The Ottoman traveler Evliya Celebi visited the Levant and Palestine twice in the mid-17th century (Shutterstock)

The most important traveler in Ottoman history, Evliya Çelebi, visited the Levant and Palestine twice in the middle of the 17th century in the classical era before the modernization movement and the Tanzimat era in the Ottoman Empire. He included their details in the third and ninth volumes of his ten-volume encyclopedic work “Siyahat Nameh”.

In his travels, Evliya Çelebi (born in 1020 AH/1611 AD in Istanbul and died in 1095 AH/1684 AD) used to describe every region he traveled to in terms of its geography and location, the number of its people, palaces, schools, hospices, inns, mosques, and the graves of its historical figures, and any landmarks that would stop the traveler.

Evliya Çelebi was also interested in recording the reconstruction movement in various regions, and the huge endowments built and the charitable and social welfare works carried out by the sultans, princes, princesses, and statesmen, who competed in establishing these projects.

In the time of Evliya Çelebi, the city of Jerusalem was a destination for European pilgrims, as was the case in the eras of previous Islamic countries. In 1626, the (Ottoman) state was charging every European pilgrim 5 akjat (silver coins) as an entry fee.

Jerusalem, or Jerusalem, is a holy city for the three religions and the first of the two qiblahs, and the center of a district in the Levant region. The Jerusalem Brigade had Timar formations (military feudal knights).

The salary of the Emir of the District amounts to more than 257 thousand silver akjas, the allocations of the Emirate of the District are 20 thousand golden liras, the salary of the Jerusalem judge is 500 aqeja per day, and the allocations for the Jerusalem Judicial Administration are 20 thousand golden liras annually. The central district of Jerusalem was large, with a thousand villages.

European Hajj ceremonies

The state's annual revenues from European pilgrims amount to between 20 and 25 thousand golden liras. A pilgrim is not considered a pilgrim unless he visits the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the most important holy day to visit is Easter (or the Feast of the Red Egg), which witnessed most European (Christian) pilgrimages at that time.

On Easter Sunday, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is opened by the Prince of the Liwa of Jerusalem, or just Mullah Judge of Jerusalem, with a ceremony and the reading of the Fatiha amidst the Christian religious celebration, and under the cheers and prayers of the Patriarchs.

Evliya Çelebi says that the opening of a “Muslim” of the largest Christian religious festival in the world is a strange thing, but it meant an implicit signal to Christians coming from all over the world that this visit can be carried out with complete freedom, safety, reassurance and complete order thanks to the Ottoman Empire, and so that Europeans can learn how to treat those who do not They practice their religion.

On that day, a number of between 5 and 10 thousand Christian visitors visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. They become pilgrims and return to Europe happy. The priests of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher collect a tax from every pilgrim, except for the needy, from 5 to 7 gold liras.

The Ottoman guards accompany Christian pilgrims to Bethlehem, where Jesus Christ (peace and blessings be upon him) was born, south of Jerusalem, as well as to the holy cities of Hebron and Nazareth, and they accompany them upon their return as well. A Christian who visits these places, in addition to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, will have performed a complete pilgrimage.

Opening rituals of the Church of the Resurrection

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is considered the most sacred of churches, and an Ottoman military unit stands in front of the church around the clock, ready to carry out the orders of the Patriarch. A large crowd of pilgrims coming from all over the world constantly gathers in front of the church.

One of them may not understand the other's language, and it is possible that one of these visitors will be reckless or quarrel over a very small piece of the church's stones. Therefore, the prince or judge of Jerusalem can unseal the church door once a year on Easter, and then reseal it again after the Hajj ends, and it is not allowed to enter again until the following Easter.

300 monks are isolated inside the church, the door is closed on them, and their food and drink enter them every day through a hole in the door designated for that purpose. The Catholic or non-Catholic monk who secludes himself for a year inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher obtains a great rank.

On Hajj days, about 20,000 people gather inside and outside the church, and in order for the seal on its door to be opened during times other than Hajj (Easter), the personal approval of the governor of the Levant (Baklarbek or Fariq) is necessary, and the Emir of the Jerusalem District (Sanjak Bek) does not have that authority. .

The last order was given 23 years before Evliya Çelebi’s visit. It came from the governor of the Levant, Zeyla Li Cavuszade Mehmet Pasha, as the Pasha, when he came to inspect Jerusalem, wished to visit the church. After the visit ended, the Jerusalem judge immediately renewed the seal on the door, because inside the church was a huge treasury of antiques and treasures.

All the kings of Christian Europe, long ago, sent very valuable things. The thousand-year-old chandeliers and lamps are awe-inspiring and cannot be seen in any other church. The Ottoman Empire was very careful not to leave or smuggle anything from the church abroad.

In the population census conducted in 1648, the city’s population was 45 thousand people, but the population naturally increases if the number of visitors is added to them.

Church of the Nativity

The city of Bethlehem is located close to and to the south of Jerusalem. It is a district in the central district of Jerusalem. It has 200 houses. It is common that the Prophet of God Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) was born there. Therefore, it is crowded with Christians coming from different parts of the world and returning to Jerusalem on the same day after completing their visit; There are no places to stay overnight.

The visitor descends to the cave after which the Kasbah was named (Bethlehem) via a staircase consisting of 12 steps. The cave has three corners, and can hardly accommodate only 100 people. Where one can see the cradle of Jesus (peace and blessings be upon him) made of red stone, and his seating area made of white alabaster. It was made The cave is shaped like a church.

Several years before Evliya Celebi's trip, around the middle of the seventeenth century, Sultan Mehmed Khan (IV) spent large sums of money for this Kasbah, and consulted Christian scholars about this matter, thus eliminating the difficulty of visiting. Many Muslims also come there for the purpose of visiting, as Muslims believe in all the prophets.

The trip on the Jerusalem-Hebron road takes 7 hours. Sultan Murad IV built a castle in the middle of this road to ensure the safe passage of Christian pilgrims. It is called “Muradiyeh Castle.” The area is an area containing cannons and a garrison consisting of 90 soldiers.

Jerusalem endowments and landmarks

There were 700 waqfs in Jerusalem at that time, and it had a supervisor responsible to the Effendi (judge) of Jerusalem. Jerusalem was one of the conquests of Sultan Selim, and its existing citadel was built by the Ottoman Grand Vizier, Lala Mustafa Pasha.

The citadel is surrounded by a wall 7,050 cubits long, containing 4,040 ports for weapons, and the dome of the Rustem Pasha Mosque. Inside the wall there are 1,110 floors, a mosque, and several mosques, palaces, and palaces, all built of stone.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is one of the most sacred mosques among Muslims. At that time, it contained hundreds of very valuable carpets and chandeliers, and it contained 7,000 lamps and other valuable items, all gifts from the Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman sultans.

The number of mosques and mosques in Jerusalem at that time reached 240, and most of them were small buildings. Al-Aqsa Mosque was large enough to accommodate the entire population of Jerusalem. There are also 71 schools, 40 education offices, 70 hospices, 6 khans, 3 public kitchens for the needy, 18 constructed water taps (chishma), 70 basins and basins, and a shadrawan (a covered basin or basin surrounded by numerous faucets for ablution).

It had 2,045 shops and 4 beautiful public baths. Sultan Suleiman Khan built 18 taps (cheshma), and covered all the sidewalks and alleys of the city’s streets with polished white stone. The city had two Jewish synagogues, two Gregorian churches, and 3 Orthodox churches.

Omar (may God be pleased with him), who conquered Jerusalem, prayed in the mihrab located on the eastern side of Al-Aqsa, and 800 people were serving Al-Aqsa Mosque at that time.

On Friday, the preacher ascends the pulpit wearing the sword of Omar (may God be pleased with him), and recites the sermon in the name of His Holiness the Badshah (Sultan), Caliph of the Earth (in Turkish: Caliph Roy Zemin). The four sects have 4 preachers, who alternately take the podium to preach. The mosque had 50 muezzins, and the rest of those in charge of other services were responsible for that.

Ottoman reconstruction of Jerusalem

Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent built the Rock Mosque located at the edge of the Al-Aqsa Mosque with the money he obtained from his legitimate share of the spoils of the invasions of Belgrade and Mohacs. The most famous Ottoman architect, Sinan, built the mosque as directed by the Badshah himself, and he used white alabaster.

The architect Sinan came from Istanbul to Jerusalem specifically for this purpose, and the Grand Vizier Lala Mustafa Pasha supervised the construction. The central column of the dome, which is 12 cubits long, was covered with a very thick layer of gold, and its shine could be seen from the ground, and its 12 columns were erected from Sumaki (colored) alabaster, and its silk carpets were a great asset.

The “Rock of God” is a white rock surrounded by a fence 100 cubits long, and because of the presence of the dome above it, the mosque was called the “Dome of the Rock.” This sacred square, whose construction was begun by Omar (may God be pleased with him) and completed by Suleiman the Magnificent, is called the Noble Sanctuary. It was forbidden for non-Muslims to enter it, as is the case in Mecca and Medina, the shrine of the Burda al-Sharifa (in Turkish, the rag of Saadat) in the Top Qapu Palace in Istanbul, and the shrine of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari in Istanbul as well.

Sultan Suleiman had spent, from his legitimate share of the spoils, a thousand gold sacks for each of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem, a total equivalent to 3,000 Roman (Ottoman) sacks, i.e. 750,000 gold coins or liras.

Source: Al Jazeera