Jean-Louis Bacqué-Grammont

Ottoman literature concerning Alexandria is less than plentiful, but it holds a certain interest. In a text devoid of all attempts at style, Piri Reis (ca. 1470-1554) gives a description of Alexandria’s two ports and the adjacent coastlines designed to be of use to sailors. The text of Evliya Çelebi (1611-ca. 1684) is entirely different. Taken from the tenth and last volume of his travelogue, this text blithely mingles precise information and descriptions with improbable anecdotes. These two ...