The nauigations, peregrinations and voyages, made into Turkie by Nicholas Nicholay Daulphinois, Lord of Arfeuile, chamberlaine and geographer ordinarie to the King of Fraunce conteining sundry singularities which the author hath there seene and obserued: deuided into foure bookes, with threescore figures, naturally set forth as well of men as women, according to the diuersitie of nations, their port, intreatie, apparrell, lawes, religion and maner of liuing, aswel in time of warre as peace: with diuers faire and memorable histories, happened in our time. Translated out of the French by T. Washington the younger.

Of foure sundrie religions of the Turkes their maner of liuing and pourtracts of the religions: and first of the Geomalers.

Chap. 15.

YF the beliefe and faith of the religious Hermites and Pil∣grimes, both Turkes and Moores Mahometistes, were as good, holy, and true, as it is in false appearance coloured with most euident hypocrisie & damnable superstition, they might a great deale better assure themselues of their saluation, then they do: for their maner of liuing is so beastly and farre from the true religion vnder colour of their fained holinesse and vaine deuotion, that by comparable reason it might better be called a life of brute beastes then of reasonable men: wee will therfore discouer here a little of their foure hypocriticall reli∣giōs,* 1.1 & of the obseruatiōs therof, of which in the end of euery description, ye may see the figures naturally drawē out. These foure orders of false Mahumeticall religion are in their lan∣guage called Geomalers, Calenders, Deruis, and Torlaquis. The life of the Geomalers (to beginne first with them) is not much different from that of the worldly sort, for that the most part of them are fayre young men and of ryche houses, whiche willinglye doe giue themselues to runne about the countrie, and to trauel through many and diuers regions & prouinces, as through Barbarie, Egypt, Arabia, Persia, the Indies, and the whole land of Turkie, for to see and vnderstand the world with great pleasure at other mens charges, vnder colour of their pil∣grimage and religion: the most parte of these are good artifi∣cers, & the other giuē to reading, & to describe all their voy∣ages, the lands and countries which ••hey haue runne through and trauailed. Duryng these blind & straying peregrinations, they carry none other apparrell, then a little cassock without sleeues being of purple colour, made and fashioned like vntoo a deacons coate, so short, that it commeth but to aboue theyr knees, gyrt in the middest with a long and large girdle of silke

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and gold of no small beautie and valour, vpon the endes wher∣of are houng certaine Cimbals of siluer mixt with some other cleare sounding mettall, and they doe ordinarilie weare sixe or seuen of these aswell about their girdle as vnder their knees. And besides the coote, in steede of a cloke, they are couered a∣boue the shoulders with the skinne of a Lion or Leopard be∣ing whole and in his naturall haire, which they doe make fast vpon their breast by the two former legges. All the rest of the partes of their bodies are bare: sauing that in their eares they doe weare great rings of siluer or of other mettal▪ and on their feet a kinde of shoes made after the fashion of those which the Apostles did weare, bound togeather with coardes▪ and to bee the more disguised, and appeare more holy, they let their haire grow very long and weare the same spread out vppon their shoulders as the brides doe in these Countries. And to make them grow & to shew the more longer, they vse by continuall artifice Terebinthe and vernish, laying somtimes for to make it the thicker, goates haire whereof the chamblets are made. And in such superstitious apparrell raunging about the coun∣trie, they doe beare in one of their handes a booke written in the Persian language full of songes and amarous sonnets, com∣pounded after the vsage of their rime▪ And being many of thē in a companie, their belles and cymballes, both neare and afar of make such a pleasant tune, that the hearers do therein take very delectable pleasure. And if by fortune these iolly louing religious do in the streetes meete with some faire young strip∣pling, streightwayes they doe set him in the middest of them, cherishing him with a faire and sweete musicke of their voyces and sounde of their cymballes, which to hearken vnto euery one runneth, and true it is that whilest they do sing, they doe sound onely with one of their belles or cymballes, euery man keeping measure and time vntoo the voyce of the other, and then afterwardes doe sounde all their belles togeather, and in this order they doe runne about, visiting the artificers and o∣ther people for to allure them to giue them some peece of mo∣ney.

Amongest these deuout pilgrimes of loue, there are some

which secretly and vnder pretext of religion doe of a feruent loue draw vnto them, the hearts of many faire women, & like∣wise of the fairest yonglings, of which they are no lesse amarous then they are of the woman kind, so much are they giuen vnto the abhominable sinne of luxurie against nature. Thus thē they doe goe triumphing vppon their loue, voluptuousnes and plea¦sure, giuing thē selues betimes to wander throughout the coū∣trey at their pleasure, in such sort that vnder this colour, they are called of some Turks, the men of the religiō of loue, as in ef∣fect they in very deed are, so as if there were such an order and profession amongst vs,* 1.2 I beleue that the most part of our youth, would sooner giue themselues to the auowing and profession of such a religion, then to that of chastity and obseruance.

[illustration]

Geomaler a religious Turke.

Notes

• * 1.1

  4 orders of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Religious G••••ma••ers, Cale••••ders, Doruis•• Torlaquis beeing a Se∣ctarie vile & abhominab••••
• * 1.2

  VVhy the G••••malers are ca••led men of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 religion of loue.