Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

26/05/2009 15:27

Horses, history and adventure: The Evliya elebi Way With the 400th anniversary of Ottoman traveler Evliya elebi's birth coming up in 2011, an international team is working to create a cultural route in Anatolia -the Evliya elebi Way (EW) -- to celebrate his life and work. The route, however, goes beyond being a historical long-ride and will also benefit those who live along it, as well as highlighting Evliya as a new symbol for Turkey. Celebrating Evliya He was an extraordinary individual, explained Dr. Caroline Finkel, Ottoman historian and author of Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire. He needs to be commemorated in style, she continued, adding, He's unique among Ottoman travelers, for the range of his journeys and his lengthy account of them. Only excerpts of his 10-volume Seyahatname' have been translated from Ottoman Turkish into English. We intend to translate the section we're following, which is the early stages of his journey to perform the pilgrimage to the Islamic holy places in the Hejaz in 1671. The EW will be a marked route passing through countryside visited by only those people who choose to go off the beaten track. These are ideal conditions for short or long treks, on horseback or on foot, through open countryside amidst the burgeoning population centers of western Turkey, Finkel observed. The first part of the project is the Evliya elebi Ride (ER), a 1,000-kilometerlong journey by horse. In September, on the third day of eker Bayram (Sugar Holiday), Finkel and cultural historian Professor Donna Landry (author of Noble Brutes: How Eastern Horses Transformed English Culture) will set out with their fellow riders from near stanbul and head into northwest Anatolia. They will travel from Hersek to znik, followed by Yeniehir, negl, Tavanl, Ktahya, Afyon, Sandkl, Banaz, Uak, Gediz and Simav, where they will leave Evliya's route to return to celebrations in Ktahya -- Evliya's ancestral home. Most significantly, this route shows his roundabout method of traveling and crisscrosses rarely visited countryside between these towns, explained Finkel, adding,We'll first write a book about the ER, similar to the trekking guides the Lycian Way' and the St. Paul's Trail' but with more historical background, that we hope will appear in 2011, and also a more academic one. Evliya traveled on horseback for most of 40 years, and there are things that you can learn about the history of his time only from following in his tracks, things that you cannot grasp simply from sitting in the archives, explained Finkel. There are other reasons behind the ride. Turkey is a land that asks to be traveled on horseback, enthused historian Professor Gerald MacLean (Mac, author of The Rise of Oriental Travel, and Looking East) who is also a member of the project. Unlike Europe, Turkey boasts many areas that are still difficult to reach by car or bus. It's also still possible to cover great distances by horse.
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Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

26/05/2009 15:27

Also directly involved in the venture are two Turkish horsemen -- Ercihan Dilari, who will supply the horses, and Mahir Badoan -- Turkish oral historian Dr. Leyla Neyzi and English botanist Andrew Byfield. Much more than a long ride The EW started out as historical research combined with a long-distance ride, MacLean explained. It's now a project which aims to contribute to rural communities along the route and to Turkey in general. The countryside along the route is much neglected and the people are, we discovered, barely better off than villagers in the east, Finkel lamented. Similar to the Lycian Way and St. Paul's Trail, the ER book will help to contribute to the local economy through sustainable tourism and could also act as a catalyst for local development projects along the route. Horse culture is alive and well in Turkey and needs to be celebrated, MacLean pointed out. Another aspect of the EW is to raise awareness about vanishing indigenous horse breeds and equestrian traditions, and encourage their preservation. For centuries, horses [along with camels, buffalo carts, mules, donkeys and on foot] were the method of travel in Anatolia and beyond. There would have been no Ottoman Empire if there had been no horses, and they played a vital role in the life of the Turkish Republic too, Finkel emphasized. In the 1990s Landry was surprised to discover how important horses still are in rural Turkey. While on long-distance buses, Mac and I got talking with local people. There were horses, ponies, and donkeys in villages and on the by-ways everywhere in Turkey, not just in the Southeast. There was a real culture of horse-keeping unseen by urbanites. Many farmers, men and women, went between the village and the allotment, the tarla,' on horseback. Racing enthusiasts in Turkey weren't confined to Arabian and ngiliz' thoroughbred racing -- they included fans of the rahvan,' or ambling-speed racing horses, she explained. Oral tradition is nowadays often undervalued, but people along the route possess a wealth of information related to horses, both cultural and historical. Neyzi has already started recording it. I'm interested in the way horses are used in everyday life, and also how they inhabit people's imagination as a metaphor and in connection with how they construct their identities, she explained. Last summer I went to towns and villages along the route and interviewed people, both young and old, who keep horses, racehorses, trade horses and who work in horse-related professions such as farriers. I've also interviewed several riding instructors in stanbul. I realized that horses still occupy an important place in the folk imagination of Turkey, and was impressed by the enthusiasm of the people I interviewed and by their love and knowledge of horses. However, I also saw how stud farms and riding schools have eroded over time, she explained. Both the EW and the ride are good public relations for Turkey, Finkel underlined. All countries need positive symbols, she explained, and it would be good for Turkey to have a symbol that is neither political nor exotic and orientalizing. Atatrk, Islam, the harem, hamams, etc., are all very well, but Evliya elebi is an individual to rank among world travelers such as Marco Polo
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Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

26/05/2009 15:27

and Ibn Battuta. Wider knowledge of his achievements and of the account he left us will add a completely fresh dimension to the outsider's associations with the modern country where he once traveled. She added: Turkey will benefit from our books, and we're in discussions about a film. Certainly there will be a film of some sort, which we will hope to get screened both inside and outside the country. Making the EW a reality It's been 10 years since Finkel, Landry and MacLean first had the idea of the EW, and response among like-minded people has been very enthusiastic. But what about in Turkey and abroad in general? The Turkish Tourism and Culture Ministry is very supportive of the EW. This year it was included in an application for a package of cultural routes in Turkey which could be eligible for EU funding. It's hard to do the ER without the moral support of the Turkish Tourism and Culture Ministry, and the EW depends on them and others, such as the Turkish Forestry and Environment Ministry. We'll hear the result in 2010, said Finkel. So far we've funded the project out of our pockets, explained Finkel, continuing:We've approached some institutions such as banks, companies and horse-related individuals, but no one is willing to help. I think this is because of the modernizing tendency in Turkey, where winning equestrian competitions on imported European horses, or winning at the racecourse, is what preoccupies people, rather than concern about losing the rich culture of the past. We thought we'd encourage interest by offering advertising or logo visibility, but there have been no takers so far. We really hope for Turkish funding because it's the history of Turkey that's in question. And the future of Turkey's countryside and villagers... So how much do they need to complete both the ER and the EW? The budget depends on how many horses we have. With six or seven horses, the estimated cost of the ER is around $30,000: rental of horses; feed; farrier; horse transport; vet; support vehicle; clothing; tack; camping equipment, etc. We hope to get some stuff in-kind if we're lucky. The cost of the EW is uncertain as yet. If we're lucky enough to get EU funding, it will be used for the EW because it will arrive too late for the ER this fall, she explained. There's also international interest in the project. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has given its approval. A wellknown US filmmaker was keen to film the ER, but has unfortunately been unable to raise funding. Now a Turkish filmmaker and a Belgian filmmaker have expressed interest. Everyone we speak to thinks it's an exciting idea, and is keen to come along, but we've clearly not yet found the people with both interest and money, Finkel lamented. Further travels with Evliya This is only the beginning: we imagine further adventures on Evliya elebi's routes in the future in the Urfa region of southeast Turkey, and in the northeast, around Kars, say the riders. They also say that exploring three different regions
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Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news

26/05/2009 15:27

will allow people to see varied natural and historical landscapes, and also to seek out local horse-ways and the remains of nomadic culture. For more information visit: http://www.kent.ac.uk/english/evliya/index.html or http://www.sabanciuniv.edu/ssbf/evliyacelebi/tr 26.05.2009 Expat Zone
THERESA DAY

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