Abstract:

Travel books are works that deal with the remarkable aspects of people and societies, their entertainment and habits, traditions and cultural elements from different aspects. These works have been instrumental in illuminating the unknown sides of the outside world, introducing foreign nations and other civilizations through the eyes of the traveller who has witnessed history. It is known that many travellers have appeared in different geographies from past to present. European travellers who travelled to the Ottoman lands contributed to the establishment of cultural bridges between different civilizations by transferring their impressions to their countries. When the travel books written on the Ottoman Empire were examined, it was seen that some of them were fed by subjective judgments and some of them were trying to be objective. Dutch doctor and traveller Pieter van Woensel (1747-1808) was among the travellers who tried to critically evaluate stereotypes about the Ottoman Empire. Van Woensel included his observations and thoughts on the Ottoman Empire in his work Remarks, made on a journey through Turkey, Natolia, the Crimea and Russia, in the years 1784–89. Pieter van Woensel is standing out with his different ideas, he tried to get rid of prejudice and stereotypical discourses while on the other hand, he did not hesitate to criticize the parts he saw lacking in Turkish people. In this article, as much as the sources allowed Pieter van Woensel's life and works have been tried to be briefly introduced which are based on his independent and free thought. Some of his observations and ideas about the Turks in his work mentioned above are also summarized in this article.

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