Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was the founder and first President of modern Turkey. Born in 1881 in Thessaloniki, Atatürk changed the fate of the Turkish nation with his military and political genius. Growing up during the decline of the Ottoman Empire, Atatürk led the Turkish nation's struggle for independence with his successful military operations during and after the First World War.

Atatürk successfully led the Turkish War of Independence, leading to the establishment of the modern Republic of Turkey in 1923. He endeavoured to transform Turkey into a modern nation state with his revolutions. He carried out radical reforms in many areas such as language, dress, law and education. He laid the foundations of a secular and democratic republic and made Turkish society a part of the modern world.

Atatürk worked for the modernisation and development of Turkey until his death in 1938. His ideas and leadership remain a source of inspiration for the Turkish nation and he is recognised as one of the most influential and important leaders in Turkey's history.

Atatürk and Edirne

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the supreme leader of the Turkish nation, visited Edirne three times during his lifetime, and the people of Edirne embraced him with open arms on each visit.

Atatürk's First Visit to Edirne

When Mustafa Kemal officially arrived in Edirne for the first time, his rank was major.

When the Italians attacked Tripolitania on 29 September 1911, Mustafa Kemal was among the few officers who voluntarily went to that region without waiting for an assignment from the Ottoman administration, and defended that land with the belief that "It belongs to the Ottomans! We will not give it up", Mustafa Kemal was among the few officers who defended those lands.

All the officers returned to Istanbul when they heard that the Balkan War, which broke out while they were trying to achieve their goals under very difficult and heavy war conditions, had engulfed Edirne and that the enemy armies were heading towards Çatalca.

In the meantime, Mustafa Kemal received eye treatment in Vienna and was assigned as the Head of the Movement Branch of the Bolayır Corps. There was also the 15th Corps in Edirne and its headquarters was in Dimetoka. Mustafa Kemal was among those who headed towards Eastern Thrace and Edirne with the Bolayır Corps and entered the city on 21 July 1913, the day Edirne was taken back. Mustafa Kemal stayed in Edirne for 20 days at the Sarı Pension near the Istiklal School in Kaleiçi, on İnönü Street, as it is known today, and left Edirne on 10 August 1913.

Atatürk's Second Visit to Edirne

The year 1916... And Anafartalar hero Mustafa Kemal in Edirne

After the victory at Gallipoli and the realisation that the British and French navies could not cross the Dardanelles, a new military and political situation emerged. In the light of the new conditions created by this new situation, the war surplus troops, which were concentrated in Gallipoli, were withdrawn to the interior of Thrace, with Edirne as the centre, for a new structuring.

Colonel Mustafa Kemal, who received three promotions upon his victory in Çanakkale, came to Edirne, the centre of the Corps, as the Commander of the 16th Corps. He was welcomed with an extraordinary cheer, which had never been shown to a commander in the Ottoman history, and the ground was almost shaken. When Atatürk came to Edirne for the second time in 1916, he continued his activities in the current Division Headquarters, which was the headquarters of the marshal's office of that day. On this visit, Mustafa Kemal, the Commander of the XVI Corps, who stayed in Edirne for one and a half months, stayed at the house of Mahmut (Pilevneli) Agha from the village of İskender.

Gazi Mustafa Kemal was sent off to the eastern front with a great ceremony on 25 December 1916.

Atatürk in Edirne for the Last Time

His visit to Selimiye Mosque;

That year, on 26 July, many mosques were damaged, including the Selimiye Mosque, and the minarets of many others were destroyed in the hurricane that ravaged Edirne. Atatürk stood between the pulpit and the chandelier in the Selimiye Mosque and said to those around him: "Gentlemen, the heart that is not attached to any religion is deprived of rest." He started his speech by saying: "Look, our ancestors built this masterpiece mosque in Edirne, not in Istanbul, exactly 125 years after the conquest of Istanbul; thus, they stamped their seal on Edirne and deeded it. The genius Mimar Sinan built this work with the love of art and religion" and stands between the mihrab and the chandelier. After reading the inscription on the half dome above the chandelier, he says to the mufti, "Hodja, isn't this verse the 18th verse of the period of repentance?" After receiving the answer "Yes, Your Highness" from the mufti, he turns to the mufti again and asks "Can you tell me the meaning of this verse?". "As far as I know, this verse says that those who build and construct the mosques and mosques of Allah are the ones who believe in Allah and the Last Day, perform their prayers, pay their zakat and fear only Allah, they are on the right path". Atatürk said, "Yes, I know so too."

Addressing the directors of Public Works and Foundations who were present there, he requested that the necessary survey for the repair of all the damaged mosques of Edirne, especially Selimiye, be made and the balance sheet be given to him within three days. Atatürk leaves Edirne on 25 December 1930. Shortly afterwards, the funds arrived in Edirne and all damaged mosques were repaired.

Mimar Sinan is a person who served as the chief architect during the reigns of the Ottoman Sultans Selim II, Suleiman I and Murad III, and who made his name in the history of the world with his works.

He was born on 29 May 1489 in the village of Ağırnas in Kayseri. He was recruited at the age of 22 to the Acemi Oğlanlar Ocağı, which trained soldiers. Here he took part in construction works. He also had the opportunity to work alongside the most prominent architects of the period.

After the Battle of Chaldiran and the Egyptian Campaigns, he was recruited into the Janissary Corps. Mimar Sinan was promoted to the rank of officer during the reign of the Magnificent, after the Belgrade expedition in 1521 and the Rhodes expedition in 1522. He left a total of 375 works throughout his life. Among them, Selimiye Mosque in Edirne is on the World Cultural Heritage list.

He died on 17 July 1588 in Istanbul. His tomb is in front of the Golden Horn wall in Süleymaniye Complex.

Life of Mimar Sinan
Koca Sinan served as the chief architect during the reigns of Ottoman sultans Süleyman I, Selim II and Murat III. He made his name in the world history with his works. At the age of 22, he was recruited into the Janissary Corps to become a soldier, and later joined the Janissary Corps.

In 1526, after the Mohaç expedition in which he went out as a foot soldier, Mimar Sinan was given the task of being in charge of ammunition and participated in the expeditions to Vienna in 1529, to Germany between 1529-1532, and to Baghdad and Tabriz in Iraq between 1532-1535.

During the Baghdad expedition, the successful completion of the construction of three ships that would pass over Lake Van earned Sinan the title of haseki. With this rank, he participated in the Corfu, Pulya and Moldavia expeditions.

In 1538, a bridge was required for the army to cross the Prut River during the Karabogdan Campaign, and despite working for days in a swampy area, the bridge could not be built and the task was given to Mimar Sinan by order of Groom Çelebi Lütfi Pasha. He became famous by building this bridge in a short time.

In 1539, upon the death of Architect Acem Ali, he became the Chief Architect of the Palace in his place. Mimar Sinan, who later undertook various tasks to meet the building needs of the army, improved himself with the different architectural techniques he observed in the places where he went on expeditions. Sinan, who lived in the most powerful period of the Ottoman Empire, served as chief architect for three sultans, Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II and Murat III.

He died on 17 July 1588 in Istanbul. The tomb of Mimar Sinan, who left behind hundreds of valuable architectural works, is in front of the Golden Horn wall in Süleymaniye Complex.

Works of Mimar Sinan
He built 375 works including 81 mosques, 51 masjids, 55 madrasas, 26 darül-kurra, 17 tombs, 17 imarethane, 3 darüşşifa (hospital), 5 waterways, 8 bridges, 20 caravanserais, 36 palaces, 8 cellars and 48 baths. Selimiye Mosque he built in Edirne is on the World Cultural Heritage list.

Huseyn Musavvir was one of the most important painters of the 16th century. He was especially active in the years 1680-90. Although the painter worked in Edirne, his signature Hüseyn Musavvir Istanbulî indicates that he was originally from Istanbul. There is not much information about Hüseyn Musavvir's life; however, it is known that he was one of the important painters who was accepted at the palace in 1687-91 and worked on works such as Silsilenâme.

In addition, it is thought that Hüseyn Musavvir made two of the picture albums ordered by travellers and ambassadors who came to Istanbul in the 17th century, which are now in Paris. A miniature showing Sultan Mehmet IV Khan Gazi sitting on the throne in the General Directorate of Foundations in Ankara bears Hüseyn Müsavvir's signature dated (1684). In addition, with his round face, short beard, navy blue robe and white turban, he resembles the painting of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror in Hünernâme.

Musavver presents a successful work with the rich colours he uses, his depiction of the sultan as confident and capable, his detailed drawing of the motifs on the throne and on the robe, the volume he gives to the figure, and the balance, order and beauty that dominate the painting. The depiction of the sultan on the throne was seen in the work of Hüseyn İstanbulî in the seventeenth century and was later applied by artists such as Levnî. This painter, who is thought to have been Levnî's teacher, significantly influenced Levnî's work with his paintings.

His real name was Abdülcelil Çelebi, he worked as a painter during the reign of Mustafa II (1695-1703) and the name Levnî, meaning colourful and related to colour, was given to him later. Levnî is thought to have been a pupil of Hüseyn Musavvir. Levnî and his contemporaries brought a breath of fresh air to Ottoman painting in the early eighteenth century. There is no clear information about Levnî other than his signed poems and paintings.

Three of Levnî's manuscripts in the Topkapı Palace Museum have survived to the present day. These manuscripts consist of Silsilename (Musavver Silsilename) consisting of sultan portraits, Surnâme-i Vehbi Miniatures and Album Paintings.

Hafız Hüseyin Ayvansarayî gives the following information about Levnî in his work Mecmûa-i Tevârîh, written in the second half of the eighteenth century: "Levnî Abdülcelîl Çelebi came from Edirne, became a nakkâş sâkir in Istanbul, mastered the art with the permission of the Nakkâşhâne, and then became a member of the saz branch, i.e. the branch of illumination and saz embroidery, After a period of time, he became enthusiastic in the field of mysticism, and became a fâyiku'l-akrân in this vâdî, and before the emergence of the physical depictions until the reign of Sultan Mahmûd Hân-ı Gâzî, these were the ones who were the best mystics of all. He was buried on a sedge in the neighbourhood of Otakcılar Câmii, on the level of the White Tomb, opposite the Sa'dîler Tekke, in the year 1145 Aqt al-hijrah. He has his works and other artefacts".

Up to date, the works on Levnî do not provide full information about him. Ayvansarâyî did not write when the painter came from Edirne.

Levnî was in Edirne in 1703 when Mustafa II was deposed from the throne. Although Mustafa II, like the previous sultans, was based in Istanbul, he had established a complete palace organisation in Edirne. Especially after the Treaty of Karlofça in 1699, he spent his time exclusively in Edirne. At that time, Edirne was immediately known as the second capital. It is likely that Levnî also worked as a courtier at the Edirne Palace; however, it is not clear whether he worked there during the reign of Mustafa II, after Ahmed III's accession to the throne in Edirne in 1703, or when Ahmed III moved to Istanbul for good in 1718.

One of Levnî's early works is the Kebir Musavver Silsilenâme, which includes portraits of 23 sultans from Osman Gazi to Ahmed III. It is thought that the artist began painting these portraits during the reign of Mustafa II and completed them during the reign of Ahmed III. If we take into account the years of Mustafa II's reign (1664-1703) and the fact that Levnî moved to Istanbul in the early eighteenth century and Hüseyin Musavvir worked on the Silsilenâme, we can conclude that it is highly probable that Levnî worked on part of the Silsilenâme in Edirne.

"Of the portraits in the artist's Silsilenâme, only the portrait of Mustafa II bears Levnî's signature; however, when we look at the other portraits in the work, we can see that they were also painted by Levnî". The artist used more pastel colours for the backgrounds and painted the sultans' clothes in vivid colours. The fact that some of the sultans hold swords in their hands or have them with them is a striking element outside the usual sultan portraits. The skin colours of the sultans are also different from each other. It is as if Levnî did research on the skin colours of the sultans and reflected the details he obtained in a realistic manner. He handled each of the sultans' robes differently from the other, in detail, and depicted them with fine workmanship. Some of the back wall decorations have decorative curtains, while others show a single coloured wall.

In the period after Levnî settled in Istanbul, he made a special study on Surnȃme-i Vehbi in a new style. His style carries the tradition of Western painting and is considered one of the first serious steps in the process of Westernisation of Turkish painting.

He is one of the important representatives of the Westernisation period of Ottoman painting. Hasan Rıza was born in 1855 in Ağahamamı, in the Üsküdar neighbourhood of Istanbul; however, he spent the most important part of his life as a painter in Edirne. His father was Miralay Şakir. Hasan Rıza studied at the Military Academy before the Russian War, but after returning to Istanbul, he preferred the Naval Academy in Heybeliada instead of the Military Academy.

The main reason for this preference was that he met an old Italian artist who had settled in Heybeliada and frequently met with the artist to get his opinion about his paintings. In the last year of the naval school, when he was about to become an officer, he decided to leave this job and go to a land deprived of family warmth and far away from his friends. He prefers to take off Sultan Hamid's rank and wear the shirt of an artist. He devotes himself, all his wishes and desires to art. He studied in Italy for ten years and trained himself as a complete composer. At the same time he studies painting.

He works in the workshops and museums of Naples for years. In the last years, he travelled to Egypt, where he studied "deserts of fire-ancient artifacts of history". Twelve years after his departure (1882), he returned to his homeland for a family reason. After a while, he travelled to Edirne for a peaceful life. In 1891, he opened a school named Numune-i Terakki in the vicinity of Sultan Selim Mosque in Edirne. Hasan Rıza likes the historical atmosphere of Edirne and decides to settle down in Karaağaç neighbourhood. He creates his studio there and continues his painting works. Hasan Rıza painted most of his paintings, which remain to this day, there.

He tried to lead a peaceful life in the historical and calm environment of Edirne and married twice in Edirne. When his first wife died early, he started a new life with Saniye, the daughter of a family who migrated to Edirne from Plovdiv. Hasan Rıza also served the lore of Edirne, taught in various schools, became a master of ingenuity and a lover of freedom, and laboured hard for the intellectual enlightenment of his students.

At the beginning of the Balkan War, the city of Edirne was evacuated. Bulgarian soldiers bombarded the city. But Hasan Rıza did not leave Edirne. During the war, he followed the military operations in Edirne day and night like a young Anatolian brave. In the daytime, he even goes into the line of fire and notes the trenches and the status of the troops on the battlefield with his pencil, and when there is no war, he goes to his tent and draws special sketches and patterns on parchment papers.

In his work "Our Painters", Sami Yetik describes Hasan Rıza's passing from the world of art to eternal life as follows: "It was the morning of the fateful day of 13 March 1929 (36 March 1913)... Yes, Hasan Rıza went to his studio for the last time that evening and never returned. Hasan Rıza was subjected to an infamous attack, his works were destroyed by the vandals of the twentieth century and he was martyred". Unfortunately, nine tenths of Hasan Rıza's paintings were lost during the looting by Bulgarian soldiers.

Sultan Murad I was born in Bursa in 1326. His father was Orhan Gazi and his mother was Nilüfer Hatun (Holofira), the daughter of Yar Hisar Tekfuru, one of the Byzantine tekfurs. Sultan Murad I was tall, with a twenty face and a big nose. He had a thick and muscular body.

He wore a headdress with a destar wrapped around a Mawlawi coin. He dressed very simply and liked white clothes with red background. He received his first education from his mother Nilüfer Hatun. Then he went to Bursa to complete his education. He studied with men of science and art in the Madrasahs here.

Sultan Murad I was a very kind, charming and very gentle person. He showed respect to scholars and artisans and was compassionate to the poor and orphans. He was a brilliant soldier and statesman. Sultan Murad I, who was called "Murad Gazi, the King of the Dervish Ghazis and Sheikhs", acted in a planned and programmed manner throughout his life.

Although Sultan Murad I was regarded as a heretic and an enemy of Christ according to the Byzantine Church, he won the love of the Christian people living in the places he conquered because he treated them well. From 1382 onwards, Sultan Murad I, who was called "Murad Hüdavendigâr", was martyred by Milos Obraviç (son-in-law of Serbian King Lazar), a Serbian nobleman, while touring the battlefield after the First Battle of Kosovo (1389).

Sons: Yakub Çelebi, Yıldırım Bayezid, Savcı Bey and İbrahim

Daughters Nefise and Sultan Hatun

He was a commander and statesman who carried out military activities during the reign of Murad I.

It is known that he served as vizier in Karesioğulları principality. It is also reported that he entered the Ottoman service when the principality came under Ottoman patronage. He persuaded Süleyman Pasha, who was the Sanjak Bey of Karesi, to move to Rumelia and showed success in the conquest of Thrace after Gallipoli. After capturing Konurhisar castle, he made it his base and organised raids to Çorlu from this base. After the death of Süleyman Pasha, he made attempts to prevent regression with names such as Evrenos Bey - Lala Şahin Pasha in the relaxation after the peace with Eastern Rome. In 1359, he conquered Dimetoka and participated in the siege of Edirne and helped to take the city. He had achieved a great success by destroying an army many times larger than himself with a night raid in the battle known in history as the Battle of Sırpsındığı. He continued this success with the Battle of Çirmen

Sultan Selim II was born on 28 May 1524 in Istanbul. His father was Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent and his mother was Hürrem Sultan.

Hürrem Sultan was of Slavic origin. Sultan Selim II was of medium height, with an open forehead, blue eyes, thin muscles and blond hair. He was raised with an excellent education and upbringing during his princely years. In order to learn the state administration thoroughly, he worked as a sanjakbey in various parts of Anatolia. Meanwhile, he continued his education and increased his knowledge and experience.

Selim II, also known as Sarı Selim, came to Istanbul upon the news of the death of his father, Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent Kanûnî Sultan, while he was the Sanjakbey of Kütahya, and ascended the throne on 30 September 1566 at the age of forty-two. Selim II is known as an obscure and weak ruler compared to the previous Ottoman sultans.

Sultan Selim II, who easily ascended to the throne after the elimination of his other brothers Şehzade Bayezid and Şehzade Mustafa during his father's reign, displayed a very weak administration compared to his grandfather Yavuz Sultan Selim and his father Kanûnî. Thanks to the great statesmen of the period, the Ottoman Empire maintained its splendour and experienced and experienced viziers such as Sokullu Mehmed Pasha kept the government afloat. Sultan Selim II himself never went on a campaign and the Inebahtı disaster occurred under the captaincy of Ali Pasha, who was not qualified. He died on 15 December 1574 after eight years of sultanate. He was buried in Hagia Sophia. Sultan Selim II was the first Ottoman sultan to die in Istanbul.

In the first years of Sultan Selim II's ascension to the throne, there were some political conflicts. Sokullu Mehmed Pasha emerged victorious from these conflicts and served as grand vizier for fifteen years. During this period as Grand Vizier, he put his weight on the state administration.

Sultan Selim II left the state territory, which he inherited from his father Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent as 14.892.000 km2, to his son Sultan Murad III as 15.162.000 km2.

Selim II was also one of the poet rulers. One of his masterpiece couplets is as follows:

"We are the nightingale of the nightingale

If the fire is cut off, the saba passes through our rosebush"

Male children: Murad III, Abdullah, Osman, Mustafa, Süleyman, Mehmed, Cihangir.

Daughters: Fatma Sultan, Sah Sultan, Gevherhan Sultan, Esma Sultan.

Lala Şahin Pasha was a commander who served in the foundation of the Ottoman Principality. He is thought to have died in 1389.

Lala Şahin Pasha, who was in the entourage of Murâd I in İzmit and Bursa sanjak principalities, took a duty under Süleymân Pasha upon the beginning of conquests in Rumelia. He took part in the conquests of Çorlu and Lüleburgaz. When Murâd Khan I became the sultan, he was given beylerbeylik. After that, he served as an army commander. He participated in the conquest of Edirne in 1361 as the Beylerbeyi of Rumelia and conquered Zağra. He pioneered the idea of Janissary Corps, which was founded in 1361. In 1364, Hacı İlbey, who was in his organisation, won the Battle of Sırpsındığı against the allied Balkan Crusader army. In 1366, he commanded the campaign against the Northwestern Balkans and raided Samaku and Ihtiman in Bulgaria. Kırkkilise (today Kırklareli), Vize, Samaku and İhtiman were conquered.

Lala Şâhin Pasha was appointed as vizier in 1368 when Çandarlı Halil Pasha became vizier. Upon the attack of the Serbian-Bulgarian armies, he participated in the Battle of Samaku in 1371 and in the battle of Çirmen against the Crusader armies on the same date. In 1372, when he was assigned to the conquest of Firecik and its neighbourhood in Rumelia, he carried out operations until he entered Byzantium. In 1373, he participated in the first Macedonian conquest. In this campaign, the towns and cities of Xanthi, Drama, Korala, Zihne, Serres, Avrethisari, Vardar Yenicesi and Kararfirye were conquered. In 1382 or 1385, he conquered Sofia in the Siege of Sofia.

Bayezid I or Yıldırım Bayezid (1360, Edirne - 8 March 1403, Akşehir), fourth Ottoman sultan. He ruled from 1389 to 1402. His father was Sultan Murad I and his mother was Gülçiçek Hatun.

Yıldırım Bayezid was born in Edirne in 1360. Yıldırım Bayezid had a round face, white skin, ram nose, hazel eyes, auburn hair, thick beard and broad shoulders. He was nicknamed 'Yıldırım' because of his bravery and fast behaviour in the battles he fought.

He spent his childhood in Bursa Palace with his brothers. He received a good education. He took lessons from the greatest scholars of the time. In his youth, he served as a governor in Kütahya sanjak. According to the will of Sultan Murad Hüdavendigâr, he was appointed as Sultan in 1389. He was 29 years old when he ascended the throne.

Serbia was led by Stefan Lazarevic, the son of King Lazar who died in the Battle of Kosovo. In Edirne, where he came for a peace treaty, he gave his sister Maria to Bayezid. Thanks to this marriage, Ottoman-Serbian friendship was established. Yıldırım Bayezid was defeated in the Battle of Ankara with Timur and was captured. At the end of his 13-year reign, he died 7 months and 12 days after the beginning of his captivity.

Yıldırım Bayezid used the pseudonym "Yıldırım" in his poems:

"Ahl-i hicran fitne-i agyar
I thought it was just an excuse."

Sons Musa Çelebi, Süleyman Çelebi, Mustafa Çelebi, İsa Çelebi, Mehmed Çelebi, Ertuğrul Çelebi, Kasım Çelebi

Daughters Fatma Sultan

Sultan Çelebi Mehmed was born in Edirne in 1389. His father was Yıldırım Bayezid and his mother was Devlet Hatun from Germiyanoğulları. He was of medium height, round face, white skin, red cheeks and broad chest. He had a strong body. He was very active and brave. He wrestled and could even pull very strong bowstrings. Çelebi Mehmed, who personally participated in twenty-four wars during his sultanate, received nearly forty wounds in these wars. He looked very beautiful with the turban he wore on his head and his gold embroidered turban. He wore a caftan with fur inside and a high collar.

Sultan Çelebi Mehmed showed the justice he had shown towards Muslims also towards Christian communities. He was a good administrator and politician. He completed his education in Bursa Palace. Afterwards, he was appointed as the Sanjak Bey of Amasya by his father and learnt the state affairs during this period.

Sultan Çelebi Mehmed, who succeeded in reuniting the principalities in Anatolia after the Period of Conquest, can also be considered as the second founder of the Ottoman Empire.

Sultan Çelebi Mehmed died in Edirne on 26 May 1421. The news of his death was hidden. He was the first sultan among the Ottoman sultans whose death was concealed. His body was brought to Bursa and buried in the Green Tomb.

His male children: Mustafa Çelebi, Murad II, Ahmed, Yusuf, Mahmud.

Daughters: Fatma and Selçuk Hatun.

Sultan Murad II was born in 1402. His father was Çelebi Mehmed and his mother was Emine Hatun, daughter of Süli Bey of Dulkadiroğulları. He was a tall, white-skinned Sultan, with a born nose and a beautiful face. He spoke very well. His greatest happiness was to be the father of a rare person like Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror.

Sultan Murad II, who desired to live a quiet and peaceful life, but when necessary, he was very active, brave and never gave up. Europeans recognised him as a person who could conquer the whole Europe if he wanted to. During his thirty-year reign, he ruled his country with great glory and honour and won the love of everyone under his command. He was a pious, just and gracious sultan. Sultan Murad II, whose childhood was spent in Amasya, was nineteen years old when he ascended the throne. Edirne Üç Şerefeli Mosque and Muradiye Mosque are among his most important works.

His sons: Fatih Sultan Mehmed, Ahmed, Alaeddin, Orhan, Hasan, Ahmed

Daughters Şehzade and Fatma Hatun.

Sultan Murad III was born on 4 July 1546 in Bozdağ Plateau of Manisa. His father was Sultan Selim II and his mother was Afife Nur Banu Sultan. His mother was Venetian. Sultan Murad the Third was a sultan of medium height, twenty-faced, auburn beard, hazel eyes and white skin. He was very generous and loved to help people.

Sultan Murad III, who had a merciful personality, learnt Arabic and Persian very well. After his father was appointed as governor of Karaman from Manisa Sanjak Beylik in 1558, he was appointed as Alaşehir Sanjak Beylik by his grandfather Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. After his father, Sultan Selim II, became the sultan, he was again appointed as the governor of Manisa Sanjak.

He took lessons from the most valuable scholars of the time in Manisa, where he stayed during his princedom. He is one of the most scholarly sultans among the Ottoman Sultans. Upon the death of his father Sultan Selim II, he came to Istanbul from Manisa and took the throne on 22 December 1574. However, like his father Sultan Selim II, he did not intervene much in state affairs. The bureaucracy and the government were mostly managed by Sokullu Mehmed Pasha. In this, Sokullu's experience and experience and Sultan Murad III's management style played a major role.

Sultan Murad III never left Istanbul during his reign and remained under the influence of the women in the palace. It was during his reign that the reign of women, which would influence the Ottoman Empire in the following years, began. At the age of 29, Sultan Murad III remained on the throne for twenty years and died of a stroke on 16 January 1595. He was buried in the courtyard of Hagia Sophia Mosque.

During the reign of Murad III, in which Sokullu Mehmed Pasha made his influence felt, the Ottoman territories reached their widest borders. The 15.162.151 km2 of territory he inherited from his father Selim II increased to 19.902.000 km2. Friendly relations were also developed with the British.

The first British permanent ambassador was sent during his reign. Relations were developed with Protestant England against the crusader alliance that the Pope might establish in Catholic Europe. Later on, the Netherlands was also included in this alliance. During the reign of Sultan Murad III, who handed over the state affairs to Sokullu, women in the palace started to interfere in state affairs and this situation continued to increase after Sokullu's death.

Sons: Mehmed III, Selim Bayezid, Mustafa, Osman, Cihangir, Abdullah, Abdurrahman, Abdullah, Hasan, Ahmed, Yakub, Alemsah, Yusuf, Hüseyin, Korkud, Ali, Ishak, Ömer, Alaeddin, Davud.

Daughters Ayse Sultan, Fatma Sultan, Mihrimah Sultan, Fahriye Sultan.

Kanûnî Sultan Süleyman was born in Trabzon on Monday, 27 April 1495. His father was Yavuz Sultan Selim and his mother was Hafsa Hatun. Hafsa Hatun was either Turkish or Circassian. Kanûnî Sultan Süleyman was round-faced, hazel-eyed, broad-headed, tall and sparsely bearded.

The reign of Suleiman the Magnificent was a period in which Turkish sovereignty reached its peak. His father Yavuz Sultan Selim started to raise him very meticulously from an early age. He received an unprecedented upbringing and education. He received his first education from his mother and his grandmother Gülbahar Hatun (Yavuz Sultan Selim's mother). When he was seven years old, he was sent to Istanbul to study with his grandfather Sultan Bayezid II, where he was taught history, science, literature and religion by Hayreddin Hızır Efendi, the son of Kara Kızoğlu, and also learnt war techniques. Şehzade Süleyman, who stayed with his father Yavuz Sultan Selim until the age of fifteen, was first appointed to Şarkî Karahisar, then to Bolu and shortly afterwards to Kefe Sanjak Beylik (1509).

Upon the accession of Yavuz Sultan Selim to the throne in 1512, Prince Süleyman was summoned to Istanbul and he stayed in Istanbul during his father's struggles with his brothers and acted as his father's deputy. In the meantime, he also served as Saruhan sanjakbey. Upon the death of his father Yavuz Sultan Selim, he ascended the Ottoman throne on 30 September 1520 at the age of twenty-five. Since he had no other brother, his accession to the throne was easy and conflict-free. Kanûnî Sultan Süleyman, who was a very serious and confident sultan, had determination and will. He was never in a hurry in his work, he thought very broadly and never went back from his orders. He would assign tasks to the men he would put in charge according to their ability. He died on 7 September 1566 at the age of seventy-one while leading the siege of Sigetvar.

He was called "Kanûnî" not because he invented new laws, but because he dictated the existing laws and enforced them very strictly. Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent was a sultan who loved justice. It is a clear proof of this that he found the tax coming from Egypt excessive, thought that the people were being oppressed as a result of the research he commissioned and changed the Governor of Egypt.

When Suleiman the Magnificent ascended the throne, the Ottoman Empire was the richest and most powerful state in the world. The death of his father and his becoming sultan delighted the Europeans who thought that "Arslan died and was replaced by a lamb". However, Europeans were soon disappointed.

Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, a great statesman, was also a famous poet. One of his famous poems is as follows:

"There is no object of honour among the people like the state,

There is no state in the world like a breath of health.

The so-called reign is a fight for the world,

To have fortune and bliss like wahdat in the world".

Male children: Selim II, Bayezid, Abdullah, Murad, Mehmed, Mahmud, Cihangir, Mustafa

Daughters Mihrimah Sultan, Raziye Sultan

Mehmed II was born on 30 March 1432 in Edirne. His father was Murad II, the sixth Ottoman Sultan, and his mother was Hüma Hatun. Mehmed II, whose education and upbringing was given great importance at a young age, was educated by the most outstanding scholars of the period. When he was 11 years old, he was appointed as Manisa Sanjakbeylik in order to gain administrative experience. He was exceptionally educated in the fields of philosophy, hadith, tafsir, fiqh, theology, history, geometry and mathematics. In 1444, Murad II handed over the throne to his 12-year-old son Mehmed and retired to Manisa. However, the European countries, hearing that a young man had succeeded to the Ottoman throne, once again turned towards the Ottoman lands. Upon this, Murad II took the throne again in 1446.

After the death of his father in 1451, Mehmed II took the Ottoman throne again at the age of 19. He conquered Trabzon by putting an end to the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire in 1453, the Peloponnesian Despotate in 1460 and the Trabzon Empire in 1461. In 1473, he defeated Uzun Hasan, the ruler of the Akkoyunlu Empire, at the Battle of Otlukbeli. Mehmed II published the laws he enacted during his reign under the title of "Fatih Kanunnâmesi". In 1481, Fâtih, who embarked on a new expedition towards Anatolia, fell ill at the beginning of the road and died on 3 May 1481 at his camp in Hünkârçayırı near Gebze, at the age of 49. His tomb is located in Fatih Mosque in Fatih district of Istanbul.

Bayezid II or Beyazıt II (Dimetoka 3 December 1447 - Havsa 26 May 1512) was the eighth sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

His father was Fatih Sultan Mehmed and his mother was Emine Gülbahar Hatûn. He was the father of Yavuz Sultan Selim. The territory of the empire, which was 2.214.000 km² in total, 511.000 km² in Asia and 1.703.000 km² in Europe, was approximately 2.375.000 km² at his death. The Sultan's nickname was Sultan-i Beyazıt. Bayezid II was born in 1447 in Dimetoka, Greece. He is also known as Bayezid II and Beyazıt II. He is known as the son of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, one of the most important and powerful sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Bayezid II's mother is Mukrime Hatun.

Developments of Beyazid II Period

First Sefer-i Hümayun: It is known as the first expedition organised by Beyazıd II after his accession to the throne. During this period, the Ottoman navy landed in Serbia, passing through Plovdiv, Edirne and Sofia. The Ottoman army held out until Belgrade. After Beyazıt II organised a campaign here and captured the city, he did not neglect to repair all the existing castles. This campaign lasted approximately 7 months.

Taurus Campaign

Taurus expedition is also mentioned in history as the second expedition of Beyazıt II. The Ottoman Empire was not in favour of Taurus not paying taxes. After the first expedition was carried out successfully, another expedition was to be organised by Beyazıt II to capture the city completely. At the same time, the main aim was to completely cut the connection of Taurus with the sea.

Wars of the Ottoman Empire and Mamluk State: It is among the most important events and wars of Bayezid II period. The Ottoman Empire, which wanted to completely dominate the Taurus and Euphrates, was in conflict with the Mamluk State. Mamluk State did not want to give these regions to the Ottoman Empire and wanted to be the sole ruler of this region. During the period of Beyazıt II, many wars were organised between the Mamluk State and the Ottoman Empire. These regions were taken from the Mamluk State.

Bayezid II died on 26 May 1512 at the age of 62 in the village of Abalar in Havsa, Edirne, 32 days after he set off for a campaign. His most important work in Edirne is the complex bearing his name.

Sultan Mehmed IV was born on 2 January 1642 in Istanbul. His father was Sultan Ibrahim I and his mother was Turhan Hatice Sultan of Russian origin. Sultan Mehmed IV was of medium height, with white skin and a tanned countenance. His body was bent forward because he rode horses a lot. His mother raised him very well. He received a good education. Upon the assassination of his father Sultan Ibrahim, he became the sultan on 8 August 1648, when he was only seven years old. He was very interested in hunting and literature. He is known in history as "Mehmed the Hunter" because of his interest in hunting.

He banned liquor and had the distilleries closed. He took a very accurate decision by giving the Grand Vizierate to the Köprülü family.

Most of his life was spent with palace intrigues. After the Second Vienna defeat, he was dethroned on 8 November 1687 with the unanimous vote of the army and the state officials. His life after that was a life of complete imprisonment with two concubines placed with him in a room in the palace. He died on 6 December 1693 in Edirne. His funeral was sent to Istanbul and he was buried next to his mother Turhan Sultan in his tomb in Yeni Mosque.

His male children were: Mustafa II, Ahmed III, Bayezid.

Daughters : Hatice Sultan, Safiye Sultan, Ümmü Gülsüm Sultan, Fatma Sultan.

Ahmed Şefik Midhat Pasha (18 October 1822, Istanbul - 8 May 1884, Taif) was an Ottoman statesman. Midhat Pasha, who was twice Grand Vizier and Governor of Danube, Aydın and Syria, was the chairman of the committee that prepared the first Ottoman constitution, Kânûn-ı Esâsî.

He was born on 18 October 1822 in Istanbul. He was the son of Hafiz Mehmed Eşref Efendi from Rusçuklu. His real name was Ahmet Şefik. The name Mithat, meaning "praised", was given to him by his superiors while he was working at the Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn Pen.

His childhood was spent in Vidin and Lofça, where his father was a regent (deputy qadi). When he was 12 years old, he returned to Istanbul and worked at the Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn Pen. On the other hand, he followed the lessons of famous hodja masters in Fatih mosque; he learnt Arabic, Persian, logic and Islamic law.

In 1840, he was appointed to the Sadaret Mektub-i Kalemi; after working here for two years, he served as divan clerk in Damascus, Konya and Kastamonu. When a report he prepared and sent about the fight against corruption won the favour of Mustafa Reşit Pasha, the grand vizier of the time, he was called to Istanbul. He continued his civil service in Istanbul and was patronised by Reşit Pasha. In 1848, he married Lamia Hanım from Antakya in Istanbul. They had a daughter named "Memduha" from this marriage.

Hasan Rıza (known as Martyr. b. 1858, Üsküdar - Istanbul; d. 26 March 1913, Edirne), Turkish painter.

He belongs to the generation of military painters of Turkish painting. He generally worked on war-themed compositions and portraits. He is known as "Martyr" because he was killed by Bulgarian soldiers while trying to save the paintings in his studio during the occupation of Edirne after the Balkan Wars.

Life

He was born in 1858 in Ağahamamında, in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul. His father was Miralay Şakir Bey and his mother was Nefise Hanım.

He started painting at an early age; during his education at the Naval School, he became known as Painter Hasan Rıza Üsküdar among his schoolmates. In 1881, the year he graduated from the secondary school and transferred to the Naval Academy, he volunteered for the 93rd War. During the war, Hasan Rıza, who was given the protection of an Italian painter, was impressed by this painter and closely followed his works.

After the end of the war, he returned to his education at the Naval School. While he was in the last year of the school, he was assigned to repair the paintings in the cabins of Sultan Abdülhamid's yacht and to renew the deteriorated decorations. Due to his success in this task, Hasan Rıza was given the rank of "officer" without graduating. However, he preferred to be a painter and left his rank and travelled to Italy to study painting.

After developing his understanding of art by working in the workshops of Rome, Florence and Naples for ten years, he travelled to Egypt and studied Egyptian art for two years. When he returned to Turkey after twelve years, he was asked to return his rank, but he refused; he established a workshop in Edirne Karaağaç and continued his works in his workshop. He painted portraits of famous people and historical events, especially paintings depicting important events and wars in Ottoman history. In the painting depicting the entry of Mehmet the Conqueror into Istanbul from Topkapi, he portrayed himself as a janissary guard with a rifle in his hand, right next to the carriage on which Fatih rode.

He worked as a teacher in various schools in Edirne, founded and managed the Edirne branch of the Numune-i Terakki Mektebi (Numune-i Terakki School), which was founded by Riyaziye Mehmet Nadir Bey. In 1908, he became the director of the Edirne Vilayeti Sanayi Okulu (Edirne Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School), which Şevket Bey, the director of the Edirne Vilayet Printing House, played an active role in the construction of. The school was converted into a hospital during the Balkan War. Hasan Rıza assumed the directorate of the hospital. During his teaching at Edirne High School, he was also the teacher of the Dimetokan painter Hayri Çizel.

On 26 March 1913, when the Bulgarian army entered the city, he was martyred by Bulgarian soldiers as he went towards Karaağaç to rescue the paintings in his studio. He was buried in the same place together with 62 other martyred soldiers.

Mehmed Şükrü Pasha (1857, Erzurum - 5 June 1916, Istanbul) was an Ottoman soldier. He defended the city of Edirne, which was besieged by the Bulgarians during the Balkan Wars, for 155 days under difficult conditions, and is also known as the "Defender of Edirne".

Life

He was born in 1857 in Erzurum. He was the only child of Lieutenant Colonel (Senior Captain) Mustafa and Muhsine from the Ayabakan family of Erzurum.

He started his military education at Erzincan Military Idadisi and continued his education at Sütlüce Artillery School in Istanbul. He graduated from this school in 1879 as an artillery lieutenant. During his education, he attracted attention with his success in mathematics. For this reason, he was sent to study in Germany. He studied at Potsdam Garrison for more than four years. In 1880 he was promoted to first lieutenant and in 1883 to senior captain.

After returning to Istanbul, he taught military training and education in many institutions. In 1887, he was promoted to major. He married Zafer Rabia Hanım, the daughter of Nuri Pasha, the cavalry Ferik Imrahor Manastırlı Nuri Pasha. Of the nine children born from this marriage, three daughters and one son lived to maturity; he had seven grandchildren.

Şükrü Pasha, who was fluent in German, English and French, taught mathematics and ballistics at Harbiye and Darüşşafaka in addition to his various military duties. Among the young people he trained was the famous mathematician Salih Zeki.

In 1888, he was promoted to District Governor, in 1889 he was promoted to Miralay and in 1893, at the age of 36, he was promoted to Mirliva. He spent his military service in Edirne until his promotion from Mirliva to First Ferik. In 1905, he was sent to Thessaloniki. During this period, he was known as "Deli Şükrü Pasha" due to his excessive discipline and meticulousness in military life.

In 1908, his rank, which had been raised to the rank of Müşir, was reduced to Ferik as a result of the arrangements made with the declaration of the Constitutional Monarchy II. Şükrü Pasha, who came to Istanbul that year, served as Redif Inspector and Dardanelles Strait Guard until 1912. When the First Balkan War started, he was appointed as the Commander of the Edirne Fortified Position.

On 24 September 1912, the warning telegram sent by the Ottoman Embassy in Sofia to Istanbul warned of the impending danger: "The first target of the Bulgarians is the weak Ottoman division of Kırklareli. They are considering a raiding attack on Edirne. The fortified position of Edirne should be reinforced and soldiers whose patriotic service period has expired should not be demobilised."

Upon this, Mehmed Şükrü Pasha, who was appointed as the Commander of the Edirne Fortified Position, was able to arrive in the city one week before the siege of Edirne began. Şükrü Pasha, who was assigned the defence of Edirne, was ordered to defend the city for 50 days if it was besieged. It was foreseen that during this period either the Bulgarian armies would be pushed back or support would be sent from Istanbul. However, Mehmed Şükrü Pasha, together with his staff members Kâzım (Karabekir), Remzi (Yiğitgüden) and Fuat Bey, despite not receiving any support from Istanbul, resisted the attacks of the Bulgarian and Serbian armies for 5 months and 5 days and carried out a historical defence.

On 26 March 1913, when he had to send an officer to the Bulgarian Command and offer the surrender of the castle, he was received with respect. According to some sources, he duly surrendered his sword to the Bulgarian commander and Ferdinand I, the German-born Bulgarian Tsar, who arrived in Edirne the next day, handed it back to him. This sword surrender scene became a symbol of the occupation of Edirne

Since his heroic defence of the city was widely covered in the European press and aroused public admiration, small monuments were erected in his name in Germany, where he studied, and he was presented with a sword on behalf of the French nation and a gold book adorned with thousands of autographs by his admirers.

Şükrü Pasha spent six months of honourable captivity in Sofia and spent this period solving maths and artillery problems. He presented a book he had prepared to the Bulgarian heir Boris.

Şevket Süreyya Aydemir (1897, Edirne - 25 March 1976, Ankara), Turkish writer, thinker, economist and historian.

He was born in Edirne in 1897 to a landless family of Balkan immigrants. His father, Mehmet Aga, was a wealthy landowner from the Deliorman region of Bulgaria who had lost his fortune and worked as a gardener in Edirne. His mother was Şaziye Hanım, an enlightened person. He learnt to read and write from his mother. After the neighbourhood school, he attended the military high school. He lost his mother and an older brother before the Balkan Wars.

When Edirne was occupied, he was among the children sent to Istanbul to escape the massacre. He enrolled in Kuleli Military High School, but upon the recapture of Edirne and the call of his father, who did not want another son to become a soldier, he returned; he studied at Edirne Rüştiyesi and Teacher's School (today's Edirne High School). After his other brother lost his life in Sarıkamış, he joined the war as a volunteer in World War I; he fought on the Caucasus Front where his brother was martyred and was wounded. While he was at the front, he read Müfide Ferit's novel Aydemir, which made a great impression on him. It was due to the influence of this novel that he chose the surname Aydemir when the Surname Law was enacted in the future.

(18 February 1874 Istanbul - 10 May 1933), Turkish radiologist, history writer, painter, architect, photographer.

He was one of the first radiologists of Turkey. He became known for his historical and cultural researches and studies in Edirne, where he was appointed as an X-ray specialist in 1903. He drew the projects of various buildings in Edirne. He was among the founders of the first museum (Archaeological Museum) in Edirne.

Life

He was born on 18 February 1874 in Üsküdar. His father was Tosyavizade Osman Efendi.

He studied at Kuleli Tıbbiye Idadisi. He became a pupil of the painter Süleyman Seyyid Bey during his years at the İdadi and continued his education at the Military Medical School.

During his student years, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered x-rays in Germany and this discovery aroused excitement in the world. He worked with the student Esad Feyzi Bey, who installed an x-ray machine in the chemistry laboratory of the Military Medical School in Demirkapı and took x-ray films. During the Ottoman-Greek war that started in 1897, they used this device to detect unknown bullet and bullet fragments in the bodies of the seriously wounded who were transferred to the Military Hospital in Yıldız. The hand radiographs of their first patient, Boyabatlı Mehmet, are considered to be the first X-ray application on war wounded in the history of world medicine.

In 1898, he graduated from the Military Medical School as a physician captain and worked as an assistant to German Prof. Dr. Robert Reider at the Military Medical School Practice School.

In 1903, he was appointed to Edirne Military Hospital as an X-ray specialist. He worked as a health teacher and painting teacher in various schools in Edirne. He built the Turkish Quarry building, which is today used as the Public Education Centre, the municipal hospital (destroyed in the earthquake in 1951) and fountains. He settled in Edirne in his retirement.

Dr Rifat Osman was an active member of the "Thrace-Paşaeli Müdafaa-i Hukuk Cemiyeti", which was founded in 1918 with the participation of Mayor Şevket Dağdeviren, Edirne MP Faik Kaltakkıran, lawyer Şeref Aykut, merchant Kasım Yolageldili and some patriots from Edirne in order to protest against the occupation and plan the defence of Thrace.

He founded Edirne's first museum, the Archaeological Museum, in 1925 in the courtyard of Selimiye Mosque together with Arif Dağdeviren and Necmi İğe.

He published "Edirne Rehnüması" which is a city guide of Edirne, "Edirne Palace" in which he published his researches on the palace buildings in Edirne, "Edirne Houses", "Edirne History" and "Edirne Evkaf History".

In addition, Dr Ratip Kazancıgil translated two memoirs, Hayatım ve Hatıratım and Tosyavizade Dr Rifat Osman Bey'dan Ord. Prof. Süheyl Ünver'e Edirne Mektupları (Letters from Tosyavizade Dr Rifat Osman Bey to Ord. Prof. Süheyl Ünver), into contemporary Turkish.

He died on 10 May 1933. He was buried in Nazırçeşme Cemetery in Edirne.

There is a room dedicated to Rıfat Osman Bey and his friend Süheyl Ünver in the Edirne Health Museum within the Second Bayezid Complex.

Ahmet Süheyl Ünver (17 February 1898, Istanbul - 14 February 1986, Istanbul), Turkish writer and physician.

His life

He was born in Istanbul. He learnt illumination and marbling at Medresetü'l-Hattatin. He was interested in the art of miniature Turkish ornamentation. He graduated from Darülfünun Faculty of Medicine (1920). He completed his specialisation in internal medicine at the Faculty of Medicine in Paris (1927-1929). He worked as an assistant lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine Treatment Clinic and Pharmacodynamics (1930). He worked at Gureba and Haseki hospitals and worked as an assistant at the Industrial School. He founded the Institute of Medical History at Istanbul University and taught at the Academy of Fine Arts. In 1933, he became the director of the University Medical History Institute. He became a professor in 1938 and an ordinary professor in 1954. In 1967, he founded the Chair of History of Medicine and Deontology at Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty. He taught "Turkish Miniature and Ornament" at the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts. He travelled to Romania, Yugoslavia, Greece, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, the USA and the Netherlands (1929-1969). He rebuilt the 500-year-old embroidery studio in Topkapı Palace Museum and trained students. One of his students was his daughter Gülbün Mesara, to whom he later left the embroidery studio. Ünver retired in 1973 and died in 1986.

He knew Arabic, Persian and French; he blew the ney; he was also a painter, miniaturist, illuminator and calligrapher. He was interested in all aspects of Turkish culture. He was an archivist and donated his archive to the institutes he founded, the Turkish Historical Society and the Süleymaniye Library. He devoted himself to intensive research and writing throughout his life. He was a member of 18 scientific organisations and published around 2500 books and articles on history of medicine, history of science and history of culture. In 1985, he was honoured with the Grand Prize by the Ministry of Culture and received awards abroad. He has numerous articles in magazines, newspapers and encyclopaedias. He was also a member of the staff of the magazine Voices from History.

His teachers who influenced him were Hoca Ali Rıza Bey, Abdülaziz Mecdi Tolun, Akil Muhtar Özden.

Ömer SEYFETTİN was born in Balıkesir Gönen on 11 March 1884. Ömer Seyfettin is the child of Captain Ömer Şevki Bey and Fatma Hanım. The author, who started his education life at the neighbourhood school in Gönen, came to İnebolu, Ayancık and then Istanbul due to his father's duty. He continued his education first at Mekteb-i Osmaniye and then at the Military Baytar Rüştiyesi, a special class for the children of officers. After completing his schooling, the author enrolled in Kuleli Military Idadisi in 1896 and then transferred to Edirne Military Idadisi and completed his education there.

After his graduation, Ömer Seyfettin was appointed to the Kuşadası Redif Battalion of the Third Army with the rank of infantry sub-lieutenant. In 1906, he was appointed as a teacher at Izmir Gendarmerie School.

Ömer Seyfettin's life was briefly spent with the military profession. In 1910, with the request of Ziya Gökalp, he left his military service by paying his compensation. He settled in Thessaloniki to continue his life as a writer and teacher. After the name of the magazine "Hüsün ve Şiir", which was published in Thessaloniki as the only Turkish science and literature magazine of Rumelia, was changed to Genç Kalemler Magazine upon the request and insistence of Akil Koyuncu, Ömer Seyfettin's first editorial titled Yeni Lisan was published in the magazine on 11 April 1911 without signature. The editorial board of the magazine was disbanded upon the outbreak of the Balkan War. The author, who was called to the army again, was captured in Ioannina. The author, who constantly read and wrote during his captivity, ended his captivity on 15 November 1913 and returned to Istanbul.

In 1914, he left his military service and started teaching at Kabataş High School in Istanbul. In 1915, the writer Ömer Seyfettin married Calibe Hanım and she was the daughter of Dr Besim Ethem Bey, one of the prominent members of the Committee of Union and Progress. In 1918, his marriage ended with a daughter. On 23 February 1920, Ömer Seyfettin's illness worsened and he was taken to Haydarpaşa Numune Hospital in Üsküdar. The author could not be saved and died on 6 March 1920 at the age of 35.

(17 June 1921, Edirne - 30 December 1986, Stockholm), Turkish sculptor.

After working at the Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul between 1951 and 1958, he moved to Sweden in 1959 and lived on his boat Hulda, where he gained a unique position in the art world with his works combining science and art; for this characteristic he was known as the Turkish Da Vinci. His most famous and most talked about work in the field of figurative abstraction is the Mediterranean Sculpture.

Life

Born on 17 June 1921 in Edirne, his father was Fuat Bey, a doctor and farmer, and his mother was Sevinç Leman Hanım. His paternal side was from the Turkish peasants settled in the Balkans from Konya after the Battle of Mohaç;[2] the family had migrated to Edirne from Yugoslavia in the 1880s.[5] His maternal grandfather was Mehmet Şeref Aykut Bey, one of the revolutionaries of the reign of Abdülhamid II and one of the founders of the Trakya Paşaeli Müdafaa-i Hukuk Cemiyeti.

He spent his childhood in the Kaleiçi neighbourhood of Edirne. After graduating from Edirne High School, he entered the Painting Department of Istanbul Fine Arts Academy in 1941. Upon the advice of his professors, he switched to the sculpture department a year later and graduated from this school in 1945 as a student of Rudolf Belling.

In 1947, he won the exam organised by the Ministry of National Education and was sent to Paris with Neşet Günal, Refik Eren and Sadi Öziş on a state scholarship. Between 1947 and 1950, he studied at the Academie Julian and l'Ecole du Louvre in France. During his studies at the Louvre Museum, he was particularly influenced by Mesopotamian and Egyptian art. During his years in Paris, the artist, who was close to contemporary movements, opened his first exhibition in Paris in 1948. In 1951, just before returning to Turkey, he married Melda Kaptana and had a son from this marriage.

After returning home, he started his compulsory service at the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts. He served here until 1958. In 1952, he won the first prize in the Anıtkabir Sculpture Competition with his relief composition on the Battle of Sakarya on the right of the stairs leading to the mausoleum section. The reliefs on the Battle of Sakarya, which he realised between 1952 and 1954 within the scope of this project, bear traces of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian reliefs he saw in Paris and was influenced by.

His works won the second prize at the 1954 Ankara State Exhibition and the first prize at the 1955 Ankara State Exhibition. In 1958, he undertook the construction of the Turkish stand at an international exhibition in Brussels. Upon the invitation of the architect Ralph Erskine, whom he met during this six-month-long work, he travelled to Sweden to research forms for his architectural designs. The artist left his first wife and his position at the Academy of Fine Arts and settled in Sweden in 1959. In 1965, he bought a 1905-built two-masted sailboat named M/S Hulda and restored it to live and work on it, using it as a home and workshop until his death in 1986.

In 1967 he was accepted as a lecturer at the Stockholm School of Applied Arts. During this period, his scientific discoveries such as new geometric derivatives and windmills were registered. In 1969 he won the first prize in a competition for the organisation of an area in Sundsvall, Sweden, and in 1970 he won one of the first prizes in a competition for a sculpture to be placed in front of the Örebro Town Hall.

He died in 1986 at the age of 65 in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.

(b. 1940, Edirne d. 11 January 2021, Edirne), Turkish historian and museum director.

He served as the museum director of Topkapı Palace between 1997 and 2005 and led the major renovation and reconstruction of the palace.

Life

He graduated from Istanbul University Faculty of Literature, Institute of Aesthetics and Art History, Turkish and Islamic discipline in 1964.[1] Between 1964 and 1997, Çağman worked as a specialist in manuscripts, miniatures and calligraphy at Topkapı Palace Manuscripts Library, bringing the rare works in the collection to light and opening them to national and international researchers. In 1971, he received his doctorate degree from Istanbul University with his thesis on "Miniatures of Nizami Hamse's Miniatures in Topkapı Palace Museum Library Treasury 762".

He organised the national and well-attended Art History Research Communication Seminars at Topkapı Palace Museum for more than 10 years. Together with her colleagues Nurhan Atasoy and Zeren Tanındı, she produced works on miniature and bookbinding art. In addition to miniature manuscripts, which is his main area of expertise, he also worked on the organisation of the palace nakkaşhane Ehl-i Hiref.

In 1997 Çağman became the museum director of Topkapı Palace and retired from this position in 2005. During his tenure as museum director, he also worked on the collections in other parts of Topkapı Palace for many years, revealing unknown points about various artefacts. In 2001, he was awarded the gold medal by the Spanish (Catalan) "Anticuarios Reales Atarazanos" Foundation. In 2002, he won the Vehbi Koç Award in the field of "Historical and Cultural Heritage" for the Topkapı Palace Museum.

After retiring from the Topkapı Palace Museum Directorate, he became a consultant to the Sakıp Sabancı Museum. The exhibition "Turks: A Journey of a Thousand Years 600-1600", which opened at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in January 2005 and attracted great interest.

His death

He spent the last years of his life in Edirne, where he was born. He died on 11 January 2021 and was buried in Hacılar Ezanı-Çamlık Cemetery in Edirne according to his will.

His books

Ottoman Palace Portrayal Art (Masa Publishing House)
Topkapı Palace Museum Islamic Miniature Painting (with Zeren Tananıdı, Tercüman Publications 1979)
Topkapi (with Ahmet Ertuğ, Ertuğ & Kocabıyık Publication 1991)
Calligraphy in Ottoman Art (with Şule Aksoy Ministry of Culture and Tourism Publications 1998)
Portrait of the Sultan Tesavir-i Ali Osman (İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları 2000)
Image of the Turks in the 17th century Europe (Nazan Ölçer, with Polona Vitmar, Sakıp Sabancı Museum Publications 2005)
Ottoman Painting (with Zeren Tananıdı, Günsel Renda, Serpil Bağcı, Ministry of Culture and Tourism Publications 2006)
Blind Date Istanbul: Unannounced Meeting in Istanbul (Nazan Ölçer, with Arianne Grigoteit, Sakıp Sabancı Museum Publications 2007)
3 Capitals of Islamic Art with Masterpieces from Louvre Collections Istanbul, Isfahan, Delhi (Nazan Ölçer, Selmin Kangal with Sakıp Sabancı Museum Publications 2008)
Paper Carving Art and Artists in the Ottoman World (Aygaz Publications 2014)

(2 January 1902, Uzunköprü, Edirne - 7 October 1964, Istanbul), Turkish writer.

She is one of the important women writers of Turkish literature of the Republican period. She wrote psychological and autobiographical novels.

Safiye Erol was born on 2 January 1902 in Uzunköprü, Edirne. She is the daughter of a family who immigrated from Macedonia. Her mother was Emine İkbal Hanım, a Bektashi dervish, and her father was Sami Bey, a clerk in Uzunköprü Municipality.

Her family moved to Istanbul in 1906. After her primary education, she first attended a French school, then the German school in Haydarpaşa and then the German High School in Istanbul. In 1917, he was sent to Germany to continue his education through the Turkish-German Association. In 1919, she graduated from the "Freesesche Höhere Mädchenschule", a private boarding school for girls in Lübeck. She studied philosophy and literature at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. In 1926, with her thesis titled "Flower Names in Arabic", she was awarded the title of doctor in oriental studies and returned to Istanbul.

After her return to Turkey, she published articles focusing on women's issues in magazines such as Millî Mecmua and Her Ay. She made translations under the name "Safiye Sami". She wrote stories under the name "Dilara".

In 1938, her first novel Kadıköyü'nin Romanı was published. In the same year, Ülker Fırtınası, which started to be published in Cumhuriyet, was published as a novel in 1944. His translations of Selma Lagerlöf's Empress of Portugal in 1941 and Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's The Water Girl in 1945 were published. The first edition of his best-known novel Ciğerdelen was published in 1946.

In 1947, he met Samiha Ayverdi. Through Samiha Ayverdi, he met Kenan Rıfaî, who was her disciple, and became initiated. After Kenan Rifâî's death, he prepared a three-part philosophical study about his murshid. This work was included in the book Kenan Rifâî and Islam in the Light of the Twentieth Century.

In 1955, his last novel, The Priest of Dineyri, was published in Tercüman newspaper. In 1962, her writings on Asr-ı Saadet were published in Yeni İstanbul newspaper; they were published in a book titled The Tree of Mercy in the Desert.

Safiye Erol died on 1 October 1964 in Istanbul. Her body was buried in Karacaahmet Cemetery in Üsküdar.

Kel Aliço (1845, Pleven - 1922, Edirne), Wrestler.

Bald Aliço was a famous oil wrestler who was born in the village of Koynare on the banks of the Iskar River in the town of Cherven in Pleven, Bulgaria. Aliço, nicknamed "bald" because of his bald head, was known as "Gaddar Ali" because of his very hard and brutal wrestling technique. He started wrestling at a young age. He was recognised as one of the greatest wrestlers not only of his period but also of Turkish wrestling. He attracted the attention of Abdülaziz and participated in peace wrestling. He rose to the position of chief candlestick maker in Yıldız Palace.

He won the title of chief wrestler in Kırkpınar for 27 consecutive years. At the age of 56, when he defeated his apprentice Adalı Halil who challenged him; Adalı was 25 years younger than Aliço. His grave is in Aliçopehlivan village of Ipsala.