Ottoman social life in the XVIIIth century with the observation of the Dutch traveller Pieter van Woensel

Travelogues are among the important sources of information in terms of revealing observations and data about the lands traveled by the traveler who witnessed the history. With the creation of these works, historical information belonging to different cultures has been able to extend from the past to the present. The narrations of the travelers about the Ottoman reveal both the Ottoman society and their own society's perspectives on life. Travelogues are important because they shed light on the period in which they were written. When the travel books about the Ottoman Empire are examined, it is seen that some of them are subjective and some of them are fed from an impartial attitude. Dutch physician and traveler Pieter Van Woensel (1747-1808) criticizes the unjust claims about the Ottoman based on his own observations. Van Woensel included his observations on the Ottoman in Aantekeningen gehouden op een reize door Turkeyen, Natolien de Krim en Rusland in de jaren 1784-1789. In this study Pieter Van Woensel's two-volume work named Aantekeningen, all the information about the social life in the travelogue has been categorized according to certain headings and brought together. Century Ottoman social life was tried to be conveyed from Van Woensel's point of view. In this context, it can be said that Van Woensel's objective point of view will contribute positively to historical studies, as well as draw attention to the travel books that have not yet been translated into the Turkish language, revealing the observations about Ottoman social history.