Özet:

Trabzon attracts numerous travellers as it is the center of commercial and military as well as the land and sea connection between the east and west. It has become a notable location on the travel route of many curious travellers given its geographical and strategic location. This study is aimed at the Trabzon being viewed from the perspective of the travellers who studied the place in greater depth and experienced Trabzon as locals compared to the observations of foreign visitors. In this study, we examined a method of reading text called Menazırü'l-avalim written by Aşık Mehmed in the 16th century and the works of Per Minas Bıjışkyan's Pontus History and Shakir Shevket's Trabzon History, both of them written in the 19th century. The Trabzon-born Aşık Mehmed (16th century), Minas Bıjışkyan (19th century), Shakir Shevket (19th century) and Ismail Safa (19th century) have conveyed information concerning the history, structures, epitaphs, streets, bazar and neighborhoods, demographic structure and daily life of the people of the city. Their notes are evaluated and compared and were found to sometimes contradict each other and sometimes match up or complete each other. The poetic work of Ismail Safa has not been included in the study because it did not give clear information on the urban tissue of the city. Evaluation of the information included in the travelogues is essentially inclined towards understanding the urban tissue of the city. Therefore, texts of these travellers have been discussed with a focus on the location of the city, its harbour and its religious, military, commercial and civil structures which are part of the city's urban tissue. The information given by these three travellers was collectively evaluated; consequently, it was noted that although Aşık Mehmed and Shakir Shevket predominantly draw attention to Ottoman urban texture, P. Minas Bıjışkyan described the same era as that described by Shakir Shevket but with an emphasis on the non-Muslim structures of the Ottoman and pre-Ottoman period. Because travellers narrate their own homeland, they most mention their own experiences beyond mer observation and speculation. However, the era in which these travellers lived and the information about their identity (e.g., religious, political and vocational) can be traced through their texts. Within this context, although travellers have narrated their own homeland through their own life perspective, this has enabled us to reach different stories and question what seems to be correct. Furthermore, they have provided important information with detailed description regarding many structures and locations. This information has been missing and was not mentioned in many sources.

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