Textual representation of space: Evliya Çelebi’s Book of Travels

Abstract

The definitation and representation of space is always debated in architectural epistemology. Drawing and drawing-based interfaces are considered the primary tool for representing space in today’s architecture. The fact that the space has subjective characteristics belonging to the world of perception calls into question the adequacy of the means of representation. This article discusses how space is represented as a text in Evliya Çelebi’s Book of Travels with the belief that textual representation is a possibility for making sense of space. The methodology of the study is based on the grounded theory approach. Considering the textual volume of Evliya Çelebi’s Book of Travels, the subject to be analyzed was limited and focused on spatial descriptions in order to create the opportunity for an in-depth discussion. As a result of the data obtained, the textual representation of space was discussed with quotations from Evliya Çelebi’s Book of Travels by revealing the themes and relationships between concepts. Four themes regarding the textual representation of space in Evliya Çelebi’s Book of Travels become evident: the experience of space, the depiction of space, the representation of space through human beings and the imagination of space. The spatial information conveyed in Evliya Çelebi’s Book of Travels is an extremely valuable representational interface that defines the architectural and socio-cultural texture of the 17th century Ottoman Empire and reveals the relationship between people and space of the period.