The Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen 1805-1875, famous for his stories and fairy tales, also captured his journeys abroad in a number of travelogues. The lengthy excerpt reproduced here recounts a visit to Istanbul Constantinople on the occasion of the birthday celebration, or Mawlid, for the Prophet Muhammad. He also recounts the public procession of the Sultan and his entourage from the Serail meaning Topkap? Saray or Palace. The account gives yet another interesting outsider perspective on Ottoman life and society.

Read more here : Andersen in Istanbul: The Mawlid of the Prophet Muhammad | Islamicana.