Turkish writers and poets 3

Nasreddin Hodja (1208 - ?)

Great and famous folk philosopher whose memory has become a legend. His anecdotes which are verbally transmitted at everywhere where Turkish is spoken is popular among all classes and levels of people. They also were transmitted to the everyday language of countries which are neighbors of Turkey; Azerbaijan, Clans of Caucasia, Crimea and Idyll vicinity, Turkistan and the lands of Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan are among them. The fame of Nasreddin Hodja is gradually spreading all over the world and his anecdotes are being translated into several languages.

For more information on his life and jokes, click here.


Evliya Celebi (1611 - 1682)

Famous traveler, he is the first and the greatest representative of travel literature. He has visited almost all cities and towns of the Ottoman Empire and took long trips to foreign lands. His travels covered Anatolia, Rumelia, Syria, Egypt, Crete, Hejaz, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Crimea and Caucasia. He tried to cover history, buildings, customs and traditions, and the famous people in his writings. His travel journal are published in several volumes.


Fuzuli (1494 - 1555)

One of the most famous and greatest poets of Turkish literature. Fuzuli, who had a perfect knowledge of Turkish, Arabic and Persian, the three great Eastern languages of the time, has written his collected poems (Divan) in three different languages. Besides his "kaside", each being a monument, he has given us the best and the most sensitive examples of lyrical Turkish poetry, "Leyla ile Mecnun". This famous love and pain "mesnevi", which is considered to be the most important work of Fuzuli, occupies a special place among the work on the theme of these tragic and legendary lovers by numerous Turkish and Iranian poets. In his work titled "hadikad-üs- Sueda he describes the tragedy of Kerbela which is an extremely sad incident of the Islamic history. This literary piece is one of the best works produced in Turkish. He also has numerous other works of importance.


Ibn-i Sina (980 - 1037)

The great doctor, scholar and philosopher of the eastern world during the middle Ages. For years, his works were used as text books at western universities. He was a true pathfinder not only in medicine but also in mathematics and physics. The philosophical encyclopedia called "Sifa" (Healing), "Kanun" which is a medical encyclopedia, and books titled "Necat" and "Isarat" and the twenty volume "Kitab-ül- insaf" which comments on total works of Aristotle are among his major works.


Piri Reis (1465 - 1554)

Famous Turkish sailor and the first Turkish marine cartographer born in Gelibolu (Gallipoli). Piri Reis was both a great sea commander who was heroic and smart in battle and one of the most important cartographers and sailor writers of his time.

Starting with his days of piracy, he systematically wrote down his observations. Works he produced written by using the material he found on marine cartography and marine geography and the maps he produced have a distinguished place in history of science. The world map he charted was printed by the Turkish Historical Institution in 1935. This map was presented by Piri Reis to Yavuz Sultan Selim in Egypt in 1517.