Proposal for a new Cultural Route in Anatolia
The Evliya Çelebi Way is an international project of historical re-enactment and cultural re-connection that will establish a Cultural Route through Western Anatolia.
The Evliya Çelebi Way has two connected goals:
To Re-Enact This project celebrates the life and work of Evliya Çelebi, one of Ottoman Turkey’s greatest writers, travellers and historians of everyday life. We aim to travel Evliya’s routes across Western Anatolia on horseback. By following his hoofprints, we will discover what there is that can only be known by re-enactment. What do things look like from horseback? How do physical and logistical conditions of travelling in this way enable active engagement with local communities?
To Re-Connect The other central goal of this project is to re-connect Turkey today with its illustrious history of Equestrian Traditions. From nomadic breeding practices and the renowned Ottoman cavalry, horsemanship in Turkey today continues to thrive in remote rural areas. By furthering understanding of these equestrian knowledges and practices, this project will celebrate an important but little known legacy of Turkish history.
The Evliya Çelebi Way is primarily an equestrian route designed to generate interest in Turkey’s vanishing horse culture, thereby reconnecting Turkish people today with their heritage. Combining the romance of horseback travel in remote but stunning landscapes with rediscovery of Turkey’s historical past, it must appeal to all who are concerned to preserve Turkey’s heritage through sustainable tourism.
The Evliya Çelebi Way will be realised in 2 phases:
- Phase I: The Evliya Çelebi Ride (EÇR), a long-distance horseback ride along the route for the purpose of navigating it and gaining familiarity with local conditions
- Phase II: the establishment of the Evliya Çelebi Way on the basis of the experience gained on the EÇR
Participants:
Emir Mahir Başdoğan, horseman and broadcaster of Adeta Dörtnala [Walk and Canter], Açık Radyo, Istanbul; contributor to Zeck magazine
Andrew Byfield, botanist, co-author of Türkiye’nin 122 Önemli Bitki Alanı [122 Important Plant Areas of Turkey] (2005)
Ercihan Dilari, horseman, horse-breeder, and founder of The Akhal-Teke Riding Centre, Avanos, Cappadocia
Dr Caroline Finkel, Ottoman historian and author of Osman’s Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire (2005); published in Turkish as Rüya’dan İmparatorluğa Osmanlı: Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nun Öyküsü (2007)
Professor Donna Landry, University of Kent, author of Noble Brutes: How Eastern Horses Transformed English Culture (2008); to be published in Turkish by E-Yayınları
Professor Gerald MacLean, University of Exeter, author of Looking East (2007) and The Rise of Oriental Travel: English Visitors to the Ottoman Empire, 1580-1720 (2004); published in Turkish as Doğu’ya Yolculuğun Yükselişi: Osmanlı İmparatorluğun İngiliz Konukları (1580-1720) (2006)
Dr Leyla Neyzi, Sabanci University, Istanbul, anthropologist and oral historian, and author of Amele taburu: the military journal of a Jewish soldier in Turkey during the war of independence (2005) “Remembering Smyrna/Izmir: Shared History, Shared Trauma.” History and Memory 20, 2 (Fall/Winter 2008): 106-127.
“Remembering to Forget: Sabbateanism, National Identity and Subjectivity in Turkey.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 44, 1 (January 2002): 137-158.
“Embodied Elders: Space and Subjectivity in the Music of Metin-Kemal Kahraman.” Middle Eastern Studies 38, 1 (January 2002): 89-109.
“Object or Subject? The Paradox of ‘Youth’ in Turkey.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 33 (August 2001): 411-432.