EVLIYA ÇELEBI'S TRIP TO VAN

Van Castle, Lake Van, Tatvan, Mount Süphan, Erciş, Ahlat

Evliya Çelebi was born in Istanbul in 1611, and while his exact date of death is uncertain, it is generally accepted as 1685. He meticulously documented his travels over half a century in a ten-volume travelogue. The fourth volume of this ten-volume travelogue includes his journey to Van in 1655. This work, in which Evliya Çelebi recounts his experiences during his trip to Van, provides important insights into life in and around Lake Van 364 years ago. However, I would like to note from the outset that Evliya Çelebi often exaggerates in his travelogue, sometimes incorporating exaggerated imagination in his sentences. Now, I will take you to Lake Van and its surroundings 364 years ago through Evliya Çelebi's Travelogue:

Evliya Çelebi passed through Bitlis during his journey to Van. While passing through Bitlis, he mentions (in his own words) the interesting fruits and vegetables grown around Lake Van:

The Bohtan melon is found in the Van region.

Date palms, figs, bananas, cypress trees, lemons, and bitter oranges used to grow in the palace gardens of Bitlis Han, and they were wrapped in felt to keep them warm in winter.

He also mentions Işkın (Uçkun) among the famous foods of Bitlis. It is quite interesting that fruits such as dates, figs, bananas, and lemons, which would not normally grow in a continental climate, are cultivated in Bitlis and protected by wrapping them in felt during the winter.

Evliya Çelebi also mentions Tatvan, which he passed through during his travels. He writes that Tatvan was then called Tahtıvan and was a sub-district of Van. He also states that in Tahtıvan, tolls, customs duties, and tithes were collected from ships traveling on Lake Van.

Evliya Çelebi, while traveling towards Van, took the route from Tatvan through Ahlat and Erciş, passing along the shores of Lake Van. He also recounted what he saw during this journey:

Lake Van is a toxic, salty lake.

There are a total of 9 castles around Lake Van.

There are two large islands in Lake Van: one is Ahtamar and the other is Ahdim-var island.

The fish of Lake Van emerge and for a full month, hundreds of thousands of small and large fish of all kinds pass upstream through this Bend-i Mahî Stream. However, their path is blocked on their return journey with nets, hence the name Bend-i Mahî. All the people collect the fish and salt them.

There are a total of 50 ships on Lake Van.

On a rock by Lake Van, a man is found hanging by chains. Only his bones remain; neither the chains nor the bones have decayed.

There are very large caves in Ahlat, inhabited by radiant-faced men who have lived alone for 40-50 years, sleeping on mats, and not eating meat or hot meals. They perform ablutions with the sweet water flowing from inside the caves, and they spend their days fasting and their nights awake.

On Mount Nimrod, while Nimrod's men were transporting stones with camels, by God's command, about seventy camels, like their loads, turned to stone, and the camel drivers also turned completely to stone. All the camels were lined up in rows; some collapsed, some standing, and some of the camel drivers standing, some collapsing. They have remained intact for 3700 years, all of them flint.

Red Arsenic (a depilatory) and Yellow Arsenic (supposedly used to turn copper into gold) are found in the Ahlat mountains.

Adilcevaz Castle is a round castle, like a walnut.

Evliya Çelebi was very impressed by Mount Süphan:

If the Jewish people were to climb Mount Süphan, they would die of fright. There's even a saying among the Jews in Van, "May you reach Mount Süphan."

Most of the animals grazing on Mount Süphan have two lambs each.

On the plateau of Mount Süphan, the wife of a Mongol man named "Sücâh" gave birth to forty children in one hour, twenty girls and twenty boys, in a single pregnancy lasting nine months and ten days.

Hyenas, striped hyenas, wolves, foxes, jackals, and tigers live on Mount Süphan, but they never have cubs.

On Mount Süphan, wolves and sheep roam side by side without harming each other. That's why shepherds are not favored on this mountain.

On Mount Süphan, birds of prey do not breed or stay long-lived, but vultures are numerous and live for a thousand years.

On Mount Süphan, chickens lay two eggs every day.

There is a poisonous spring called Ayn-ı Çemen on Mount Süphan. This spring emerges with a great noise, flows for a while, and then disappears. Animals and humans who drink from it die, and the area is filled with bones.

A salty stream flows from the foothills of Mount Süphan, and stones have formed around this stream from the water. They make wooden boxes, fill them with water, add some of this salt to the water, and it turns into stone, which they then use in building construction.

Evliya Çelebi visited Erciş before arriving in Van. He described Erciş as having a large harbor and a large fortress.

Evliya Çelebi states in his travelogue that Van was called Aleksandra in the Greek language, which actually means Alexander.

Evliya Çelebi describes Van Castle at length (in his own words):

Van Castle, located in Azerbaijani territory, in Armenian lands, is bordered by Lake Van to the south, west, and north, and faces the Gardens of Irem to the east and south. It appears like a camel burdened and collapsing in the middle of a vast desert. Behind it, however, is a breathtaking rock formation adorned with various shades of blue, red, and chameleon-like patterns, reaching towards the sky.

The Kırkçeşme Spring used to flow from inside Van Castle.

Van Castle was built by Kılıç Arslan Şahtır in the year 1131.

On the north side of Van Castle, adjacent to the castle itself, an earth mound has been created, resembling a columnar mountain; this earth was plowed and accumulated by Timur over a period of three years.

The first settlers on the rock of Van Castle were the Ad tribe.

During the Ottoman period, Van Castle was first renovated by Hüsrev Pasha.

Those who have examined Van Castle in detail know that many of the rocks on top of the castle appear in the shape of lions. This is probably why all Persian historians call Van Castle the Red Lion.

Van Castle has 600 large caves. These caves contain numerous workshops (devdah-hane) where workers cleaned silk threads.

Salted fish and meat can be found in a cave within the castle.

There is also wine in the castle for the infidels.

One cave contains a naphtha mine, where the oil flows from the rock and collects in a large pool.

In Van Castle, they scraped the wool from cowhide and the hair from buffalo hide, sliced them into thin strips, filled large pools with them , and poured honey over them until they were full; some were even filled with molasses. The mixture became so delicious that no trace of the cowhide or buffalo hide remained, creating a kind of jam so rich that one could never get enough of it.

From Van Castle, if one looks towards the Edremit vineyards, there are cannons that will not allow ships to sail forty miles out to sea if the enemy is spotted.

The Horhor River originates within Van Castle, and a thousand-step staircase leads down to the Horhor River rock at the top of the castle.

SOURCE:

Evliya Çelebi's Travelogue in Modern Turkish, Book 4, Yapı Kredi Publications, Seyit Ali Kahraman, Yücel Dağlı, 2010.

Photos: Natali Avazyan Archive.