Part 1
TRAVELS INTO _TURKEY_: Containing the most accurate Account of the TURKS, AND Neighbouring NATIONS, Their MANNERS, CUSTOMS, RELIGION, SUPERSTITION, POLICY, RICHES, COINS, _&c._
The whole being a series of remarkable observations and events, interspers’d with great variety of entertaining incidents, never before printed.
Translated from the Original _Latin_ of the Learned _A. G. BUSBEQUIUS_.
_With Memoirs of the Life of the Illustrious Author._
_LONDON_:
Printed for J. ROBINSON, at the _Golden-Lyon_ in _Ludgate-Street_; and W. PAYNE, opposite _Durham Yard_ in the _Strand_. M.DCC.XLIV.
EXTRACT OF THE LIFE OF The AUTHOR
_From M. BAYLE._
That he was born in _Flanders_, educated at _Paris_, _Lorrain_, _Venice_, _Bologna_, and _Padua_; made great Progress in his Studies, having acquir’d a Knowledge in near Ten different Languages; was sometime in _London_, with the Emperor _Ferdinand_’s Ambassador; returned to _Flanders_, and from thence to _Vienna_, where he was appointed Ambassador to _Solyman the Great_, and soon set out for _Constantinople_; but not finding him there, was obliged to go to _Amasia_, &c. and during his long Stay in that Country, having a strong Propensity to Learning, collected many valuable Manuscripts, Coins, _&c._ Took great Delight in procuring rare Plants, and studying the Nature of Animals; made himself perfect Master of the _Turkish_ State, Policy, _&c._ That the Account he composed of his Journey, is a very good Work, and deserves the Approbation of all good Judges; the Learned _Sadelerius_, in his Edition of it, Printed at _Mons_, asserts it deserves a Thousand Impressions. The Celebrated _Thuanus_ owns he transcribed many Things out of it to insert in his History, and likewise gives a great Character of the Author and his Work. In short, as we have no good Account of that Country and People, an _English_ Version, ’tis presum’d, will be agreeable to the Public.
N. B. _Those who are inclin’d, may see a much larger Account of the Author in ~Bayle’s~ Dictionary, ~Vol. II.~_
_Busbequius_’s TRAVELS INTO _TURKEY_.
_SIR_,
As I promised you, at parting, to give you a full Account of my Journey to _Constantinople_, so, I shall now make good my Word; and I hope, with Advantage too. For, I shall also acquaint you with my Adventures in my Travel to _Amasia_, as well as That to _Constantinople_, the _former_ being less used, and consequently far less known, than the _latter_. My Design herein, is, to allow you a Part of the Solace, of what happened pleasurable to me; for so the ancient Friendship betwixt us obliges me, to appropriate no Joy to myself, without communicating the same to you; but, as for what happened incommodious to me, (as, in so long and tedious a Journey, some Things must needs do) those I take to my self; neither would I have you concerned in them at all; for, the Danger being now past, the more grievous they were to suffer, the more pleasant will they be, even to myself, to remember and commit to Writing.
Upon the Receipt of his Letter, _Ferdinand_ was at a stand; he did not fully believe, nor yet altogether disbelieve him; he was inclined to suspect, that the Memory of his _former_ Sufferings, and the Fear of _future ones_, did deter him from that Employment, rather than the Danger of his Disease; and yet, on the other side, he did not think it creditable for himself to employ a Man that had so well deserved of him and of the Commonwealth, in any Service against his Will. But the Death of _Malvezius_, which followed a few Months after, did sufficiently convince him, that his Disease was not pretended, to decline the Employment, but was really a Mortal one.
Upon this, I was substituted in the Place of _Malvezius_: But, being unexperienced (as I said before) in the Affairs and Manners of the _Turks_, King _Ferdinand_ thought it adviseable for me to bestow a Visit upon _Malvezius_ in his Sickness, that so, by his Directions and Advice, I might be better cautioned and armed against any Impositions of the captious _Turks_. Two Days I staid with him, which was as much as the straitness of my Time would permit; and I husbanded them so well, as to be informed by him, what I was to act, and what to avoid, in my daily Convention with the _Turks_.
Whereupon, I posted back to _Vienna_, and began, with great Application and Diligence, to prepare Necessaries for my Journey. But such was the Flush of Business, and so little the Time allowed to dispatch it, that, when the Day fixt for my Departure came, though the King did earnestly press me forward, and I had been extremely Busy all the Day in equipping myself, and in causing Bag and Baggage to be pack’d up, even from the fourth Watch; yet it was the first Watch of the following Night, before I could be quite ready; but then the Gates of _Vienna_, which at that time of Night us’d always to be shut, were opened on purpose for me. The Emperor went abroad a Hunting that Day, but he told his Followers, That he did not doubt but that I would be upon my Way, before he returned from his Sport in the Evening, and it fell out accordingly; yet so, that I was but just gone before he came Home.
At eleven o’Clock at Night, we came to _Ficiminum_, a Town in _Hungary_, four Miles from _Vienna_; there we Supp’d, for our haste was so great that we came Supperless out of Town; from thence we travelled towards _Comora_. The Emperor, among the rest of his Commands, had enjoin’d me to take along with me to _Buda_, one _Paul Palinai_ from _Comora_, a Man well acquainted with the Rapins and Depredations of the _Turks_, and so was best able to assist me in my Expostulations with the Bashaw of _Buda_, and in my Demands for satisfaction of Injuries received. But he, not in the least suspecting that my departure would have been so punctual at the Day appointed, had not yet stirred from his own House, and there was no Body could tell when he would come; which uncertainty troubled me very much. I acquainted King _Ferdinand_ therewith by Letter, and all the next Day stayed at _Comora_ expecting his coming.
But the third Day, I passed over the River _Vaga_, and prosecuted my Journey towards _Gran_, the first Garrison of the _Turks_ I came to in _Hungary_. Col. _John Pax_, Governor of _Comora_ had sent sixteen Horse with me (of those that the _Hungarians_ call _Hussars_) to be my Guard; and he had given them a Charge not to leave me, till they came in sight of the _Turkish_ Convoy; for the Governor of _Gran_ had signified to me, that his Soldiers should meet me half way. We travelled about three Hours through a vast Plain, when, behold! there appeared afar off four _Turkish_ Horse; and yet, notwithstanding, my _Hungarian_ Guard accompanied me still, till I desired them to retire; for I was afraid that if they should come up to the _Turks_, some troublesome Bickering would have intervened betwixt them.
As soon as the _Turks_ saw me to draw near, they rode up to me, and saluted me by my Coach side: thus we passed on a while together, discoursing interchangeably one with another, (for I had a little Youth for my Interpreter.) I expected no other Convoy, but when we descended into a low Valley, I saw my self on a sudden, surrounded with a Party of about a hundred and fifty Horse. It was a very pleasant Spectacle to a Man, unaccustomed to see such Sights, for their Bucklers and Spears were curiously Painted, their Sword-handles bedeck’d with Jewels, their Plumes of Feathers party-coloured, and the Coverings of their Heads were twisted with round Windings as white as Snow; their Apparel was Purple-coloured, or at least a dark Blue; they rode upon stately Praunsers, adorn’d with most beautiful Trappings. Their Commanders came up to me, and after friendly Salutation they bid me Welcome; and asked me, How I had fared on my Journey? I answer’d them as I thought fit; and thus they led me to _Gran_, for so the Castle is called, situate on an Hill, whose Foot is washed by the _Danow_, with a Town adjoining, built in a Plain. I retired into the Town, the Arch-bishop whereof is Primate of _Hungary_, and for Dignity, Authority and Opulency, is inferior to no Nobleman of that Kingdom.
Here I was entertained, not after a Courtly, but after a Military manner; for instead of Beds, they spread abroad course shaggy Rugs of Tapestry upon hard Boards; there were no Bed-ticks nor Sheets: Here my Family had the first taste of _Turkish_ Delights (forsooth;) as for my self, I fared better, for my Bed was carried along with me wheresoever I went.
The Day after my Arrival, the _Sanziac_ of the Place (for so the _Turks_ call a Governor, because a _Sanziac_ (_i. e._) a gilded brass Ball, is carried before him on the top of a Spear, as a Cornet to a Troop of Horse) was very earnest to speak with me; and tho’ I had no Letter, nor any other Command to deliver to him, yet such was his importunity, that go I must. And when I came, I found he had no Business with me, but only to see and salute me, and to ask me something of my Errand; and thus, exhorting me to promote a Peace, he wish’d me a happy Journey. In my Passage, I admir’d to hear the croaking of Frogs in such a cold Season of the Year as the Month of _December_; the cause was, the Waters stagnant in those Places are made warm by sulphureous Exhalations.
Leaving _Gran_, I went towards _Buda_; but to be sure, I took my Breakfast before-hand, which was likely to be my Dinner also; for there was no Place to bait at before I came to _Buda_. The _Sanziac_, or Governor of the Place, with all his Family, together with the Horse which he Commanded, came out of the Town with me, to bring me on my Way: I could by no means persuade him to omit this Office of Respect. The Horse, as soon as they came out of the Gates, began to shew me some sport, curvetting and discharging one against another; they threw their Bonnets on the Ground, and Galloping their Horses with full speed, by them, they took them up by the Points of their Spears; and many such Ludicrous Pranks did they perform. Amongst the rest of them, there was a _Tartar_, who had thick Bushy Hair hanging down over his Shoulders; they told me, that he always went bare Headed, and would never have any other Fence for his Head, either against the Violence of the Weather, or the Hazard of a Battle, but his own Hair. The _Sanziac_, after he had accompanied me as far as he pleased, returned Home, but not before we had taken our Leaves of one another, and he had left some Guides for my Journey, in my Retinue.
When I drew near to _Buda_, a few _Turkish Chiaux_’s met me on the Way, (they are in the Nature of Pursuivants, or Serjeants at Arms, to carry about the Commands of the Grand Seignior, or his Bashaw’s, and are Officers of great Esteem in that Nation) by them, I was brought to lodge in the House of a Citizen, who was an _Hungarian_, where my Baggage, Coach and Horses, was better provided for, than myself; for the _Turks_ take special Care that Horses, with their Equipage, be well accommodated; as for the Men, if they have but an House over their Heads to shelter them from the Weather, they think they may shift well enough for themselves. The Bashaw of _Buda_ sent one to visit me, and bid me welcome, his Name was _Tuigon_, (which in _Turkish_, signifies a Stork) by him he excused himself to me, that he could not admit me into his Presence for some Days, because of a grievous Disease he laboured under; but as soon as ever he recovered a little Strength, he said, he would wait upon me. This Delay was the Occasion, that the aforementioned Absence of _Palinai_ was less prejudicial to me, than otherwise it would have been, (to say no more) for he used great Diligence to Post after, lest he might come too late, and accordingly he overtook me a little while after.
I was detained at _Buda_ a long Time, by reason of the Sickness of the Bashaw; ’twas thought his Disease was Grief, which he had conceived for the Loss of a great Sum of Money, which was stolen from the Place in which he had hid it, for he was commonly reported to be a Penurious and Sordid-spirited Man. When he heard, that I had brought the Heer _William Quacquelben_ with me, a great Philosopher, and an excellent Physician too, he earnestly intreated me, that he might give him a Visit to administer some Physick to him, in order to his Cure. I easily granted his Request, but soon after, was almost ready to repent of my Facility: For the Bashaw grew worse and worse, and, ’twas thought, he would not have recovered; so that I was afraid, if he had died, the _Turks_ would say, my Physician had kill’d him, and by that means, the good Man might have run a great Hazard, and I myself also might have born Part of the Infamy, as being accessary thereunto; but it pleased God to free me from this Anxiety, by restoring the Bashaw to his Health.
’Twas at _Buda_ I got the first Sight of the _Janizaries_, so the _Turks_ call the Prætorian Foot; their Number, when it is fullest, is twelve Thousand, and their Prince disperses them all over his Dominions, either to Garrison his Forts against an Enemy, or to be a Safeguard to _Christians_ and _Jews_, against the injurious Rage of the Multitude; for there is no well Inhabited Village, Town, or City, wherein there are not some or other of these _Janizarias_, to protect _Christians_, _Jews_, and other helpless Persons, from the Fury of the Rabble. The Castle of _Buda_ is always Garrison’d by them; their Habit is a long Garment down to their Ankles, upon their Heads they wear the Sleeve of a Coat, or Cloak (for from thence, as they say, the Pattern was drawn) their Head is put into part of it, and part of it hangs down behind, flapping upon their Shoulders; in the Front, or Fore-part of it, there ariseth a Silver-Cone, somewhat long, gilt over with Gold, and wrought with Jewels, but they were of an ordinary Sort. These _Janizaries_ usually came to me by Couples; when they were admitted into my Dining-Room, they bowed down their Heads and made Obeisance, and presently they ran hastily to me, and touched either my Garment, or my Hand, as if they would have kissed it; and then forced upon me a Bundle, or Nosegay of _Hyacinths_ or _Narcissus_’s, and presently they retired backward, with equal Speed, to the Door, that so they might not turn their Backs upon me, (for that is accounted undecent, by the Rules of their Order) when they came to the Door, there they stood, with a great deal of Modesty and Silence, with their Hands upon their Breasts, and fixing their Eyes upon the Ground, so that they seemed more like _our_ Monks, than _their_ Soldiers. But when I had given them some Cash (which was the only Thing they aimed at) they bowed their Heads again, and giving me Thanks with a loud Voice, they wished me all happiness, and departed. The Truth is, unless I had been told before, they were _Janizaries_, I should have thought them to have been a kind of _Turkish_ Monks, or Fellows of some College or other amongst them. Yet these are the _Janizaries_ that carry such a Terror with them wheresoever they come.
Some _Turks_ supp’d with me often at _Buda_, and were mightily taken with the delicious sweetness of my Wine: It is a Liquor that they have but little of in _Turkey_, and therefore, they more greedily desire it, and drink it more profusely, when once they come where it is. They continued Carousing till late at Night, but afterwards I grew weary of the Sport, and therefore rose from Table, and went to my Chamber; but as for Them, they went away sad, because they had not their full Swing at the Goblet, but were able to stand upon their Feet. As soon as I was gone, they sent a Youth after me, desiring me to let them have their Fill of Wine, and that I would lend them my Silver Cups to drink it in; for they were willing, by my Leave, to sit at it all Night in some Corner or other of the House. I granted their Request, and ordered so much Wine to be given them, as they desired, with Bowls to drink it in. Being thus accommodated, they tippled it out so long, till they were even Dead-drunk, and tumbling down, lay fast asleep upon the Ground. You must know, that it is a great Crime in _Turkey_ to drink Wine, especially for those who are well stricken in Years; as for the Younger Sort, they think the Offence to be more Venial, and therefore more excusable in them. But seeing they expect no less Punishment, after Death, for drinking a little Wine, than if they drank ever so much, when once they have tasted of that Liquor, they go on to drink more and more; for having once incurr’d the Penalty of their Law, now, they think, they may Sin _gratis_, and account Drunkenness as a Matter of Gain. This Opinion, and others more absurd than This, do the _Turks_ hold concerning Wine, of which, I will give you a remarkable Instance: I saw an Old Man at _Constantinople_, who, after he had taken a Cup of Wine in his Hand to Drink, us’d first to make a hideous Noise; I asked his Friends, Why he did so? They answered me, that, by this Outcry, he did, as it were, warn his Soul to retire into some secret Corner of his Body, or else, wholly to Emigrate, and pass out of it, that she might not be guilty of that Sin which he was about to commit, nor be defiled with the Wine that he was to guzzle down.
But to return to _Buda_.
’Twould be too tedious for me to give you a large Description of this Place, and it were a Task fitter for one that writes a Book, than a Letter; yet not to be wholly silent, _Buda_ lies in a pleasant Place, and in a very fruitful Country, it is extended all along the Brow of an Hill, so that on one Side it borders on a rising Ground, abounding with choice Vineyards, and on the other Side, it is water’d by the River _Danow_, running by it, and beyond the _Danow_, there is the Town of _Pest_, and a large Campain adjoining, both which Prospects are in View of _Buda_, so that this Place seems naturally designed for the Metropolis of _Hungary_. It was antiently adorned with many stately Palaces, belonging to the Nobles of _Hungary_; but those goodly Piles are now either quite fallen to the Ground, or else have many Props to support them from tumbling down; they are Inhabited mostly by the _Turkish_ Soldiers, whose daily Pay being but enough to support them, they have no over-plus to lay out in Tyling, or Repairing, such large Structures; and therefore they do not much regard, whether it Rains through the Roof, or whether the Walls be full of Clefts, provided they have a dry Place to set their Horses, and their own Beds in; the upper Part they think concerns them not, so that they make a great Part of the upper Stories to be Inhabited by Weazels and Mice.
Besides, ’tis a Piece of Religion in _Turkey_, not to covet magnificent Buildings; for (say they) ’tis a Sign of a Proud, Lofty, and aspiring Mind, to covet Sumptuous Houses, as if so frail a Creature as Man, did promise a kind of Immortality, and an everlasting Habitation to himself in this Life; when alas! we are but Pilgrims here, and therefore, ought to use our Dwellings, as Travellers do their Inns, wherein if they are secured from Thieves, Cold, Heat, and Rain, they seek not for any other Conveniences. So that all over _Turkey_ you will hardly find a stately House, tho’ the Owner of it be never so Great, or Rich a Man; the Commonalty of them live in Huts and Cottages; the Nobles are for handsome Orchards, Gardens and Baths; but as for their Houses, tho’ the numerousness of their Families require large Ones, yet they have no handsome Gate-houses, or Porches belonging to them; nor Court-yards, nor any thing else Magnificent, or worthy of any Admiration. Herein they resemble the _Hungarians_, for except _Buda_, and (perhaps) _Presburgh_, there is scarce any City in _Hungary_, that you can call well Built. This Custom I suppose, they derived from their Ancestors, for they being a People given to Camp-discipline and therein trained, did not care a rush for Building great Houses, but looked upon their Towns only as temporary Habitations, which they were about to leave.
Moreover, whilst I was at _Buda_, I was very much taken with the sight of a strange kind of Fountain that is without the Gate of the Town, in the way leading to _Constantinople_, the Water whereof at top was boiling hot, and yet in the bottom there were Fishes playing up and down; so that you would think, they must needs be throughly boiled, before you could take them out.
’Twas the 7th, of _December_, before the Bashaw was so well recovered as to admit me to his Presence; and then, after I had sweetned him with some Presents, I made my Complaint to him of the Insolency and Ravagings of the _Turkish_ Soldiers; and demanded Restitution of what they had wrongfully taken away, contrary to the express of the Truce made, and which he himself, in his Letter to _Ferdinand_, had promised him satisfaction for, if he pleased to send an Envoy to _Buda_. But he, like a cunning Gamester, made as many Complaints of the Injuries and Losses They had sustained by Our Soldiers: And as for his Promise to restore the Places they had wrongfully seized and taken away from the Emperor; he eluded it, by sheltring himself under this Dilemma: _Either I made a Promise, or I did not_; if I made no Promise, then you can demand nothing of me: If I did make a Promise, I know Sir, you are a Person of that Understanding as not to conceive, that I can, or will perform it; for I am sent hither by my Master to Enlarge, not to diminish the Bounds of his Empire; so that I must by no means make his Condition worse than it was: ’tis my Master’s Business (Sir) not Mine; what you have to say on this Head, pray propound it to him when you come to _Constantinople_. To be short Sir, you know I am but newly Recovered, and therefore am not in a Condition to maintain any further Discourse. When this course Compliment was put upon me, I thought ’twas time to be gone, neither could I get any thing else from him, only a Truce, till the Grand Seignior’s Mind was known.
I observed, that when I was introduced to the Bashaw, they observed the old _Roman_ Custom of crying aloud, _Welcome, Welcome_: and so wishing an happy Issue to my Negotiation. I observed also, that the _Turks_ count the left Hand to be most Honourable in some particular Cases; the Reason they give is, because the Sword is worn on that side, and he that is on the right Hand has, as it were, the Command of the Sword of him that is at his Left, whereas his Own is free.