TRAVEL HISTORY AND CULTURE
In the history of the world, one of the greatest travelers who wrote history by traveling is Evliya Çelebi, who defined himself as “seyyâh-ı âlem” and “nedîm-i âdem”. Evliya Çelebi wanted to devote his life to travel as he heard news about the world in the gatherings he attended. Evliya Çelebi, who found the inspiration he was looking for with a dream, collected his more than forty years of travel experience in his 10-volume Seyahatnâme and provided an important source on many countries and cities of the 17th century. Having traveled to 46 countries and 225 cities in three continents during his travels, Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatnâme has become one of the reference sources on many issues such as the history, culture, social structure and economy of the cities.
Evliya Çelebi Studies Center, established in 2011 within Fatih Sultan Mehmet Foundation University to conduct research on Evliya Çelebi, is planning a series of symposiums with international participation centered on travel and Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatnâme.
The first symposium of this series will be held on 5-7 October 2023 under the title "History and Culture of Travel".
The symposium, which will be hosted by Fatih Sultan Mehmet Foundation University in Istanbul, will focus on the history and culture of travel in general, Evliya Çelebi and Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatnâme in particular. The aim of the symposium is to focus on travel history and travel culture, and to look at the travelers and their texts that shaped world history from an interdisciplinary perspective. In this context, travelers, the texts of travelers, comparative readings between these texts and the effects of travel are among the main topics of the symposium.