Narrative of Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa, in the Seventeenth Century, Vol. IIEvliya Çelebi
History
Narrative of Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa, in the Seventeenth Century, Vol. II
Evliya Çelebi
Caucasus, South -- Description and travel; Istanbul (Turkey) -- Description and travel; Turkey -- History
We dismounted at the house of Yússúf Aghá, where we stopped as guests,
and delivered our letters to Koprilí Mohammed Páshá and the other
principal men, we then collected the Búlúk-bashís and ordered cryers
to proclaim that all those who wished to have goods and slaves, and
possessed breeches and a horse, were to come to us. After this we
went to view the town. Koprí is a fortress in good condition on the
border of Mount Deshán, in a tract intersected by hills and valleys at
a place watered by two rivers. One of these is called Bogha-koí and
flows past the bottom of the town; the other is at an hour’s distance,
and is called Astavolúz. The town of Koprí is situated between them.
At the time of their overflowing they inundate the whole plain of
Koprí; the town derives its name Koprí (bridge) from the great wooden
bridge by which the Astavolúz river is crossed. It is a wonderful work
constructed of fir-trees. At an early period this town was called
Shebender, the name for a bridge in the language of the Amalekites.
The stone bridge, which was formerly here, broke down on the night of
the birth of the Prophet, and was replaced by this wooden one. The two
rivers which flow past the town of Koprí unite below it and fall into
the great river Báfra. This town was first built by the Amalekites and
was taken by Melek Ghází, the Prince of the Dánishmend family, from
the Greek Emperors of Trebisonde. Bayazíd I. took the fortress, the
abovesaid castle of Koja Kala’a, by capitulation. It now belongs to
the government of Amasia, half of it being a ziámet and the other half
a subáshílik subordinate to Tokát; the judge is appointed with three
hundred aspers. Its districts contain no less than an hundred and forty
villages with gardens, kháns, mosques covered with lead, and from three
to four thousand houses all covered with bricks; the great borough
Bogház-koí has three thousand houses; the other remarkable places of
similar extent are Baghjeh-koí, Doyán-koí, Akdepeh-koí and Akoren-koí.
From these hundred and forty villages and boroughs the judge annually
collects seven thousand piastres. There is a Muftí, Nakíb, Serdár,
Kiayayerí, Mohtessib and Naíb, but as it is an inland castle it has
neither commander nor garrison. The rebels Kara Yazijí and Said Arab
were natives of this town, but having been defeated at Erla they fled
and became rebels. To secure this town against them a second castle of
earth was built close to the stone castle, and the two have four gates,
but the shops and markets are outside in the suburb.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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