Two Muslim travelogues: to and from Istanbul

Abstract

The middle and late 19th century marked the high point of 'travelogues', among which many published accounts of visits by European travellers to the East have become justly celebrated, such as Kinglake's Eothen, Burton's A Pilgrimage to Meccah and Medinah and Burnaby's A Ride to Khiva. As might be expected, some entertaining travelogues by Eastern visitors to 'exotic' Western lands also exist. Among these may be mentioned Ajaibat-e Farang by Yusuf Khan Kambalposhl and Musafiran-e London by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan.2 Travel within the lands of Islam has been a tradition for many centuries because of the pilgrimage to Mecca, the supreme journey for all Muslims. Visits to mosques, tombs and shrines have also constituted an important component of ordinary religious devotion. With the advent of railways and steamships, the scope of such travel was often widened into that of a 'grand tour' in which sightseeing, observations of the social, cultural and political scenes in the countries visited, and the simple, enriching joy of moving about in a friendly but unfamiliar environment began to gain importance. The present study treats two separate accounts of travel by educated Muslims, one from Turkey and the other from India, to each other's country, both dating back about a hundred years. An extended summary of each traveller's experiences and comments has been presented within the space and time framework of the original text. A few remarks have been added, en passant, by way of elucidation or correction, while attempting to preserve the salient features of each narrative. The book entitled Hindistan ve Sevat ve Afganistan Seyahatnamesi (India, Swat and Afghanistan Travelogue) by Ahmed Hamdi,3 is in Ottoman Turkish and was printed in Istanbul in 1300 A.H. (1883 A.D.). It has long been out of print and not many copies are extant. The Safarnama-ye Rum wa Misr wa Sham (Record of Travel to Turkey, Egypt and Syria) by Shibli Nu'mani,4 is in Urdu and was first printed in 1311 A.H. (1894 A.D.). It has gone through several editions, and is in print in Pakistan. Ahmed Hamdi Efendi '§irvani'5 (1831-1890) was the son of a professor, Abdullah Efendi. After a distinguished teaching career, he became a member and later President of the Enciimen-i Tefti, the Ottoman Board of Inspectors. In 1877 he was sent to India on a fact-finding mission. He is the author of over a dozen books dealing with language, literature, geography and logic. Apart from the Arabic and Persian in which educated Ottomans were proficient, Ahmed Hamdi had a sound knowledge of French. He is buried in the Eyiip6 graveyard in Istanbul. Notes on his life and works, may be found in Turkish works of reference such as 'Turk Ansiklopedisi'.7 Muhammad Shibli Nu'mani (1857-1914) hailed from Azamgarh in the United Provinces8 of India. He was a religious scholar and the author of many books, especially in Urdu, Arabic and Persian. He joined the