Description of a Lion.
Upon the gate leading to the outer town a lion, stuffed with cotton, is to be seen, it has oranges in the place of eyes, yawning like a seven-headed dragon, with a piece of red felt instead of a tongue, and teeth as sharp as Turcoman daggers or Arab lances. It measures from its nose to its tail forty-five spans. This mountain lion continued his havoc on the cattle of the neighbouring country for seven years, when it was killed by a brave man, and placed by the order of Ahmed Tapán upon the gate of his new built bezestán. It is a terrific beast, with feet resembling columns; it is not so beautiful as the lions of Baghdád, Helle, Jevazer and Kavarna, with their yellow coloured hair of a span’s length, like Angora-goats. Lions being generally the inhabitants of deserts, this one of the mountains deserves so much the more to be noticed. The mountains of this part, being all covered with thick forests, abound with leopards, lynxes, wild sheep, martens, wolves, foxes and jackals, and men are scarcely able to fetch wood from the mountains because they are so full of ferocious animals. A party of Cossacks, who had once pushed their inroads as far as these mountains, became the prey of wild beasts; intending to devour men’s goods they were themselves devoured, and ever since the town has enjoyed perfect security from the roving Cossacks, who availed themselves of the vicinity of the Black Sea.
In this town I saw another marvellous thing, it was a boy standing before a barber’s shop with his father who begged alms; the boy was about eight or nine years of age with a stupendous head, like the heads of the people of A’ad and Themúd, like the head of Salsál (?) at Akgermán or like pumpkins of Adana and cabbages of Ván, on a neck no thicker than an arm, which not being capable of bearing such an enormous weight the head was supported by a wooden fork, which was fixed in the ground, and on it the weight of the head rested. This monstrous head, held up in this way before a barber’s shop, laughed in the faces of all who passed by. It had no turban but a kind of coarse saddle-cloth wrapped round it, the brows were of two fingers breadth extending to the ears, which were of human form, but of immense size, as were also the eyes, the lashes of which resembled arrows; the nose was somewhat of the shape of a Melonyena (Bádinján) of Morea, and when breathing, the nostrils were like those of a snorting horse; the mouth opened to such an astonishing width, that he was able to swallow at once a small water melon; of his teeth two were curved outside of the mouth towards the upper, and two downwards to the under lip; the lips were ruby-coloured but like the lips of a camel; the spittle was continually running out of his mouth. The physiognomy was that of a Kalmúk, and the hair crisped like that of black Arabs. The arms and breasts were those of a boy’s of his years, the fingers very thin and the feet like sticks. This was a case to apply the verse of the Koran to: “God does what he wills and orders what he likes.” I asked the father whether the mother of this monstrous child was still alive, he said “Yes, and that she was actually again with child.” I said, “Bandage her body tightly, that she may miscarry, for if the head of the child should grow to the size of its brother’s, its entrance into the world might cause an inconvenient enlargement.” The father said, “You are joking, but I assure you most earnestly, that when the mother of this boy laid in with him, the birth was so easy that she was aware of nothing at all and thanked God for such an easy deliverance.” I, poor Evliyá, said, “But never has there been created a creature with such a head, such a face and such teeth; do you believe it to be the real produce of your loins?” The man answered, “Having once gone to the mountain with my wife to cut wood, we there enjoyed a shepherd’s hour in most pleasant conversation. I then left her reposing under a tree, and went on my business, when I suddenly heard her cries, and saw her running towards me pursued by a naked giant, tall as the fir-trees. When she got home she fell sick, and her figure increased in size daily, until at the end of a year’s time she was delivered of this boy, whose head grows bigger and bigger every day.” I said, “If it please God, that it should still grow to a larger size, you must come to Constantinople, where if shown to the Vezirs and great men of the Empire he may easily gain two thousand piastres in a year.”
Praise of the Alum, called Solomon’s Alum.
This is a reddish alum produced in the mountains of this town, which is therefore called Shábín Kara-hissár; it is much sought after by the goldsmiths of all countries. The Inspectorship is let at seven hundred thousand aspers a year. It breaks up into pentagon and sexagon stones shaped like the seal of Solomon; the goldsmiths use it to brighten the silver, and the surgeons for plasters. It has many excellent qualities. The temperature of this town being mild the inhabitants are fair. Its quinces and a kind of small bread are famous. We remained here three days as guests in the palace of Tapán Ahmed Aghá, purchased coffee, horse-shoes and some other necessary things and then returned.
On our journey we passed a great river, which flows into the Kerkúk, and whose waters collect from the vallies of Mánd, Vál, and Kúrd-dereh. After six hours march to the west we reached the village of Yakúb-aghá and further on, along the shores of the Kerkúk, through steep and stony ways and the tremendous pass of Bogház-kessen, to where the river, which flows through Amasia, enters the Kerkúk, and falls into the sea at Ener. Having passed it we continued our way for eight hours over hills and valleys and arrived at the Castle of Hájí Murád, built by Uzún Hassan’s vezír. After the defeat of Uzún Hassan it surrendered its keys without contest to Mahmúd Páshá, the vezír of Sultán Mohammed II. It is a high and steep castle like that of Kavilí-hissár, of a thousand paces in circumference and without a ditch, which from its situation on a hill would be superfluous. In the castle are seventy small houses, but no market, khán, bath, college or imáret. There are a great number of nut-trees. On the border of the Kerkúk, which flows at the foot of the castle in a deep valley is a khán. The Súbashí resident here is subordinate to Shábín Kara-hissár. I here informed the Páshá of the strength of Shábín Kara-hissár, at which he was surprised. From hence we ascended a high mountain to the north and came in six hours to the village of Chaúdár; in seven more to Emírler, a village in the territory of Shábín; in five more to an Armenian village; in four more to the west to the village of Kílárjí Veliaga, on the border of a high mountain, consisting of two hundred houses, in the jurisdiction of Iskefser, in five more to the station of Básh-chiflik also in the jurisdiction of Iskefser on the frontier of Erzerúm and Sívás, which has already been mentioned on our road to Erzerúm. Further to the west is the castle of Ník-hissár (good castle) and five hours further the village of Kazán-kia in the province of Sívás, in the jurisdiction of Ník-hissár. Still passing to the west by Bogház-kessen we came through thick woods to the village of Kúmánova; in two hours more to the great village Sontissa, on the frontier of Nígissár, with three hundred houses, a mosque, and bath; and in five hours more to Zavádí-tekiessí, of two hundred houses, on a high mountain on the frontier of Ládík; a great foundation, being a great convent at the tomb of a great saint. Its Dervishes are almost all of the Prophet’s family. I here performed with the Páshá the prayer of I’idí-asha (Kurbán-bairám) and the Sheikh of the convent gave us a repast. The tails having been sent on, we passed the next morning in five hours the pass of Setlí-púlí, and arrived at the village of Hamíd, which has a mosque and gardens; and in five hours more to the west, at Ládík.
Description of the Castle of Ládík.
This castle was built by one Havík one of the Greek Princes of Amasia. Melek Ghází of the Dánishmend family, who came from Mahán with the Seljúk family, conquered both Ník-hissár and Ládík in the same year. There are three Ládíks in the Ottoman Empire, viz: that of Konia now quite ruined by rebellions, that of Korládík in the province of Ván and the third, Ládík of Amasia. After the conquest of the town by Bayazíd I., Ládík surrendered its keys to Timúr-tásh Páshá, who accepted them with the good wish that the inhabitants might live long. The blessing of this wish is still evident in the long and prosperous lives of the inhabitants. Bayazíd II., when governor of Amasia, passed six months of the year in this place and made a delightful garden, which is kept in order by a Master (Ustá) and forty Bostánjís, Kúrújí and Tablakjí. It is a town free from all duties and gifts, because it is the wakf of Bulbul Khatún the mother of Ahmed I. The governor of Sívás has no right to interfere by his officers. The judge has the rank and pay of three hundred aspers, but may collect in a fair way six purses annually from the districts. There is a Muftí, Nakíb, Serdár, Kiaya-yerí, Naíb and Mohtessib. The Castle is an old pile of building, which is now without a commander or garrison; the Bostánjís run over the woods and heaths and watch the town, which has seventeen quarters; forty-seven Mihrábs, six of which are jamís and three of them Imperial ones; three thousand and twenty houses covered with bricks and surrounded with gardens; seven convents, the most remarkable of which is that of Seid Ahmed Kebír; two baths; seven kháns; a large caravánseraï, built by Gházi Davúd Páshá; four hundred shops, and a bezestán; forty-one palaces of Vezírs and great men, all having baths; no particular college, but lectures are given in all the mosques; eighteen schools for boys and two dining establishments. The Noblemen wear sable pelisses, the merchants ferráje and kontosh of cloth, and the women velvet trowsers, boots, ferráje of cloth, white veils and pointed caps; they are no where to be seen but in the bath and in the houses where they pay visits. They are most modest, lovely creatures, who entangle lovers with sweet words and gracious behaviour.
Its eatables are large pears better than those of Malatia, Nissú, Khúí and Merend; delicious cherries, a kind of bread called Memejik-ekmek which is the first bread in the world after the Súmún of Sapánja: there are no raisins, melons, water-melons, figs, &c. The white honey called Tághbálí is not equalled either by that of Creta, Adana or Sicily. Its fine cotton linen excels the linen of Mossúl and Lekefúr in Persia.