Dallam's Travels with an Organ to the Grand Signieur, 1599-1600
Queen Elizabeth the First of England, the Grand Turk at Constantinople, and an organ builder named Thomas Dallam—quite a trio. In 1599, Elizabeth commanded master organ builder Dallam to construct and deliver to the Grand Signieur , as a present intended to garner trade and political advantages for England, a fantastic mechanical organ. Dallam’s wonder stood 16 feet high and was topped by a silver holly bush filled with blackbirds and thrushes that sung and shook their wings. Dallam kept a diary during his visit to Turkey, which included a sneak look through a grate at the Grand Turk’s concubines in the harem. “I stood so long looking upon them that (the guide) stamped with his foot to make me give over looking; the which I was very loath to do, for that sight did please me wondrous well.” Dallam’s ingenuous style and numerous adventures make for a highly enjoyable listen. - Summary by Sue Anderson
Chapters
From LibriVox, read by volunteers and in the public domain. LibriVox page (opens librivox.org), the text (opens archive.org), all files on the Internet Archive (opens archive.org).