Ottoman explorations of the Nile : Evliya Çelebi's "Matchless pearl these reports of the Nile" map and his accounts of the Nile and the Horn of Africa in "The book of travels"

Before the time of Napoleon, the most ambitious effort to explore and map the Nile was undertaken by the Ottomans, as attested by two monumental documents: an elaborate map, with 475 rubrics, and a lengthy travel account. Both were achieved at about the same time—c. 1685—and both by the same man. Evliya Çelebi's account of his Nile journeys, in the tenth volume of his Book of Travels ( Seyahatname ), has been known to the scholarly world since 1938, when that volume was first published. The map, held in the Vatican Library, has been studied since at least 1949. Numerous new critical editions of both the map and the text have been published over the years, each expounding upon the last in an attempt to reach a definitive version. The Ottoman Explorations of the Nile provides a more accurate translation of the original travel account. Furthermore, the maps themselves are reproduced in greater detail and vivid color, and there are more cross-references to the text than in any previous edition. This volume gives equal weight and attention to the two parts that make up this extraordinary historical document, allowing readers to study the map or the text independently, while also using each to elucidate and accentuate the details of the other.

Before the time of Napoleon, the most ambitious effort to explore and map the Nile was undertaken by the Ottomans, as attested by two monumental documents: an elaborate map, with 475 rubrics, and a lengthy travel account. Both were achieved at about the same time—c. 1685—and both by the same man.Evliya Çelebi's account of his Nile journeys, in the tenth volume of his Book of Travels ( Seyahatname ), has been known to the scholarly world since 1938, when that volume was first published. The map, held in the Vatican Library, has been studied since at least 1949. Numerous new critical editions of both the map and the text have been published over the years, each expounding upon the last in an attempt to reach a definitive version. The Ottoman Explorations of the Nile provides a more accurate translation of the original travel account. Furthermore, the maps themselves are reproduced in greater detail and vivid color, and there are more cross-references to the text than in any previous edition. This volume gives equal weight and attention to the two parts that make up this extraordinary historical document, allowing readers to study the map or the text independently, while also using each to elucidate and accentuate the details of the other.

Intro -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- Symbols Used in the Book -- Note on Transliteration and Translation -- Note on Currency -- Editions and Translations of The Book of Travels [Seyahatname] -- Abbreviations -- Glossary of Administrative Terminology -- Introduction -- The Ottomans and the Nile -- The Nile Journeys in The Book of Travels [Seyahatname] -- The Vatican Map of the Nile -- Muslim and Ottoman Maps of the Nile -- Relation of the Map and the Book -- Part I: Translation of the Vatican Map of the Nile (Vat. Turc. 73) -- Prologue -- The Map -- Part II: Translation of Evliya Çelebi's accounts of the Nile and the Horn of Africa, from Volume 10 of The Book of Travels [Seyahatname] -- Preliminary and Cairo, Y3A-278A -- First Journey: Cairo-Alexandria-Rosetta-Cairo, Y277B-341A -- Second Journey: Cairo-Damietta-Cairo Y341B-360A -- Third Journey: Cairo-Luxor-Ibrim Y360A-395A -- Fourth Journey: Funjistan-Maghraq-Sennar-Jarsinqa Y395A-432B -- Fifth Journey: Habesh Y432B-443A -- Sixth Journey: Ibrim-Faiyum-Cairo Y443A Q341A−Q355A -- Appendix I: The Turkish text of the Vatican Map -- Appendix II: Map Zones -- Bibliography -- Index Contents 6 List of Illustrations 8 Preface 11 Glossary of Administrative Terminology 18 Introduction 22 Part I: Translation of the Vatican Map of the Nile (Vat. Turc. 73) 70 Prologue 72 The Map 73 Part II: Translation of Evliya Çelebi’s accounts of the Nile and the Horn of Africa, from Volume 10 of The Book of Travels [Seyahatname] 110 Preliminary and Cairo, Y3A–278A 112 First Journey: Cairo–Alexandria–Rosetta–Cairo, Y277B–341A 143 Second Journey: Cairo–Damietta–Cairo Y341B–360A 189 Third Journey: Cairo–Luxor–Ibrim Y360A–395A 212 Fourth Journey: Funjistan–Maghraq–Sennar–Jarsinqa Y395A–432B 270 Fifth Journey: Habesh Y432B–443A 323 Sixth Journey: Ibrim–Faiyum–Cairo Y443A Q341A−Q355A 362 Appendix I: The Turkish text of the Vatican Map 387 Appendix II: Map Zones 413 Bibliography 446 Index 454 The most ambitious effort to explore and map out the Nile, before the time of Napoleon, was undertaken by the Ottomans - as recorded in two monumental documents. The book gives full weight to both documents, keeping their own integrity and highlighting the relation between them through ample cross-references.