Colours in the travelogue of Evliya Çelebi

Evliyâ Çelebi is one of the greatest travellers of all time. He travelled throughout the Ottoman State during the XVIIth century. While he had been visiting different parts of the Ottoman State, he kept a journal to record what had been happening of the time. His travels took fifty years of his life, but they paved a way to his famous travelogue. In his work, Evliyâ focused on the social and cultural aspects rather than political events of his time. He kept track of the subjects of the Ottoman State who came from different strata. He exerted the differences and similarities between different nations, communities, climates and structures. Colours have multi-layered meanings. In addition to that, the reference area of colours can extend beyond their regular use. This expansion is determined by how people deal with the specific colour in the course of time. Most of the time, humans use colour words to describe what they see. But they also use colour words to express what they feel and how they live. The use of colours in a text has the potential to enrich the narration, surprise the readers, and to modify the conclusion of a story. In this thesis, it is found out that colour words are used to signify affirmation or negation, depending on where they are placed. They are also indicators of emotions, social strata, aggression and many formal and informal situations.