of the flight of the garrison from some prisoners he had taken, and
made the greatest possible haste to reach the fortress. He found it
empty, not only of men, but also of animals, neither dog, cat nor
mouse being seen; only one Genoese tower remained standing. The Tátár
Khán then sent the welcome news to Constantinople. On the eleventh day
some Russian spies coming from Constantinople were taken and brought
before the Tátár Khán. They confessed freely and openly, that there
were forty spies at the Port, who, having been aware of the immense
preparations of the Ottoman Army, had given notice to the garrison to
leave the Castle, and that arriving there themselves, they had fallen
into the hands of the Tátárs. These three spies were beheaded. On
the 13th day of this month the Ottoman army arrived with great pomp,
commanded by Chowán Kapújí-báshí Vezir Mohammed Páshá, and found the
fortress empty. They ascribed it at first to some infernal stratagem of
the Infidels, and waited three days, on the fourth day Moslim prayer
was proclaimed, and all the Moldavians and Valachians were commanded
to work on the foundations and to build them anew. They dug three days
till they came to springs of water; the ships were all busy carrying
stones from an old Convent in the island of Timúrlenk, and the work of
building was begun. In one month two towers were finished, stronger
than the former Genoese towers, and the histories of Crimea record the
date of its building and name of the builder. It was declared the seat
of a Sanjak Beg belonging to the government of Kaffa, a Begler-Beg was
left as commander with twenty regiments of Janissaries, six regiments
of artillerymen, ten regiments of armourers, seven thousand Tátárs,
seven Sanjak Begs, and twelve Alaï Begs, with twenty-six thousand
men; seventy large guns on the bulwarks, and three hundred small ones
on the border of the ditch. The complete repair and fitting out cost
the sum of five thousand purses. During its building the Tátárs made
seven inroads into Russia, and returned with from fifteen to twenty
thousand prisoners to the Ottoman camp, so that the prisoners were
sold for no more than ten piastres each. At last the King of the
Moscovites imploring pardon and crying out, Amán! Amán! (pardon O
Family of Osmán!) sent ambassadors to Constantinople. The building
being nearly finished, the Commander-in-Chief Mahommed Páshá returned
to Constantinople, and the rest of the army got permission to return
to their homes. I again followed the tribe of Mássúrlí, and came with
them to Crimea. We took our pleasure for twenty days in Bágcheseraï,
then got permission from the Khán to return to Constantinople, with
a present of a purse of piastres, three slaves, a sable pelisse, and
a caftán. The Kalgha Sultán and Núr-ud-dín Sultán (the two first
dignities of the Tátár court) and fourteen Aghás, gave me a slave
each, so that I had a number of slaves and four purses of money; to
these slaves I added the eighteen which I had acquired on my travels
from Trebisonde to Mingrelia and Abaza, took leave of the Khán and all
the great men, and mounted on the horses of the Kalgha-Sultán, began
my journey in company with some friends, who remained with me till
we arrived at Káchidere. There we parted, all my friends returned to
Bágcheseraï, and I continued my way to the south for the space of six
hours to Báliklava.
_Description of the Castle of Báliklava._
Prevented by warlike expeditions from visiting with leisure the
curiosities of Crimea, I dare not give a description of it; such is
also the case with the castle of Báliklava. Having embarked here with
three hundred persons on board of the Shaika of Úchelí Sefer Reis, I
slept on board, troubled by heavy dreams; on the next day I went on
shore, to do away the evil of the night by some alms, and next day
got clear of the port in an evil hour, succeeded, as the text of the
Korán says, by worse days. One day and one night we went straight
before the wind, and were then about the middle of the Black Sea. The
mountains of Báliklava and Súlúyár had disappeared, neither were those
of Sinope and Amassra to be seen, and we were tossed about without well
knowing where we were going to. All at once an easterly gale sprung up
with thundering clouds, at the appearance of which the boatmen changed
colour, and began to wring their hands; they looked at the compass,
and then on each other, and already made up their minds to lose their
souls. An old sailor said to them; “Lads (Dais!) don’t you see the
forerunners of a tempest, what are you afraid of? Lower the topmast
with the sail.” This they did, but the ship going too heavy, they
threw the bags, mats, casks and trunks that were on deck into the sea;
they stowed two hundred young prisoners below (Enbár) and closed the
hatches. Thus the ship was lightened, but still terribly tossed by the
effect of the currents. Verse:—
“If in the storm my bark drives on the strand,
What shall I do? none can the winds command.”
On the fourth of Safer of the year 1055, the storm began to buffet us
most unmercifully, nothing but thunder and lightning, hail and torrents
of rain pouring down on us for three days and nights. The sailors
exhausted by fatigue all crept into one corner of the ship. Of the
passengers, some were vomiting, some praying, some vowing victims and
sacrifices, some alms and pilgrimages. I, poor Evliyá, said: “Come,
Servants of God, come and pray with me the Súra Ikhláss (deliverance)
which God may be pleased to grant to us.” All having began to recite
this Súra fervently, the weather cleared up, the storm ceased, but
the tossing of the ship continued in a most dreadful manner; the ship
now touched the highest heavens, and now descended into the deepest
of hells. The waves of the Black Sea towered before us like the
perpendicular walls of Mount Bisútún. At last we opened the magazine
(Enbár) and threw all the heavy merchandize into the sea, but again to
no purpose. We saw that the rudder was going to break, and to prevent
this all the sailors united and began to cut with hatchets, first the
stays, then the mast, which in falling into the sea killed eleven men.
Until their bodies were thrown overboard, there was such a howling in
the ship, that every body despaired of life, and felt that he must give
up his soul. At this moment there again came a puff of wind (Sighinák)
which threatening to tear the ship asunder drove all the prisoners and
slaves crying and lamenting out of the magazine; some held together,
clasping one another, some stripped naked, and all endeavouring to
lay hold of a plank or a cask. I, poor Evlíyá, feeling myself in a
state of agitation continued to pray the Súra-Yass, and recommended
all my things to God by saying the verse: “I recommend my business to
God,” and that: “Who fears God shall find a place to walk out, and
shall find his lot provided, from whence he did not expect it; and who
trusts in God shall not be abandoned by him.” While repeating these
prayers I saw that some Infidels (prisoners) got hold of the launch,
and let it down by ropes, at the same time some other sailors were
throwing themselves on the other side, with planks, into the sea. I,
and seven of my companions watching the moment of the launch going down
threw ourselves into it; the Infidels instantly cut the ropes, and two
of them, attacked with a knife Ramazán Chelebí of Aintáb. My seven
companions immediately drew their swords against the eight Infidels
who had raised their hands against us, and killed four of them; the
four others throwing themselves into the sea from fright, we remained
masters of the launch. We threw all heavy luggage overboard, and the
launch being now light and tossed by the waves, I saw how the great
ship was cleft asunder from stem to stern, and three hundred and fifty
passengers, merchants, and four hundred slaves were spread over the
sea, some going to the bottom, some trying to be saved by swimming,
some on planks, and some trying to reach our boat, of whom we took in
the story-teller Emír Chelebí. When we laid hold of him, others came up
swimming, and we were soon convinced, that if we took them in we should
all go to the bottom together, we, therefore, sword in hand, kept off
all those who offered to lay hold of the launch. The wreck of the ship
had now disappeared with all the men, and while we continued tossing up
and down, our turbans heavy with the water, we perceived the Judge of
Menkúb, Alí Efendí, swimming like an angel of the Ocean. By the hand of
Divine power he was brought near our boat, and we took him in, so that
there were now ten of us in it. We continued to pray the Súra-Yass,
and drove on, baling out the water, and all despairing of life. Thus
we drove a day and night, all shivering with cold, naked and starved,
crying and lamenting. The story-teller and the judge were attacked by a
fit of apoplexy, we threw their corpses into the sea, and were reduced
as before to eight persons; but we had the misfortune to have a large
piece of timber twenty cubits length and one yard in breadth, which
drove along with the boat, touching it from time to time without our
being able to prevent it.
On the third day at noon a wave came which upset the boat, and I
fell head-foremost into the sea; being a good swimmer I worked with
all my strength, recommended myself to the Lord, to the intercession
of the Korán, and all the Saints, all the great and pious men I had
hitherto known on my travels, and by this kind of effort, keeping my
head clear, I swam undaunted. I saw that the large piece of timber,
which had before swam alongside our boat, was passing near to me, and
instantly laid hold of it, encircling it like a serpent. Driving in
this way, shivering and starved, all at once I heard a noise behind
me, and looking round I saw two Georgian boys, two Circassian girls
and a Russian slave, who had all laid hold of the long piece of timber
on which I was driving. I was much afraid that their weight would sink
the timber, and was just thinking how to get rid of my companions in
misfortune, when an empty cask driving by, the Russian slave wished to
get hold of it, and threw himself into the sea for that purpose, but
not being able to reach it he was drowned, and only the four slaves
remained. The storm was now completely clearing-up, the sea going down,
and the next day land coming in sight, we were thrown on the shore
exhausted and half-dead. I threw myself on the ground, to praise God
and to thank his infinite mercy, who having taken away from me eighteen
slaves acquired in my travels in Mingrelia and Abaza, again made me
a present of four slaves, two fine boys and two pretty girls. Being
thrown into an inlet of the rocks, some good people gave us dresses
to cover our nakedness, and hoisted us up the rocks which appeared to
pierce the skies. Having asked where I was, I was told that these were
the mountains of Kilghra in the sanjak of Silistra. Thus I had been
driven three days in the boat from the moment the ship went down, and
after the boat was upset, twenty-four hours on the timber, till I was
thrown on the shore at Kilghra, with the Dervishes of which place I
immediately began a devotional conversation, and occupied the cells,
which they assigned to me and my slaves.
_Description of the Convent of Kilghra Sultán._
This building is ascribed to Sárí Sáltik Sultán, who having been
ordained a Dervish in the town of Yassú by Ahmed Yassúí, came with
Hájí Begtásh and three hundred poor people to Sultán Orkhán, and was
sent after the conquest of Brússa into Russia and Poland, Bohemia and
Dobrúja. Hají Begtásh gave him a wooden sword, a carpet, a banner, a
drum, kettle-drum and trumpet. Kilghra Sultán with seventy disciples
spread the hide (on which they sat) upon the sea, and went, praying,
drums beating and banners flying, from Rúmelí to Crimea, and from
thence to the people of Heshdek in Moscovy and Lipka in Poland. At
Danzig he conversed with Svíty Nicola the patriarch, whose name is the
same as Sárí Sáltik whom he killed, adopted his habit, and by this
means converted many thousands to Islám. Thus he travelled many years
under the name of Sárí Sáltik, and being himself yellow-coloured (as
Sárí Sáltik was) he obtained from Ahmed Yassúí the name of the yellow
Beg. But his proper name is Mohammed Bokhara, and he settled afterwards
at Paravadí. The King of Dobrúja requested a miracle from Sárí Sáltik
in confirmation of his mission. There was then in Dobrúja a terrible
dragon, to which even the two daughters of the King were allotted as
food. Sárí Sáltik agreed to deliver the two girls, on condition that
they with their father would embrace Islám. He went to the column to
which they were tied as victims for the dragon, accompanied by his
seventy Dervishes, who were beating drums and swinging the banner;
untied the Princesses, and then waited with his wooden sword, expecting
the dragon himself, meanwhile the seventy Dervishes beat the drum. The
dragon coming near, Sárí Sáltik addressed it with the verse of the
Korán beginning;—“Greeting on Noe in both worlds,” and then cut off
three of his heads, so that the dragon fled with the remaining four.
Sárí Sáltik followed him up to his cave, at the entrance of which he
cut off the remainder with his wooden sword, and followed the dragon
into his den. The beheaded dragon began to struggle with the Saint and
to press him against the rock, which gave way so wonderfully as to
receive the Saint’s body, which place with the marks of his hands and
feet are still actually shewn. The dragon having exhausted his strength
fell to the ground dead, and the Saint, with his bloody breast and
bloody wooden sword, now led the two girls to their father the king.
Previous to their arrival a cursed monk, who had shewn to Sáltik Súltán
the road to the column, and picked up there the tongues and ears of the
three heads cut off, had laid them before the king, boasting that he
had killed the dragon. Now, though the daughters asserted the contrary,
yet the monk persisting in his boast, the Saint proposed as a proof,
to be boiled with the monk in a cauldron, and though the monk did not
like this kind of trial, yet by order of the king he was obliged to
undergo it. Sárí Sáltik was tied up by his Dervishes, and the monk by
his companions, and both put into a cauldron heated by an immense fire.
It was at this hour that Hájí Begtásh, who was then at Kírshehrí in
Anatolia swept with a handkerchief a dripping rock, saying: “My Sáltik
Mahomed is now in great anxiety, God assist him!” Ever since that day
salt-water has dropped from that rock, and from thence the salt called
Hájí Begtásh is produced. The place where this cauldron was heated is
shewn at the present day, and the mountain is called the mountain of
the cauldron Kazán Balkání. The cauldron being opened Sárí Sáltik was
found sweating and saying: “Ya Hayí, O all vivifying;” and of the monk
nothing remained but black coals and burnt bones. The King of Dobrúja
moved by this miracle, instantly embraced Islám, with seven thousand
of his subjects; he sent ambassadors to Sultán Orkhán, and received
from him in exchange, the appointment of a Judge, a tail and a banner.
His name was Alí Mokhtár. In the same year Sárí Sáltik made his will,
wherein he commanded seven coffins to be made, because seven kings were
to contend for his body after his death. This happened indeed as he
foretold, because being washed after death and put into the coffin,
seven kings claimed to have the true body, which was found in every
one of the seven coffins when opened. The seven kings who desired to
be possessed of the true body were the King of Muscovia, where Sárí
Sáltik is held in great veneration under the name of Svíty Nicola; the
King of Poland, where his tomb is much frequented at Danzig; the King
of Bohemia, where his coffin is shewn in the town of Pezzúnijah (?)
and in Sweden at Bívánjah (?). The fifth King was of Adrianople, where
his tomb is in the Convent of the town of Batúria which is now a large
place called Baba-eskissí, and is visited by those, who travel from
Constantinople to Adrianople. The sixth King was that of Moldavia, who
buried it in a shady place near the Castle of Bozák, where Báyazíd II.
after the conquest of Akkermán, built a mosque, an imáret, a college, a
bath, a khán and a monument for Sárí Sáltikdedeh; this town is called
Babatághí; a pleasant town all belonging to the endowments of Sárí
Sáltik. The seventh coffin was taken possession of by Alí Mokhtár the
converted King of Dobrúja, who buried it at Kilghra in the cave of the
Dragon, and hence he is called Kilghra Sultán; Kilghra signifies in
Latin a seven-headed dragon, it is the purest Latin. Of these seven
burial-places of this Saint, three are in the Ottoman Empire, from
which he is called Baba Sultán at Babatágh; Sárí Sáltik Sultán at
Baba-Eskissí; and here, Kilghra Sultán; in Christian countries he is
generally called St. Nicolas, is much revered and the Christian monks
ask alms under his auspices.
The Convent is situated on a cape which extends into the Black Sea like
the proboscis of an Elephant. The ships that sail from Constantinople
to Kara Khirmen, Kostenjí, and Kilí pass along these rocks of Kilghra
directly opposite to those of Sinope, and if the weather is clear, are
mutually seen from both shores. The cave in which Sárí Sáltik killed
the dragon is at the same time his burial place. The convent was built
by Alí Mokhtár; the wooden sword of the Saint, his swing, half-drum,
kettle-drum, drum, banner and sanjak are kept here, numerous cells
surround it, occupied by learned and virtuous Dervishes, who reside
here on their hides, all true Sunnis and faithful believers, more than
one hundred. They read with me more than eight months according to the
method of Hafss. The windows of the Convent, and of the monument, all
look towards the sea. The magnificent kitchen like that of Keikavús
is worth seeing; day and night the fire is kept up on the stove for
passengers and strangers, they have no endowments but live on alms;
they are all purified by mystic divine love. To the right and left of
the mountain are many wells in the rocks. The rocks being perpendicular
like those of Mount Bisútún are excavated at the base. The projecting
rocks are so lofty that ships with topmasts an hundred yards high
may enter here, and come to an anchor. The masters of these ships
take in barley and wheat which is brought in waggons to the mouths of
the aforesaid shafts which are cut in the rock, and poured down them
into the holds; these shafts were cut in ancient times by Infidel
stonecutters, who were like so many Ferháds; and it is a peculiar sight
not to be seen elsewhere, and saves a circuit of between three and four
hours in bringing the barley to the foot of the rock. There are no such
high and dreary rocks any where in the Black Sea. During southernly
and easternly gales, the sea produces a roaring in the excavations,
which is heard as far as Iflatár and Ilhánlar near Silistra, a day’s
journey from hence. On the top of these rocks are nests of eagles each
as large as a sheep, they are even killed and eaten by some for mutton.
Near the Convent is the Castle of Kilghra, which was taken by Mússa
Chelebí out of the hands of the Infidels. It belongs to the district
of Bálchik in the government of Ozakov. It is a small but strong
square castle on the seashore, twenty paces in circumference, with a
gate opening to the west, it has neither mosque or khán, commander
or garrison. Being situated on a limestone cliff it has no ditch on
one side; on the east side is a precipice of one hundred fathoms; the
lower part of this castle is also excavated, like the rocks of the
convent. When Nassif Páshá Zadeh Hossein was governor of Ozakov, these
shores were sometimes infested by the Cossacks and Infidel Russians,
who made prisoners of the inhabitants. Hossein Páshá then renewed this
castle at his own expense, and garrisoned it, so that the shores were
protected from inroads; but the Great Vezír Kara Mustafa Páshá, having
taken away the garrison in order to mortify Hossein Páshá, the castle
remained deserted. Praise be to God, that after having escaped the
dangers of the sea, and being delivered from it before, as the bird of
the soul left the cage of the body, I passed eight months here in sweet
conversation, till at the commencement of the spring I took leave of my
friends and returned to Constantinople.
_Return to Constantinople._
In the spring of 1054, I took leave of Kilghra Sultán and embarking
with my four slaves coasted the shore of the Black Sea, so that at
the least storm I could come to an anchor. Thus I passed on my road,
Kavarna, Bálchik, Varna, Ahiebolí, Sízebolí, Missivra, Búrghás,
Chenkina, the island of mirrors (Aina adassí or Inada) and the strong
castle of Torkoz. Near this place is the flowery meadow, and pleasant
place of Skúmrí-jair where the janissaries and kúrújis are encamped,
and from hence watch over the security of the adjacent villages,
because some years ago these shores were infested by Cossacks. From
hence we came to the black stones (Cyanies), a rocky ground outside of
the mouth of the Bosphorus. It was changed into stone by a woman’s
distaff, and is a curious sight. We passed it, and in God’s name
entered the channel of Constantinople, anchoring before the Castle
of Kavák. I went on shore, and thanked God for the happy escape from
the dangers of the Black Sea. The length of the Black Sea from the
Bosphorus to Trebisonde at the mouth of the Phasus is fifteen hundred
miles, the shores of the Abáza are seventeen hundred miles, and to
the corner of the sea of Assov two thousand miles; seventeen hundred
large and small streams fall into it. The largest is the Danube, which
receives seven hundred rivers in its course, and disembogues into the
Black Sea by five branches, at Kili, Túlja, Súlina, and Kara-khirmen;
the Phasus, and Chúrúgh on the Asiatic side. The Kúbán near the
castle of Tamán, the river of Assov, the river of Ozakov, and the
Dniester; on the Asiatic shore the Kizil Irmák, the Wesnesday river,
and the Sakaria. From Constantinople to Caffa is reckoned one thousand
miles, to Báliklava eleven hundred, to A’kkermán fifteen hundred, to
Varna five hundred; from the point of Kilghra to that of Sinope five
hundred, from the mouth of the Bosphorus to Amassra one thousand, and
to Heraclea one hundred. The whole circuit of the Black Sea, with that
of Assov, is six thousand and sixty miles, and if made by land is one
hundred and fifty days or five months journey, each day’s journey to
be reckoned twelve hours. As soon as I arrived at Constantinople I
hastened to Eyyúb to read once more the Korán there, having performed
which I went to my parents, who received me with the greatest kindness.
I swore never to try the navigation of the Black Sea any more. May God
guard from its misfortunes all the faithful people of Mohammed. I then
became the Imám of the Inspector of the mouth, and soon found by the
presents from my friends, compensation for the loss I sustained in the
Black Sea, of my eighteen slaves and other things.
EXPEDITION AGAINST MALTA IN THE YEAR 1055 (1645).