Historian retraces the route of a 17th-century Ottoman traveler

Almost everyone knows about Marco Polo, but how many people in the world are familiar with Evliya Çelebi, a 17th-century Ottoman traveler, sociologist, war reporter, historian , gourmet chef and writer who visited more than 250 cities over 40 years and wrote a 10-volume book?

Such was the question that triggered Ottoman historian Caroline Finkel and her fellow travelers who mounted their horses and followed the route of the early stages of Evliya Çelebi’s pilgrimage to Mecca. The story about their travels is now published as a guidebook for those who want to follow in Çelebi’s footsteps.

Finkel, who is also the author of “Osman’s Dream: History of the Ottoman Empire,” has been living in Turkey for more than 25 years and says that after sitting in libraries for so many years, she wanted to do something that touches on real life....