison; it has an excellent harbour
sheltered against the wind from all quarters except the north-west,
but when the wind blows from that quarter three or four anchors are
required to enable ships to ride in safety. The district of Mahnúz
consists of sixty villages belonging to Trebisonde, the whole mountain
is covered with box-trees, the wood of which is made into handles for
spoons. There is the large village Kalipravúlí, whose inhabitants are
all Chíchú, and the large place of Khobán on the seashore, surrounded
with gardens; the inhabitants of which are Lezgians. The strong town
of Konia in the sanjak Batúm belonging to Trebisonde has thirteen
ziámets and seventy-two timárs, the militia is ruled by a Cherí-bashí
and Alaï-Beg, who in war time commands eight hundred men, three
hundred are the Páshá’s private troop; the garrison of the fortresses
on the frontier consist of a Dizdár and five hundred men. The judge
has a salary of one hundred and fifty aspers, but his revenues are
_in partibus_, because the inhabitants are all Chíchú Lezgís, who can
only be controlled at the point of the lance. The revenues of the
judge may amount to one thousand, those of the Beg to seven thousand
piastres; the castle originally built by the Infidels, stands on a high
square hill, it was conquered by Mohammed II. and has been many times
plundered by the Cossacks. The houses are faced with brick, as are also
the mosque and kháns. It lies on the river Júrúgh, the spelling of
this word is corrupted from Júí-rúh, which rises in the mountains of
Jánkha-Kawilí-hissár and Shín-kara on the west side of Erzerúm, passes
through Baiburd, waters the country of the Lezgians, and enters the
Black Sea near the castle of Konia.
It has neither ferry nor bridge, but is a river like a sea, covered
with many thousand Lezgian boats, trading on this river to Mingrelia
with salt, iron, and different sorts of linen, and bringing box,
wax, honey, with slaves of both sexes, from Mingrelia and Georgia to
Trebisonde. From Konia we advanced to the north, and only disembarked
at the place Kemerler, then entered the river Júrúgh, and sailed
eastward for one day.
_Description of Mingrelia._
The sanjak of Konia ends at Khánedá the frontier of the tribe Ada Khosh
of Mingrelia. The mountains are covered with box, and the gardens are
planted with box-trees. We slept one night in the village of the Beg,
who did every thing to treat us kindly. We saw more than seventy
Mingrelian villages, each one like a town, and then returned to Konia;
our companions went back to Trebisonde, but I was commanded to go with
the company of the Zenberekjí-báshí of Konia to the siege of Assov.
JOURNEY TO AZAK (ASSOV) 1050.
We embarked with three hundred fusileers of the janissaries, and
five rowing boys of my own, in ten Lezgian barks called Munkesileh.
These boats are made of the large plane-trees growing on the river
Júrúgh, and consist of three planks, two of which form the sides, and
the third forms the bottom; the sides are lined with reed twice as
thick as a man’s wrist; this lining of reed keeps them afloat in the
storms of the Black Sea, and they swim like sponges; they have neither
stern nor forecastle, but are equal on both sides, and are called
Munkesileh. On these boats I left Konia with a good wind, passed the
river Júrúgh and arrived at the harbour Sofárí on the frontier of
Mingrelia. The landing-place (iskele) of Khandra has no port (limán).
The landing-place Súri has an old ruined port. The landing-place
Yarissa is a ruined castle where goats are now kept. The landing-place
Raijeh is without a port, but has an old ruined castle. These five
landing-places are all on the frontiers of Mingrelia, they are only
visited in the summer time by the merchants who carry on the slave
trade. The mountains are inhabited by forty or fifty thousand warlike
Mingrelians. We passed the said five landing places, and came next day,
at a hundred miles distance from Konia, to the great river Fáshechai
(Phasus). The Fásha (Phasus) is a great river like the Danube, in some
places a mile, in others but half a mile broad, and from eight to ten
fathoms deep, fresh as the spring of life; it disembogues in a gulf
at the north end of the Black Sea, one thousand three hundred miles
from Constantinople. It rises between Mingrelia, Georgia, Thágistán,
Kabartaí, and Circassia, from Mount Caucasus (Kúhal-burz), Ubúr, and
Sadasha, and passes between Mingrelia and Abáza into the Black Sea. On
the east side are the Mingrelian villages, on the west the Abáza; and
both shores being covered with thick forests, the two people mutually
steal their children of both sexes and sell them as slaves. We passed
the Phasus, marching to the west, and for a whole day went along the
shore of the Black Sea.
_Description of the Land of the Abáza._
It forms the northern shore of the Black Sea, begins at the mouth of
the Phasus, and ends at the castle of Anapa near the island of Tamán.
The following tradition is related of the origin of Abáza. According to
the most authentic historians Adam was created in Paradise in the true
Tátár form, and having after his exile met Eva on mount A’arafát, they
begat forty thousand children all in the form of Tátárs. Adam having
spoken Arabic in Paradise, forgot it when on earth, and began to speak
Hebrew, Syrian, Dehkilí (?) and Persian, which languages were spoken
till the deluge, after which mankind divided into seventy-two nations
and as many languages. The first who invented new languages was Edrís
(Enoch) who first wrote and bound books, and hid them in the pyramids,
whence they were taken out after the deluge by the philosophers, who by
this means multiplied the languages to the number of one hundred and
forty-seven. Ismail retrieved the Arabic and Persian originally spoken
in Paradise, and Esau brought forward the Turkish as the language of
Tátárs; the people belonging to them are:—the Hind, Sind, Moghání,
Kurds, Múltáns, Baniáns, and twelve nations of fire worshippers,
with as many languages; the Noghaí, Heshdek, Lipka, Chagataí, Lezgí,
Georgians, Mingrelians, Shúrshád, Dadián, Ajikbásh, Armenians, Greeks,
Turcomans, Copts, and Israelites or Jews. The Franks divided into
Spaniards, French, Genoese, Portuguese, Venetians, Tuscans, Servians,
Bulgarians, Croats, Italians, &c. Four children of Menúchehr, the old
Persian king, having fled towards Erla (Agra), and being asked who
they were, answered, “we are four” (Men chár is) which being corrupted
remained the name of their descendants, Majár. Of the Arabs forty
tribes first settled in Egypt, such as the Mogrebí, Fess, Merakesh,
Afenú, Maibornú, Jíchel Khán, Aswán, Súdání, Fúnjí, Kara-mánkí,
Bogháskí, Múnjí, Berbers, Nubians, Zenjí, Habeshí, Gulapshí, Alewí,
Rompí, the Arabs of Yemen, Baghdád, Mekka, Medina, Badiah, and Ommán.
All the Arabic tribes amount to three thousand and sixty; some say
more. The principal, most noble and eloquent of them, is the tribe
Koreish Hashemí of which the Prophet was born, for whose sake God
created time and space, and who is entitled the Lord of Arabs and
Persians.
But to return after this digression to the origin of the Abáza; it is
related by authentic histories that in the year 25 of the Hejíra, in
the Calífat of Omár, there was an Arab called Basha Melek who then
ruled Yathreb, Batha, Aden and Saba, and had five sons; the first was
called Jebel-ul-himmet; the second Arab; the third Kisú who had three
sons named Kais, Meválí, and Taí; the fourth Lazkí; and the fifth
Abází. After the father’s death, the principality of the tribe devolved
on the eldest son Jebel-ul-himmet, who, having by accident, knocked
out the eye of an Arab was sentenced by Omar to lose one of his own.
Jebel-ul-himmet on the same night took with him his four brethren,
and sought refuge at Antiochia, with the Emperor Heraclius, who gave
him the mountains of Syrian Tripolis. He there built the town of
Jebellieh which still bears that name. Having undertaken some predatory
excursions from thence towards Damascus and Medina, Kháled Ben Welíd
and Eswed Ben Mokdád overpowering him with their forces, obliged him to
fly. He embarked and went to Albania, where he took up his residence
in the mountains of Avlonia, the inhabitants of which are now called
the Koreishite Albanians: their songs have Arabic tunes, and they
derive their origin from Jebel-ul-himmet, who is buried near Ilbessán.
His descendants became apostates, and dwell in the mountains of Dúkat
(Ducato) between Avlonia and Delonia. They are of a tawny colour like
the Arabs, and hairy. So far of Jebel-ul-himmet. His brother Arab,
and his three nephews Kais, Taí, and Meválí were carried by Kháled
Ben Welid prisoners to Hedjáz, where Kais and Taí became masters of
the tribes that bear their names. Arab their uncle became master of
Ommán, their father Kisú and his two brethren Lazkí and Abází fled
from Kháled Ben Welid, first came to Konia and then to Constantinople,
where having heard, that Moavia the son of Ebí Sofián was approaching
Constantinople, he sought shelter at Trebisonde. Here the banks of
the river Júrúgh within the castle of Konia was assigned to the
Lazkis (Lezgís) who are also of Arabic descent. To the brother Kisú
was assigned the Circassian mountains, who, therefore, as well as the
Lezgís boast of being Koreishites. Abazí got the country which actually
bears his name, and thus the Circassians, Lezgís, Abáza, Albanians, the
Arabic tribes of Taí, and Kais are all branches of the Koreish family.
So God populated the earth, God does what he likes, and commands what
he pleases! The principal tribe in Abáza are the Chách, who speak
Mingrelian, which is spoken on the opposite shore of the Phasus; they
are warlike men, in number about ten thousand, who follow more than one
religion, and are an unruly set of people. Their mountains are very
fruitful, particularly in nuts, hazel-nuts, and apricots; they bear the
same arms as the Arabs, arrows, bows and lances, have few horsemen,
but valorous footmen. Their harbour Lákia lies two journies to the
west, three hundred miles from Trebisonde, but, on account of the
heavy southerly and easterly gales, no ship can pass the winter there.
Further to the west on the seashore is the village Khafál the frontier
of the tribe Arlán, consisting of ten thousand warlike men; their
harbour is called Láchigha; we remained here a night; it is a pleasant
harbour both in winter and summer. We travelled two journies further to
the west to the frontier of the tribe Chánda, fifteen hundred valiant
men, true Abázas, they are called the mountain Chándas, and their
harbour Kakúr. The village Kháke, near it, surrounded with gardens,
faces the sea. Three journies beyond, by the seashore, are the great
Chándas, twenty-five villages, fifteen thousand men; their harbour
is called Chándalar, but it gives no shelter in winter. Behind these
mountains is the land of the Mamshúkh Circassians. From the Chándas we
marched a day’s journey towards the west, by the seacoast, and came to
the tribe Kechilar; their country is like a paradise; it consists of
seventy-five villages which furnish two thousand marksmen; its waters
are pleasant. The great river Pessú flows from the Caucasus, and goes
into the Black Sea; it is a fresh stream, which affords no ferry in
summer, but is a safe shelter for ships in winter. Both shores are laid
out in gardens by the people of Kechilar, who may bring ten thousand
men into the field, the greater part horsemen. They are a very rich and
rapacious people. We remained guests in the village Háka in the house
of an Abáza, called Zeperaha, the janissaries our companions made an
entertainment of ten sheep, on which we feasted, and then proceeded two
journies westward to the tribe of Árt, who are more numerous than the
Kechilar, but they are neither so brave nor so rapacious, most of them
are merchants trading in fur. They feed a great number of swine. They
know neither religious book nor sect, but keep their word; their number
amounts to thirty thousand. Their Beg accompanied by from forty to
fifty armed Abáza brought us twenty sheep and three roes, as a present
to welcome us; he wore a coat called Kilchaklí-gebe-chekmání, carried
a bow and arrows in his hand, and wore a sword; he was a stout young
fellow. All his servants wore long hair like himself. The landing-place
of this tribe is called Ártlar; we passed a night there as guests;
it is an open place, ships therefore cannot lie there in the winter.
Another landing-place is called Liúsh, where ships lie for six months.
To the north, in the midst of mountains, is Sadsha, the land belonging
to Sídí Ahmed Páshá; the inhabitants speak well the language of both
the Abáza and the Circassians; to the latter their country adjoins,
they are seven thousand brave stout men. The Abáza and Circassians
are continually on their guard, but keep up good intelligence by
trading together to the landing-place at Árt with slaves and wax. The
Circassians (Takakú) also come in ships, and trade in safety. We went
three stations further to the west, along the sea-coast, through a
woody tract, with high mountains, between which are many cultivated
villages, to the tribe of Kámish, ten thousand brave men; they defeated
the tribe of A’rt many times, and took their Begs prisoners, because
these Abázas steal each other’s children, and a man who does not steal
and plunder is thought to be bad company, so that they give him not
their daughters in marriage. In these mountains of Kámish swine are
fed to the size of asses; the landing-place is not much frequented on
account of the riotous character of the people. Among these people
of Kámish the children of the Abáza are sent from Constantinople and
Cairo; they have a Mesjíd, the air is pleasant, the villages all face
the Kiblah and the south. The market is held at the landing-place.
Three stations further to the west we came to the tribe of Sújalar, ten
thousand brave men; the ground being very rocky there are few houses.
There is a landing place, but I do not know its name. We remained as
guests one night in the village of Hádeka. As there happened to be a
wedding, they feasted us with a great many dishes, fine girls and boys
waited on us, and the next day the Aghá of Konia, our companion, gave
to the master of the house a turban, which was valued as much as though
it had been a crown, because having neither market, nor khán, nor bath,
nor church, they know nothing of cultivated manners. Their villages of
from forty to fifty houses are situated in the mountains. Ships of all
countries bring powder, lead, muskets, arrows, bows, swords, shields,
lances and other weapons, old shoes, borders of cloth, linen, bogassin,
kettles, hooks, salt, soap and similar articles, and take in exchange,
without using money, slaves, butter, wax and honey. From the Súchas we
went further on two stations to the west, along the seashore, to the
tribe of Dembe, who furnish two thousand armed men. We remained three
days at their landing-place and exchanged our old cloth for slave girls
and boys. I myself bought an Abáza boy. The fourth day we marched two
journies to the west to the tribe of Bozdúk, the Beg of which commands
seven thousand men. We found at their landing-place ten ships from
Constantinople and many of our friends, the meeting with whom was a
great treat to us. Mengelí-geraí Khán led three thousand men of the
Bozdúk to the war of Astrachan, which being ended he gave them a Yúrd
(Camp) in the Circassian mountains of Obúr where they remained. They
are a brave people speaking the Abáza and Circassian language. The
Bozdúk of Abáza and Circassia are separated by Mount Obúr; the distance
between them is three stations. They mutually steal each others
children and sell them. Two journies further along the seacoast is the
old ruined castle of Osowísh, where we passed a night as guests. The
inhabitants make bows and arrows; the Beg has three thousand men in his
service, who carry muskets; the landing-place of the castle is called
Gírmen Sowísh. Bears, swine, foxes, jackals, and woodcocks are found in
great numbers in the mountains. These Abáza people have a strange mode
of burying their Begs; they put the body into a wooden coffin, which
they nail on to the branches of some high tree and make a hole in the
coffin near the head, that the Beg, as they say, may look up to Heaven:
bees enter the coffin and make honey, entirely wrapping the body up
in it; when the season comes they open the coffin, take the honey and
sell it, much caution, therefore, is required to be used in purchasing
the honey of the Abázas. We here bought some more slave boys, and went
two journies towards the west to the tribe of Ashagalí, whose Begs can
bring two thousand brave men into the field, but they are all thieves,
and dreaded by the Abázas themselves. There is also a ruined castle
here, the landing-place of which is called Ashagalí, much frequented
by the ships of Kaffa and Tamán, but they cannot remain here in the
winter. One journey further to the west, is the village of A’atima
belonging to the Ashaghlís; there are amongst them many Mussulmáns of
the Abáza of Top-khánah. From hence Circassia is distant but a day’s
journey. Two journies further is the tribe of Súksú, their Begs command
three thousand armed men; they have horses of high breeding. The
landing-place is Hárdena. The river called Súk has no ferry, it issues
from the mountains of Circassia and flows into the Black Sea; there
are some wealthy persons amongst them. Two journies further on is the
tribe of Kútassí, whose Begs command seven thousand armed men. They
have magazines covered with mats. In the port a great number of ships
from Kaffa and Tamán are found. We met some acquaintances here from the
Crimea, the horsemen of which country are in continual intercourse with
Circassia. On account of the facility of communication the people are
wealthy; they also sow corn, the rest of the Abáza sow millet, which
multiplies a hundred fold. The houses of the Kútassí are covered with
reed; a cluster of ten houses is called a Kabák, the four sides are
circumvallated like a castle, and their dogs watch like lions around
it, they are obliged to do so, as all their dwellings are in the woods,
and each village is afraid of the other. The Kútassí are bounded by
the Shána Circassians; they are only separated by a mountain, which is
a day’s journey across; they speak the Circassian language. Thus the
country of the Abázas extends from the Phasus along the seacoast forty
days journey in length, and in breadth from five days journey down to
one, as is the case in the distance between the Kútassí Abáza and the
Shána Circassians. These forty days journey are marked by forty large
rivers, which issue from the mountains situated between the Abáza
and Circassians, and run into the Black Sea. Altogether seventy high
mountains, with two thousand villages, of which I know nothing, as
I did not visit them. Within this country are some hundred thousand
men, without law or religion, who, however, if you call them infidels
will kill you, and if you call them Moslims are delighted, but if they
become real Moslims, they are very good ones. They are a wild roving
people descending from the Arabs, Koreishites, from Abáza.
The tribes of Abáza in the mountains are the Posúkhí, seven thousand
turbulent men; Akhchissí, ten thousand men; Besleb, seven thousand
five hundred brave people; Mukellebeh, thirty thousand men; Waipígha,
one thousand men; Jághras, eight hundred weak men; Ala Koreish, five
hundred men; Chíchakores, three thousand men; Mácha, two thousand men;
and Páncháresh, four thousand men; these ten turbulent tribes never
mix with the Abázas of the coast. The bravest and best of them are
the Sadasha. On the coast and in the mountains there are altogether
twenty-five tribes.
_Specimen of the Abáza Language._
One, _if_; two, _weba_; three, _ikhba_; four, _beshna_; five, _khoba_;
six, _fiba_; seven, _bezba_; eight, _aba_; nine, _sheba_; ten, _zoba_;
eleven, _akzoba_; twelve, _webazoba_. Come, _wai_; go, _úchi_; seat,
_otúi_; get up, _okil_; don’t go, _omchin_; boy, _arísh_; I go,
_sicháb_; wife, _abharesh_; I don’t go, _sikiján_; why, _úzú_.
_Specimen of the Sadasha Abáza._
One, _weh_; two, _toka_; three, _sitte_; four, _pali_; five, _ashú_;
six, _korn_; seven, _ipli_; eight, _ogha_; nine, _ipfi_; ten, _zú_;
eleven, _wehzú_; twelve, _tokazú_. Bread, _sakha_; meat, _gha_; water,
_beri_; cheese, _feh_; curd, _chehwáh_; pear, _kha_; raisin, _mosú_;
figs, _lakhmak_; chesnuts, _akshú_; salt, _laka_; seat, _otúz_; get up,
_odeto_; don’t go, _omke_; I go, _síkú_; where do you go, _síoken_; I
am busy, I go, _súwú_ _shakagh síkú_; bring a girl, _zinje doko_; I
found no girl, but a boy, _zinje dokalmet zeni okhad_, &c.