Written by Petrit Latifi

According to the travelogue of 17th century traveler Evliya Çelebis, in the city of Herceg Novi, a number of Albanians lived and worked there. Dr. Dragana Kujovic writes:

“In the autograph of Evliya Çelebi’s Travelogue, but not in Šabanović’s translation of this work, it is mentioned that many inhabitants of Novi dobro speak Albanian, that they are “warlike and brave”, but that due to the influence of Mars they are “bloodthirsty and merciless warriors for the faith (gāzīler) who love to kill. Day and night, both by land and sea, they go on raids and raids and they never show mercy to the infidels. They always have swords at their belts and rifles in their hands, and they are at war with the infidels of Kotor.” Considering the time of Evliya Çelebi’s visit to Novi, this description could be linked to the atmosphere in the city and its surroundings created by the violent local Ottoman notables…”

“In Šabanović’s translation of Evlija Čelebi’s Travelogue, it is mentioned that they the majority of the city’s inhabitants are “Arnaut, Bosnian and Croatian heroes” and that most engage in sea robbery.”

Reference

http://bibhn.mycpanel.rs/bibhn/images/milos/BOKA/Boka41/Dragana-Kujovic.pdf