From: hubey@pilot.njin.net (Hubey)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.turkish
Subject: Batuta  3/5
Date: 23 Jul 92 04:20:14 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.



The Travels of Ibn-Battuta  p. 126


	*******		*********		*******


The day after our arrival at Antaliya one of these youths came to Shaykh
Shihab ad-Din al-Hamawi and spoke to him in Turkish, which I did not 
understand at that time.  He was wearing old clothes and had a felt bonnet
on his head.  The shaykh said to me "Do you know what he is saying?" "NO"
said I "I do not know." He answered "He is inviting you and your company to 
eat a m meal with him." I was astonished  but I said ""Very well," and when 
the man had gone I said to the shaykh "He is a poor man, and is not able to 
entertain us, and we do not like to a be a burden on him."  The shaykh burst
 out laughing and said  "He is one of the shaykhs of the Young Brotherhood.
He is a cobbler and a man of generous disposition. His companions, about
two hundred men belonging to differetn trades, have made him their leader and 
have built a hospice to entertain their guests. All that they earn by day they 
spend at night."

After I had prayed the sunset prayer the same man came back for us and took
us to the hospice. WE found [ourselves in] a fine building, carpeted with 
beautiful Turkish rugs and lit by a large number of chandeliers of Iraqi 
glass.  A number of young men stood in rows in the hall, wearing long mantles
 and boots, and each had a knife about two cubits long attached to a girdle 
around his waist. On their heads were white woolen bonnets, and attached to the
peak of these bonnets was a piece of stuff a cubit long and two fingers 
breadth.  When they took their seats, every man removed his bonnet and set
it donw in front of him, and kept on his head another ornamental bonnet of 
silk or other material.  In the centre of their hall was a a sort of platform
placed there for the visitors.  When we took our places, they served up a great
banquet followed by fruits and sweetmeats, after which they began to sing and
dance.  We were filled with admiration and were greatly astonished at their
openhandedness and generosity.  We took leave of them at the close of the night
at left them in their hospice....

>From Burdur we went on to Sabarta [Isparta] and then to Akridur [Egirdir], a 
great and populous town with fine bazaars. There is a lake with sweet water
here on which boats go in two days to Aqshahr and Baqshahr and other towns and
villages.  The sultan of Akridur is one of the principal rulers in this
country. He is a an of upright conduct.......

He sent some horsemen to escort us to the town of Ladhiq [DEnizli], as the 
country is infested by a troop of brigands called Jarmiyan [Kermian] who
possess a town called Kutahiya......

As we entered the town we passed through a bazaar. Some men got down from
their booths and took our horses bridles, then some others objected
to their action and the altercation went on so long that some of them 
drew knives.  We of course did not know what they were saying and were
afraid of them, thinking they were brigands and that this was their town.
At length God sent us a man who knew Arabic and  he explained that they
were two branches of the "Young Brotherhood", each of whom wanted to 
lodge with them.  We were amazed at their generosity.  It was decided
finally that they should cast lots, and that we should lodge with the 
winner.......

After receiving the sultan's gift we left for the city of Quniya [Konia].
It is a large town with fine buildings and has many streams an fruit
gardens. The streets are exceedingly broad adn the bazaars are admirably
planned with each craft in a bazaar of its own. It is said that the city
was built by Alexander.....

In this town is the mausoleum of the pious shaykh Jalal ad-Din [ar-Rumi],
known as Mawlana ["Our Master"]. He was held in high esteem, and there is
a brotherhood in Anatolia who claim spiritual affiliation with him and are 
called after him the Jalaliya. The story goes that Jalal ad-Din was in early
life a theologian and a professor. One day a sweetmeat seller caem into the
college-mosque with a tray of sweetmeats on his head and having given him
a piece went out again.  The shaykh left his lesson to follow him and 
disappeared for some years.  Then he came back, but with a disordered mind,
speaking nothing but Persian verses which no one could understand. His 
disciples wrote down his productions, which they collected into a book
called The Mathnawi.  This book is greatly revered by the people of this 
country; they meditate on it, teach it and read it in their religious
houses on Thursday nights.  From Quniya we traveled to Laranda [Karaman],
the capital of the sultan of Qaraman. I met this sultan outside the town as
he was coming back from hunting, and on my dismounting to him, he dismounted
also.  It is the custom of the kings of this country to dismount if a 
visitor dismounts to them.  This action on  his part pleases them and they
show him greater honour; if on the other hand he greets them while on 
horseback they are displeased adn the visitor  forfeits their goodwill in
consequence.  This happened to me once with one of these kings. After I had
greeted the sultan we rode back to the town together, and he showed me the
greatest hospitality....


 
-- 

	mark	


   hubey@pilot.njin.net                   hubey@apollo.montclair.edu
 ...!rutgers!pilot!hubey                  hubey@logos.montclair.edu
Xref: sparky soc.culture.turkish:8143 talk.politics.mideast:17425 talk.politics.soviet:6464 soc.culture.greek:6915 soc.culture.europe:6703 soc.history:6820 soc.culture.jewish:13285