Besides this, Evliyâ rarely places a totally fictitious, supernatural, or fantastic story under the title of acayib or garayib. The common characteristic of these texts is that they all evoke a feeling of “astonishment”.
Thus, it is difficult to say that the narratives of “marvels and wonders” in the Seyahatnâme focus on certain restricted topics. These include most of the basic concepts in Evliyâ’s travels, and indeed in his life. To fully understand what Evliyâ finds to be “strange and wondrous” and why he does so, the narratives in question can be classified under certain concepts, such as talismans and spells, magic and witchcraft, dreams and prophecies, adventures, physical appearances, animals, different beliefs or cultures, landforms, architectural structures, and so on. Considering the long-standing history of Acâib in the tradition of travel narratives, Evliyâ’s use of this category seems to be a conscious decision based on the Islamic tradition of travel writing. One such genre, which is important for appreciating Evliyâ Çelebi as a storyteller and understanding the fictional dimensions of his work, is that of “marvels and wonders” (acayib ü garayib). Evliyâ Çelebi, in his work Seyahatnâme (Book of Travels), draws the reader’s attention to certain narratives by repeated recourse to specific narrative genres.
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