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War-time Dalmatia in the Travelogue of Evliya Çelebi (Seyahatname)

The renowned Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi visited the region of Dalmatia on several occasions during the War of Candia. Evliya personally participated in fights around the Venetian coastal towns of Šibenik and Zadar, and offers the first-hand experience of the harshness of the war. On the other hand, on an occasion he also acted as an envoy trying to negotiate with Venetian officials in Split. Thus, in addition to dramatic war stories, Evliya, by crossing to the other side, provides a different type of account of a Venetian town, its citizens, their customs, art and architecture, ranging from misunderstanding to astonishment and fascination. Evliya has also left a very valuable and insightful description of the Ottoman-held Dalmatian hinterland, its towns and settlements. He especially praises Drniš, once a rich town with many mosques and other institutions of Islamic civilization, which was at a time of his visit reduced to a pitiful state following the Venetian attack and destruction of the town. Evliya is especially impressed with Muslim Croatian population, and frontier warriors in particular, whom he praises as exceptionally brave, if somewhat barbaric. On the other hand, however, he admires Dalmatian Muslims’ piety and understanding of Islamic faith and civilization, despite living in harsh conditions of the western border of the Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman Empire, Dalmatia, Candian War, Evliya Celebi

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