Following the Footsteps of Evliya Çelebi in the Balkans
An international congress entitled "Evliya Çelebi's Balkans" took place April 17-18 in Skopje, Macedonia, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the famous 17th-century traveler's birth. The event was held with the cooperation of the Bahçeşehir University Civilization Studies Center (MEDAM) and the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, under the auspices of Macedonia's president, Prof. Gjorge Ivanov. At the congress, approximately 70 researchers and academicians from around the world presented papers on Evliya Çelebi's "Seyahatname" (Book of Travels) from the perspectives of various disciplines. Dr. Mehmet Kalpaklı, chair of the Bilkent Department of History and faculty member in the Department of Turkish Literature, served as a member of the event's organizing committee.
The congress had a busy schedule, with four concurrent sessions. In the plenary session, President Ivanov, Ottoman historian Prof. Heath Lowry, Albanian-Macedonian author Luan Starova and MEDAM director Prof. Bekir Karlığa addressed the gathering.
Several faculty members and graduate students from the Bilkent Department of Turkish Literature presented papers during the congress. Prof. Semih Tezcan discussed "The Origin and Dissemination of the Word 'Balkan' and its Use in the 'Book of Travels.'" Dr. Nuran Tezcan's paper was entitled "Evliyâ Çelebi: The Perception of 'Other' and Empathy in the Balkans." Graduate students Yeliz Özay and Neslihan Demirkol spoke about "A 'Freaky' Show in Çalıkkavak of the Balkans" and "Dream or Reality? The Functions of Dreams in the Narration of the Love of Kaya Sultan and Melek Ahmet Paşa" respectively.
In the closing session, Dr. Kalpaklı spoke about the ties between the past and the future, and the historian's role in this respect. He also noted that Evliya Çelebi now constitutes the subject of an increasing body of academic research and analysis, thanks in large part to such international conferences.