Examination of 16th and 17th century Turkish perception with the example of Busbecq and Rycaut Travel Books

For human beings, the urge to explore different worlds, see new places, draw and describe what they see, and pass on their experiences to future generations is a type of information transfer method that has been going on since ancient times. In ancient times, messages that were intended to be conveyed through cave walls and tree barks evolved into narrative, literature, and later into the use of printing, publishing, media, and digital technologies with the development of humanity. Travelogues, which offer the power to define other societies with their own words to the traveler and his/her society, have long been among the most popular written works in Europe. Busbecq's Turkish Letters and Paul Rycaut's History of the Current State of the Turkish Empire include observations and experiences made about Turkey at that time and reflect the perceptions of European travelers about Turkish culture, society and history. This study aims to examine how the perception of the Turks was reflected in the works of the writers in the works written by Busbecq and Rycaut in the 16th and 17th centuries. The findings of the study carried out with this aim were examined using the Critical Textual Analysis method, which examined how two different travelers evaluated Ottoman history under the headings of military, social and administrative issues in two different centuries. It was determined that there were different perceptions in the works of the travelers examined according to the developments experienced in two different centuries. As a result, it was determined that in the travelogue written in the century when we shaped world politics, the feelings of admiration and respect towards us were replaced by expressions of surprise and criticism a century later.