Panel: HOSPITALITY IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE



1007.1 - INTERRELIGIOUS HOSPITALITY IN TURKISH TRAVEL LITERATURE: THE CASE OF EVLIYA ÇELEBI

AUTHORS:
Morrison C. ( Institute for the Study of Religion in the Middle East ~ Istanbul ~ Turkey)
Text:
Evliya Çelebi's 10-volume Seyahatnâme (his Travelogue) offers a unique window into life in the Ottoman Empire and beyond in the early modern period. Written to chronicle his journeys, to entertain, and to depict Ottoman/Islamic(ate?) society as Evliya Çelebi saw it, the Seyahatnâme includes details of countless interactions he had across cultural and religious lines. This paper focuses on several examples of hospitality that are shown to Evliya during his travels, and seeks to identify the social and religious factors that create the dynamics of these encounters. The aim is to understand what Evliya seeks to portray in these vignettes, and to make observations about the role and importance of hospitality both then and now.