Turkish folk culture in Anatolia through the eyes of European travelers

In the studies carried out within the scope of folk culture studies, the travel book is among the main sources. Based on the determinations of the travelers who observed the places they traveled in terms of geographical, economic, cultural, political and social aspects, it is possible to analyze the lifestyles, habits, rituals and perception of nations. In this study, the travel books written during the travels to Anatolia in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries were examined. The orientalist thought, which emerged at the end of the 18th century and became systematized in the 19th century, played an active role in the acceleration and diversification of travels according to their purposes. In this study, in which the life in Anatolia is discussed from the eyes of European travelers, it is aimed to analyze the effects of orientalism on travel texts and the perception of Anatolia, which is almost reproduced through texts. In this direction, travel books of travelers translated into Turkish were used as primary sources. The travel texts were analyzed in terms of Turkish folk culture, and the observations of the travelers were classified under different headings.