Travels of Ibn Baṭṭūṭa
Istanbul (İstanbul, Constantinople)
Title
Entry into Constantinople the Great
Short description
Entry into Constantinople the Great at noon with church clappers sounding.
Text on source
وكان دخولنا عند الزوال أو بعده إلى القسطنطينية العظمى وقد ضربوا نواقيسهم حتى ارتجت الآفاق لاختلاط أصواتها، ولما وصلنا الباب من أبواب قصر الملك وجدنا به مائة رجل معهم قائد لهم فوق دكانه وسمعتهم يقولون سرا كنوا سرا كنوا، ومعناه المسلمون ومنعونا من الدخول فقال لهم أصحاب الخاتون: إنهم من جهتنا، فقالوا: لا يدخلون إلا بإذن، فأقمنا بالباب وذهب بعض أصحاب الخاتون فبعث من أعلمها بذلك وهي بين يدي والدها فذكرت له شأننا فأمر بدخولنا وعين لنا دارًا بمقربة من دار الخاتون وكتب لنا أمرًا بأن لا نعترض حيث نذهب من المدينة ونودي بذلك في الأسواق، وأقمنا بالدار ثلاثًا تبعث إلينا الضيافة من الدقيق والخبز والغنم والدجاج والسمن والفاكهة والحوت والدراهم والفرش، وفي اليوم الرابع دخلنا على السلطان. [ص. ٢٤٦-٢٤٧]
English translation
Our entry into Constantinople the Great was made about noon or a little later, and they beat their church-gongs [nawāqīs] until the very skies shook with the mingling of their sounds. When we reached the first of the gates of the king's palace we found it guarded by about a hundred men, who had an officer of theirs with them on top of a platform, and I heard them saying Sarākinū, Sarākinū, which means 'Muslims'. They would not let us enter, and when the members of the khātūn's party told them that we had come in her suite they answered "They cannot enter except by permission," so we stayed by the gate. One of the khātūn's party sent a messenger to tell her of this while she was still with her father. She told him about us, whereupon he gave orders to admit us and assigned us a house near the residence of the khātūn. He wrote also on our behalf an order that we should not be molested wheresoever we might go in the city, and this order was proclaimed in the bazaars. We remained indoors for three nights, during which hospitality-gifts were sent to us of flour, bread, sheep, fowls, ghee, fruit, fish, money and rugs, and on the fourth day we had audience of the sultan.
Folios/Pages
504
Date
1333 circa
Observations on the events description
The Arabic term "nawāqīs" (plur.) used in the text refers specifically to the clappers used in Orthodox churches.
The dots on the map indicate the places where sound and music events were described. They don't represent travel stages.
Participants
No other participants in this event description.
How to quote
Pintimalli A., "Entry into Constantinople the Great" (Event description), Echos. Sound Ecosystems in Travelogues. Published 2024 07 16.doi: 10.25430/echos.travels.130
This work is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 
