The great suburb consists of eighteen hundred houses with and without gardens, all covered with neat terraces and but few of them having upper stories; seventy-six mosques great and small without cupolas, and seven convents, the most renowned of which is that of the Mevlevís; Chelebí Effendí, the son of the great Mevlana Jelál-ud-dín, is buried here. This convent built in the olden style is situated in the midst of a delightful Persian garden, the nightingales of which with their delicious songs feed the brains of the poor Dervishes, and intoxicate them with divine love, while they themselves are singing mystic hymns in the tunes of love. Round the music-room (Ima’á-kháneh) are the cells of the Dervishes, and the convent is endowed with a good kitchen and cellar (Kílár). They preserve here Jelál-ud-dín’s habit, a Korán, and a Mesneví written by his own hand. The second convent is that of Chádirjí Sheikh Abd-ul-kádir Gíláni. There are various excellent baths, eleven great kháns, forty abecedarian schools, no houses for reading the Korán (Dár-ul-kirayet), tradition (Dár-ul-hadíth) nor for dining the poor (Dár-ul-ita’ám), but there are a great number of students (Talebe); and lectures are read in all the mosques. Amongst the inhabitants are found many clever, goodnatured, learned, pious, well-bred men, who wear short dresses, but no silk with the exception of the soldiers, who dress in cloth of various colours and also in silk. The youth of both sexes are pretty, and the ladies are chaste as Adúyeh Rábia, and wear when walking boots and a pointed cap (Arakjín); they are prohibited from walking in the market-place, which contains six hundred houses. Precious articles are kept in a small bezestán. From hence to Erzerúm situated beyond the mountains is two journies. The climate of Erzerúm is rough and very cold, while that of Erzenján on the contrary is mild, and favourable to roses and flowers. Snow falls sometimes, but remains no longer than three days. Its gardens are productive of the finest flowers and the sweetest fruits.
Praise of the Eatables and Beverages.
Seventy sorts of pears are produced here; and though the season of winter was far advanced at the time of our stay here, yet we now saw seventeen various sorts of pears offered as presents to the Páshá, with raisins and apricots; its mulberries both white and black are much renowned and when dried are exported to all countries. The sherbet of mulberries seasoned with different spices gives new life to the soul. Erzerúm is provided with fruits from this town, from whence they are transported in two days.
Pilgrimages.
The convent of Khizr, a convent of Mevlevís; the convent of Sheikk Khaled Efendí; and the tomb of Himmet Páshá, one of the vezirs of Sultán Selím, who was killed on his way to Chaldirán.
I remained here for three days to collect the sums due from the Inspectors of salt and the Súbáshí of Kúrúchaí. Whilst the inhabitants were giving feasts to the Páshá news arrived of the rebellion of Várvár Páshá, with a letter to the following intent: “My son! Hezárpara Ahmed Páshá the Vezír of Ibrahím has killed eleven Vezirs and deprived me of the Governorship of Sívás, because I did not send to the Sultán the wife of Ipshír Páshá, the daughter of the Prince of Georgia, the Lady Perikhán. Three Kapijí-bashí came with orders to take my head, but I happily escaped from them. I have now received letters from all the great and principal men at Constantinople, and from the officers of the seven military corps, summoning me to come with my troops to Scutarí, and to demand there the heads of the Vezir, of Jenjí Khoja, Begtásh Aghá, Chelebí Kiaya, Mossleh-ud-dín Aghá and Kara Chaúsh. I am now united with three Vezirs, seven Begler-begs and eleven Sanjak-begs ready to march against Constantinople. If thou wishest to save thy head from Ahmed Páshá (the grand Vezir), I invite thee to join us at Tokát, from whence we shall march our united forces to Constantinople to try our fortune.” This letter having been received at Erzenján a council was held, and the levies (levend) having determined to follow the auspices of the Páshá, the resolution was taken to join the party of the rebels, and a Fátihah was said to that intention. Alaja Atlí Hassan Aghá was sent on with a foraging party to be quarter-master general, and letters were sent to Várvár Páshá with the declaration upon oath to join him. I, poor Evliyá, was quite perplexed and out of my wits, I had so many things and goods, which I knew not how to dispose of. We were in the midst of winter, and the tradition of the prophet, “a journey is a portion of hell, be it but a farsang’s length,” received its full application. I did not know where to leave my things in safety; and only with my horse and sword accompany the Páshá, my gracious Lord, as a rebel.
We first moved from Erzenján to the north and halted after seven hours at Báshkhán; five hours further, to the village Erzensí, an Armenian village, six hours further to the village of Sheikh Sinán, near which at Bárúgúnde is the tomb of Behlúl of Samarkand, a convent of bareheaded and barefooted Begtáshís; and three hours further we crossed the bridge of the Shepherds near Hassan Kala’assí. Shah Kúrúdúmán of the Chobán family is buried in the same place with Behlúl of Samarkand. It is said, that the tomb being opened, King Chobán Kúrúdúmán with all his family was burnt by a fire that issued out by talismanic virtue. He was a Prince of great enterprise, built the bridge of Tiflís and near Melázjerd the bridge with golden rings over the Araxes. Adjoining the bridge is a magnificent caravánseraï, the windows of which look on the river, so that travellers lodging there have the pleasure of fishing out of their windows. I have sometimes passed this bridge on my way to and from Eriván. This time I visited the builder’s tomb and said the Súra yass, for his soul. We left Bárúgúnde and came after a march of eight hours to the north to Ezendeler, a cultivated village in the district of Terján, and after four hours more to the north to the station of Tapán Ahmed Aghá, where a feast for ten days was ordained. Here I took leave of the Páshá and proceeded with the men of Ahmed Aghá to Shín Kara Hissár. I first travelled towards the east through woods and deserts along the valley of Kara hissár, and villages belonging to it, and reached the town itself after a nine hours march.
Description of the strong Castle of Shín or Shábín Kara-hissár.
There are in the Ottoman Empire various castles, which bear the name of Kara-hissár, the most renowned of which is that before us. The others are Kara-hissár called Afiún (Apamea), Develí Kora-hissár, Adalia Kara-hissárí, and Ván Kara-hissárí. The two first are superior to the others. Shábín Kara-hissár is so called because a mine of alum (Sháb) was found in its mountains; the stones of the castle being black, it is also called Shabín from Shab (night, dark coloured). It was built by the Armenian kings, fell into the power of the Greek Princes of Trebisonde, and then into that of Záhir-ud-dín, the Prince of Erzenján, who conquered it on a dark night, which is another reason given for its being called Shabín. It passed into the power of Uzún Hassan, the Prince of Azerbeiján and was taken from him by Mohammed II. In the time of Sultán Selím I. it was described as a sanjak belonging to the government of Erzerúm. Its khass is thirteen thousand aspers; and there are thirty-six ziámets and nine hundred and forty timárs, which furnish, together with the men belonging to the Beg, two thousand men. The revenue of the Páshá amounts annually to forty purses. It has sometimes been given as a supplementary allowance (Arpalik) to Páshás of three tails. It was so given to Ghází Sefer Páshá, the vezir of Akhiska, in addition to Akhiska. His administrator (Motessellem) was Dervish Aghá, a Georgian and powerful commander. He once sent me on service to the valleys of Mendvál and Túsdereh by which I gained a horse, a sword, two red mules, and a Georgian boy; presented to me by himself. The judge is appointed with an hundred and fifty aspers and may annually make four thousand piastres from the different districts. There is a Muftí, a Nakíb, a Serdár, Kiaya-yerí, Subashí, Mohtessib, a Dizdár and an hundred and fifty men invested with timárs.
The castle of Shabín Kara-hissár is of a heptagon form and stands on a high mountain, appearing like a man of war dismantled and dismasted. It is the work of an architect who was a second Ferhád. It is one of the twelve fortresses in the Ottoman Empire, which, not being commanded by the neighbouring heights, seem to have been built by the hand of Omnipotence. The height of the walls on all the seven sides is seventy cubits, with seventy bulwarks and seven hundred battlements. The whole circumference is three thousand six hundred paces; there is no ditch, it being surrounded by precipices. It has three strong gates where the garrison keep watch day and night, because the inhabitants of the villages along the shores of the Black sea send all their best goods into the castle to protect them from the inroads of the Cossacks; there are seventy houses with terraces, but they suffer from want of water, which is obliged to be brought upon asses from the river below; in case of siege they use the water kept in cisterns. The magazines are full of millet and rice, and have been for more than a century. As it is not a frontier fortress the artillery is neither heavy nor numerous. A small mosque bearing the name of Sultán Mohammed II., a khán, bath and market are in the lower town or suburb. This suburb, with gardens around it, consists of sixteen hundred terraced houses, the windows of which look towards the north; the courtyards are spacious. There are forty-two mosques, none of which are covered with lead, like those of the Sultáns at Constantinople; the one within the market place near the court of justice is much frequented: three convents, two baths, four kháns, seven schools for boys and an hundred and fifty shops; as this place does not lie on the great road, but on one side of it, its establishments are not very elegant. Tapán Ahmed Aghá began a new bezestán with eighty shops on both sides of the main street; it is sheltered by a roof against rain and foul weather, and protected by two gates on each side against thieves and bad men. Watchmen keep guard every night because many precious things are deposited there.