secreted from the treasures of Canea three great tubs of gold, three
millions of money, and a golden column; that he had not given a drop
of the ocean nor an atom of the sun of his treasures to the Emperor.
After his death nothing was found, and the column wrapt up in felt,
which had been said to be a golden tree, was found to be a column of
yellow stone, which was afterwards used to support the oratory of the
mosque built by the mother of Mohammed IV. It is a stone more precious
indeed than gold and jewels, because persons afflicted with jaundice
are cured by touching it three times on a Saturday. This is the stone
which caused the death of Yússúf Páshá.
“The servant proposes and God disposes, and the tongues of the people
are the pens of God.” When Sultán Ibrahím disclosed the secret of
the expedition to Yússúf Páshá on his departure, he said, “If thou
returnest victorious I’ll reward thee according to thy merits:” and
indeed it happened so, because the conquest of Canea, an enterprise
so difficult, was granted to Yússúf Páshá before the arrival of the
enemy’s fleet by a special favour of God, and no reward could equal
such merit, but the glory of Martyrdom. He was beloved of God, who
first granted him the conquest and then the Martyr’s crown. Praise be
to God that I, poor Evliyá, witnessed such a famous siege, and returned
safe to my native city. I kissed my parents’ hands, who wished me joy
on my safe return. My father said, “The campaign thou hast made now
renders my going into the field superfluous.” I said, “My dear father,
you have grown old, you have been present at seventy battles since
Sultán Súleimán’s time. Pray now for your beloved son, who shall go
into battles instead of you.” I kissed his hand, and he then told me
the following story, exhorting me to listen to it with the ears of my
soul.
“In the year when thou wast born, my son, in the reign of Sultán Ahmed
I. a great assembly of seven hundred Vezírs and great men was held
at the Hippodrome in order to lay the foundation of Sultán Ahmed’s
mosque. They dug from forty to fifty cubits deep, and the walls of
the foundations having reached the level of the earth, the Ulemas and
Astronomers were assembled, and with the prayers and ceremonies usual
in similar cases the position of the mihráb determined. Kalender Páshá
was named inspector, Kara Sunbul Alí Efendí, the Secretary, and our
Khoja (Evliyá’s reading-master) Evliyá Efendí, Imám of the foundations;
the Sheikh of Scutarí, Mahommed Efendí, was named the Sheikh; Mahmúd
Chelebí, Kara Mahmúd Agha, and forty other men with fine voices, the
Moëzzins of the foundations. One day Sultán Ahmed came, and pitched
his tent on that part of the courtyard of the mosque, where there then
remained only a single painted Koshk belonging to the Seraï of Koja
Mohammed Páshá. Here the Sultán gave a feast to all the Vezírs and
great men of the capital, which surpassed even that which was given
at the feast of circumcission of Sultán Ahmed. The assembly having
retired, there remained in the Sultán’s tent, only Mahmúd Efendí of
Scutarí, Evliyá Efendí my master, Kara Sunbul Alí Efendí, Ibrahím
Efendí the senior of the surgeons, Dervish Omar Gulshení one of the
favourite singers and I, thy poor father, sitting on our heels. The
Sultán said unto us, “If it please God this mosque shall be finished,
and be a fine praying place, but it requires to be well endowed.”
Evliyá and Mahmúd Efendí of Scutarí said, “My gracious Emperor,
undertake a military expedition, and then devote the revenues of the
conquered land to your new built mosque, as your ancestor Súleimán did,
who having in person conquered Rodos, Stancio, and different other
islands, devoted their revenues to his mosque, which is, therefore,
the best endowed of all the Imperial mosques. If your Majesty should
undertake an expedition against Creta (Kiríd), you would protect
the passage of Ottoman merchants and pilgrims from the ships of the
Infidels. The senior of the surgeons, Ibrahím, and Mahmúd Efendí of
Scutari said a Fátihah for this good intention, the seven prayers of
which were repeated by all present, who finished it by saying, ‘If it
please God our prayer shall be granted.’
“Sultán Ahmed then said, ‘But, learned gentlemen, we are at peace
with the Venetians, is it decent for a Shehin-shah (king of kings) to
encroach on treaties of peace? Under what pretext shall we break it,
particularly now, when Anatoli is kept in rebellion by Kara Yazijí,
Saíd Arab, Kalender-oghlí and Jennet-oghlí, against whom my Vezír Murad
Lálá is marching? How shall I then think of the conquest of Candia?’
Evliyá answered, ‘My Emperor, on the third day all the rebels shall be
beaten, and you shall receive the good news on the twelfth, they shall
pass away like a torrent; Murad Páshá shall fill wells with their dead
bodies, and obtain in history by this deed the name of Murad Páshá the
well-maker (Kúyújí).’ This prediction was accomplished by the news that
Murad Páshá, had filled all the wells near Haleb and Azez with the
bodies of the rebels. Mahmúd Efendí of Scutari availed himself of this
opportunity to remind the Emperor of the project of the Cretan war,
and suggested to him, first to send an embassy to the Prince of Venice
to ask that he should give up the island of Creta. Sultán Ahmed, being
pleased with this idea, sent Kúrd-Chaúsh, a good and eloquent speaker,
with presents, as ambassador to Venice. He made great haste, and at the
end of seven days arrived at Venice, making his public entrance on the
eighth, and read his letters in public council; the Senate consented
to the demand, and letters were made out, with which Kúrd-Chaúsh was
sent back; having kissed the ground before the Emperor, the letters
were read by the Interpreter in presence of Mahmúd Efendí of Scutari,
Evliyá, Sunbul Alí, Ibrahím, Togháni, Ismail Efendí the Commentator on
the Mesneví, Júnúbí the Sheikh of the Mevlevís at Kássím Páshá, Dervish
Omer Gulshení, Guzeljí Gulábí, Kúzú Alí Aghá, Abdí Aghá, and of me, thy
poor father, in the following form and tenor, ‘You have asked from me
the Principe, your most humble servant, the island of Creta, with six
hundred thousand inhabitants, seven hundred and seventy villages, and
of seven hundred and seventy miles circumference, with seven mines of
gold, silver and other metals, which we are ready to give.’ At these
words all those who were present read the Fátihah, and the Mohammedan
shouts (Allah! Allah!) rent the air.
“The end of the letter said, ‘But we poor fellows, giving to you, great
Monarch, an island as rich as that of Creta, we beg of you the favour
to make us a present of the ports of Acra, Saida, Beirút, and of the
old seat of our religion, Jerusalem. It is only for this purpose we can
cede to you the island of Creta, and it would be more reasonable to
deliver your hereditary countries from the rebels, who infest it, than
to form such strange demands:—Our compliments to you!’ Ahmed hearing
this answer was deeply afflicted, and began to cry. Mahmúd Efendí
said, ‘Why should your Majesty be afflicted; they began by saying,
that they were ready to give up the island, it is God who has dictated
these words to them, according to which they shall be obliged to yield
the island.’ A Fátihah was said, and the Mahommedan shouts (Allah!)
repeated. Then they said, ‘If it please God, it shall most certainly
be conquered,’ and saying so, they changed the conversation. When this
letter was again read at the Diván, the Emperor happened to be in his
innermost garden at the place called Chemensoffa, conversing with the
abovenamed learned and virtuous gentlemen. At this moment the gate of
the innermost Harem opened, and the Kislar-agassí walked out, followed
by seven Princes, who kissed the hands of the Emperor, and then of
the Sheikhs, who were with him, and the Sultán said, ‘Gentlemen, the
Princes my sons, are your most humble servants.’ He then ordered that
they should play before him, to dissipate the melancholy which the
answer of the Venetians had caused. They played ball, and Prince Osmán,
the strongest and stoutest of them, was superior to the rest. Coming
near his father’s throne, he asked him, ‘My Osmán! wilt thou conquer
Creta?’ The Prince answered, ‘What shall I do with Creta? I will
conquer the land of the white Russian girls, and shed blood there.’
Saying so, he continued to play; Evliyá Efendí, praise to God, the
innocent boy could not reach the meaning of the Emperor’s words. Mahmúd
observed, that he had understood well the word Creta, but that there
was something mysterious in his answer about the white Russian girls.
Now Prince Osmán came up pursuing his brother Mohammed even under the
throne, where Mohammed sheltered himself, and having crept forth again,
the ball, which Osmán threw at him, touched his gilt turban, and hurt
his neck so that blood was flowing, and he turned giddy.
“Sultán Ahmed said, ‘Look Mohammed, Osmán is thy brother, and yet he
has hurt thee, this is the course of the world: strike him in your
turn.’ He wiped his blood off, and having seated him at the foot of
the throne, he asked him, ‘Will you conquer Creta, Mohammed?’ Mohammed
said, ‘I will, but my brother Osmán sheds my blood; if it is not me,
another Mohammed will finish the conquest begun by me.’ The Senior
of the Surgeons, Ibrahím said, ‘Praise be to God, what secrets are
revealed to-day! but nobody yet understands them.’ Now the Princes
continued to play at ball; Bayazíd and Súleimán were chasing each
other, when all at once, Prince Murad sallied forth from the place
called the black cypress, and threw a ball at them, which hurt them
both, so that blood dropped from their noses. Sultán Ahmed said, ‘My
Murad, why dost thou beat thy brethren so.’ The Prince replied, ‘It was
not my intention, but such is the play of the world, I was obliged to
do it because they gained upon me, and were going to take my place!’
Omer Gulshení said, ‘There is also some mystery in that.’ Now came
Prince Ibrahím in a ruby-coloured dress: Sultán Ahmed asked him, ‘Where
have you been my Ibrahím?’ ‘I,’ said he, ‘have taken the ablution of
martyrdom, and am now come to wrestle and play with all my brethren.’
He entered wildly and threw a ball at Sultán Osmán’s head, so that he
knocked off his turban and set him crying. Prince Murad now threw a
ball at Ibrahím, which he received undaunted, feigned to direct his
ball at Bayazíd, but turned round in a moment, and threw it at Murad
with such violence, that he was for some time senseless. Ibrahím now
ran to his father’s throne, sat at the foot of it, and said, ‘Have I
not aimed a good ball at Murad,’ and then fell to indelicate play.
Murad was crying on the ground, saying, ‘I had rather died, than have
been beaten in that way by Ibrahím!’ The play continuing, to the
surprise of all the beholders, Murad again pursued Ibrahím, and threw
the ball at him, which he received as boldly as the first time, and
retreated under the throne, from whence he then issued without his
turban and in a state of undress. Sultán Ahmed caught hold of his ear,
and said, ‘Wilt thou conquer Creta, and make of it an endowment for my
mosque for Mecca and Medina.’ The Prince said, ‘If God assists me, and
helps me, in God’s name, and if it pleases God, my son Yússúf shall
conquer it under Yússúf the Prophet’s favour!’ All who were present now
said a Fátihah that this might happen, and Sultán Ahmed said, ‘Now,
how curious it is, that I am fallen into melancholy since the Venetian
letter has been read, that wishing to divert myself with my children’s
play, they got bloody necks and noses, and made me more melancholy than
before, till Ibrahím has at once chased away my spleen by saying that
he will conquer Creta by his son.’ God’s mercy on Sultán Ahmed! All
that had been foreshewn in this play, really happened.
“1. Sultán Osmán who hurt his brother Mohammed’s neck, ordered him to
be executed when going to Khotyn.
“2. Sultán Osmán, who was hurt by Ibrahím’s ball in his groin, died
after his unsuccessful return from Khotyn, at the Seven Towers, when
one Piniál tortured him till he died by compression of the scrotum.
“3. The two Princes, Bayazíd and Súleimán, overtaken by Murad at the
black cypress, were strangled in the same place, the blood dropping
from their noses, by Sultán Murad’s order in the year 1045, when he
sent Beshír Aghá to Constantinople with the news of the conquest of
Eriván. They were buried in their father Ahmed’s tomb, twenty-one years
after this play had happened in their father’s presence.
“4. The ball received by Ibrahim from Murad foreboded that Ibrahím
would be, as he was, Murad’s successor.
“5. Ibrahím’s indelicate play at the foot of the throne, showed the
luxury of his reign passed in weddings and pleasure parties.
“6. His having then said; ‘woe to my cullies,’ was the forerunner of
the infamous disease of which he died.
“7. The reply given by Ibrahím, when coming forth from beneath his
father’s throne, and saying, that he would conquer Creta with his son
Yússúf, is to be understood of Yússúf Pashá the Commander-in-chief of
the expedition to Canea.
“8. God knows my son (continued Evliyá’s father) whether the name
of Yússúf may not be applied to Ibrahím’s son, who shall finish the
conquest of Creta begun by his father.
“My son, all these mysteries I witnessed in Sultán Ahmed’s presence,
and have waited ever since for the conquest of Creta promised by Sultan
Ibrahím to his father, and now fulfilled accordingly. I, thy poor
father, was present at the prayers then said at the suggestion of this
conquest, and thou my son hast witnessed the fulfilling of it. If it
please God, thou shalt witness also its entire conquest.”
It was in this manner that my father, Dervish Mohammed, the chief of
the goldsmiths at Constantinople, related the story of the Princes.
God’s mercy upon him! As some thousand descriptions of the siege of
Canea exist, I would not expatiate too much on this subject, but have
related what I witnessed in a plain way.
Jowánjí Kapújí Mohammed Páshá the great Vezír being deposed, he was
named Commander-in-chief at Creta, and the Vezírat given to the
Defterdár Sáleh Páshá, who bestowed on his brother, Murteza Páshá,
the governorship of Bude with three tails; and on Ibrahim Chelebí,
who had been Khazinedár, the governorship of Baghdád. The son of
Sáleh Páshá, Chelebí Mohammed, known by the name of the hanged
Defterdár-zadeh Mohammed Páshá, was made Aghá of the janissaries, with
the character of Vezír, but, as he did not accept of it, he was sent
as Commander-in-chief to Erzerúm. I, poor Evliyá, was appointed clerk
at the custom-house of Erzerúm, Moëzzin and companion to this Páshá.
He was a man of agreeable conversation, great acquirements in all
sciences, generous, brave, a poet and statesman. He bestowed on me rich
presents, and I prepared my tents for the journey to Erzerúm. I was
invested with a robe of honour (caftán) in Sultán Ibrahím’s presence.
He said unto the Páshá, giving him the Imperial rescript, “Thou art
my absolute Vezír and Commander against the Persians; if they should
become rebels, all the army of Anatolia as far as Eriván is under thy
command.” He gave him five purses, fifty mules and as many camels for
the journey, a splendid tent, and two sable pelisses. We passed under
Sultán Ibrahím’s blessing to Scutari, where we pitched our tents at
the place called Agháchairí. The same day, Cherkess Derzí Mustafa, one
of the Imperial armsbearers (Silahshor), was sent express to Erzerúm
to Malatialí Silihdár Súleimán Páshá. During our stay at Scutari,
the treasurer of the Páshá Dilber Chelebí was deposed by an Imperial
firmán, and his place given to Alí Aghá one of the relations of the
Páshá; we remained a week at Scutari, and then, on the first day of
Rejeb, set out on our journey for Erzerúm.
JOURNEY TO ERZERUM.
Having remained a month in Scutari, the buildings of which town have
been minutely described in our first volume; the news arrived that the
Mossellem (substitute of the Páshá) had happily taken possession of
the governorship; the Páshá immolated victims, and everybody rejoiced,
because the principal reason for conferring this governorship on
Defterdár-zadeh was the rumour which prevailed, that Abaza Páshá the
famous rebel, whom Sultán Murad had spared, contrary to the wishes of
the troops, had returned from his travels in Africa and India, but
most happily Súleimán Páshá, the governor of Erzerúm (predecessor of
Abaza) killed this pretender and sent his head to Constantinople, and
the Mosellem, Mustafa Aghá, took possession of the governorship. We
set out from Scutari in the early part of Sha’abán, and arrived at the
end of seven hours march at Pendík, a great village on the seabord, it
belonging to the foundation of Kirechjíbashí at Scutari. Its numerous
gardens supply the Capital with vegetables. Here our master received
from the Great Vezír Sáleh Páshá, ten purses, ten horses, and a great
number of other valuable presents. From hence the quarter-master
(Konakjí) and chief of the cellar (Kilárjí), with the inspector of the
kitchen (Mutbakhemíní), and the purveyor at market (Bazára giden), led
the van with five hundred men and a tail.
_Gebíze._
This was formerly a large town. At the time when Sídí Battál besieged
Constantinople, a great convent existed at Constantinople, within
the gate of Sílívrí, at the place now called the mosque of Koja
Mustafa Páshá. Harún-ur-rashíd, built a fortress here and garrisoned
it with three thousand men, in order to keep the infidels in check.
The inhabitants of Gebíze having killed some men belonging to Sídí
Battál, who commanded the garrison of the said fortress, he laid the
town of Gebíze in ruins, and retired to Malatia; traces of this havoc
are still visible. It was conquered by Mohammed I., who destroyed the
castle, that it might not be a refuge for the infidels; but Sultán
Mohammed II. rebuilt it after the conquest of Constantinople. It is
now a jurisdiction of one hundred and fifty aspers in the sanjak of
Koja Ilí. Mustafa Páshá, who built the bridge which bears his name
in Rúmelí, built a mosque here, whose administrator (Mutevelí) is
at the same time commanding officer of the place. It lies an hour’s
distance from the sea, at the top of a dry mountain; there are about
one thousand houses with gardens, in the ancient style, three mosques,
the largest of which covered with lead, outshines the mosques of the
Vezírs at Constantinople; it was built by Mustafa Páshá, the builder
of the bridge called by Sultán Súleimán, the bridge of the illiberal
(Namerd), who when governor of Egypt had the finest stones cut in
plates to adorn this mosque, and made a stone candelabrum of them,
which has no equal in the world. The stones came direct from Egypt to
the landing-place of Daríjí, where they were disembarked. The interior
of the mosque is lined with marble and granite to the height of three
men, which is not to be seen in any other mosque in the capital. The
minber (pulpit), mihráb (altar), and mahfil (oratory) of the Moëzzins
are of most excellent workmanship, which is impossible to describe
to those who have not seen it. It was built by the architect Hassám,
the first assistant to the architect Koja Sinán, who showed his skill
here most minutely. The windows on the four sides are composed of
small painted glass, which in sunshine illuminates the mosque with
a most delicious light, therefore it is that you read on the middle
vault the verse of the Koran, God is the light of Heaven. The interior
of the cupola is adorned with circles of lamps and a great number
of suspended decorations. The Egyptian carpets on the floor vie
with those of Isfahan. The pulpit of the preacher (Kursí) is inlaid
with pearl-shell. Outside of the walls is a delicious garden, where
flowers and odoriferous herbs fill the air and brain with perfumes,
and nightingales enrapture with their warbling notes. The mosque has
but one gate opposite the altar; on the threshold is written the
chronograph in the writing of Kara Hissárí Hossein, and in the mosque
seventy Koráns are kept, each of which is worth an Egyptian treasure.
A copy of Yakút Mostea-assemí, like that which is seen here on the
left of the altar, is not to be found elsewhere, except it be at the
mosque of Sultán Ahmed at Constantinople. On both sides of the gate are
six cupolas supported by as many columns, and the cupola immediately
over the gate is the seventh. The Harem or courtyard, as spacious as
those of imperial mosques, is adorned with trees, the mináreh, with one
gallery, is well proportioned. Close to the mosque is a Caravánseraï,
affording accommodation for three thousand men, and two thousand
horses, with a stable appropriated for camels. In the dining-room
(dar-ul-ita’ám), old and young men and women dine in plenty; and at
the Caravánseraï, every evening, every fire-place is furnished with a
dish of soup, a loaf of bread, a candle, and a bag of forage for every
horse, ass, mule or camel. A bath is attached to it, covered with
lead like all the other buildings of this foundation. Besides this
Caravánseraï there are forty large and small kháns, and one hundred and
eighty shops, all the work of Sinán; the mosque in the market is an old
simple building; the houses are all faced with red bricks, the water of
the wells is a little thick, but the air is good.
We advanced from hence five hours towards the east to the Castle of
Helke or Herke, conquered by Mohammed I. with considerable loss of men.
It is a nice small castle, of immense stones, built on the seashore,
on a cliff between two vallies. Its gate opens to the north and has no
houses within. The district belongs to the sanjak of Koja Ilí. At the
end of eight hours journey along the seashore, we arrived at Isnikmíd
(Nicomedia), which has been already minutely described in our former
journey. After a day’s rest we again started and came, at the end of
six hours march, to Sabánja, called so from Sabánjí Koja, who first
cleared the thick woods here by the plough. In Súleimán’s time it was
cultivated, and Sárí Rostem Páshá founded a khán here with one hundred
and seventy fireplaces, a pleasant mosque and bath covered with lead,
and about one thousand houses faced with brick built by Koja Sinán.
The administrator of these endowments of Rostem Páshá, is at the
same time the first public officer of the place. Besides its white
cherries, it is renowned for its white bread, Súmún, which is baked
in a shop underneath the bath, and which keeps its flavour and does
not become mouldy for the space of six days. It has often been sent by
couriers to the Sháh of Persia, has arrived fresh, and obtained general
approbation. Its good qualities are due to the water.
_Praise of the Lake of Sabánja._
Its circumference is twenty miles, and seventy-six villages adorn its
shores. The people who drink of its water are of ruddy complexion, and
the products of the land are abundant; there are no vineyards, but a
great number of gardens. On the borders of the lake there are melons
and water-melons of such a size that two make an ass-load. On the lake
are from seventy to eighty kaiks and boats, which are employed in the
passage from village to village, and for the transport of wood. There
are a great number of most delicious fish. Its depth is twenty fathoms,
the water is clear and brilliant, and excellent for washing without
soap. It is this water which gives a whiteness resembling cotton to
the bread Súmúní. On the east side of the lake, at two hours distance,
passes the river Sakaria, which disembogues into the Black Sea in the
province of Koja Ilí at the place called Irva; it would require but
little spirit of enterprise to unite the lake with the sea, by means
of this river, a branch of which goes down to the salt-marshes of
Nicomedia. As early as the reign of Mohammed III. a great number of
workmen were employed in establishing a communication between the gulf
of Nicomedia and the lake of Sabánja, but the undertaking was given up
at the request of the inhabitants. If the Sakaria were united with this
lake, and the lake with the gulf of Nicomedia, this town would be quite
an inland port; the timber and wood might be brought down to Bolí, and
it would cost no more than five aspers the quintal. God make it easy!
We marched to the eastward six hours, along the seashore, through thick
forests, called “Ocean of trees,” and crossed the Sakaria by a wooden
bridge; this river issues from the mountain Chifteler, passes through
Koja Ilí, and goes into the Black Sea near Irva.
_The Station of Khandak-bazárí._