[Wonders of art and nature in various countries]

A work on the wonders of art and nature in various countries, without title or author's name, complemented by 90 half-page miniatures. This copy is imperfect at the beginning and the end, with a false beginning prefixed by a later hand. The work consists of short detached sections, with the heading of hikaye in gold, without any systematic organization of the text. They relate to strange stones, plants, and animals; to fabulous monsters of sea and land; to remarkable mountains, rivers, and springs; to wonderful buildings, idols, talismans, etc; and consist for the most part of stories and travellers' tales. There are many gaps in the body of the volume, so that it has not been possible to restore the original order of the folios, which were found in a state of confusion. The text is called a translation by its author, and the retention of Persian names and phrases appears to indicate that the original work was in this language. The Turkish language of the text is archaic in parts and quite plain, indicating that the translation likely originates form the 9th century AH at the latest. The text relates stories of India prior to the Muslim conquest, and, although there are many examples drawn from across the Muslim world, the lion's share relate phenomena in Transoxiana (Maverannehr).

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Rieu, Charles, Catalogue of Turkish Manuscripts in the British Museum (London: British Museum, 1888). pp. 104-105.