Muallim Naci
| Muallim Naci | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Omar Ali |
| Born | 1850 Istanbul, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 1893 Istanbul |
| Occupation | Writer, civil servant, teacher, publisher |
| Language | Turkish |
| Nationality | Ottoman |
| Notable works | Lugat-i Nâcî |
Muallim Naci (1850 - 1893), literally "Naci The Teacher", was a Turkish writer, poet, teacher and critic.
He lived during the reform-oriented Tanzimat period of the Ottoman Empire and advocated modernization without breaking ties with the old. He contributed in criticisms about both the prose and the poetry, and acquired a special place in the Turkish literature and society by studying problems and providing ideas that would affect the Turkish people. His work Lugat-i Nâcî, an Ottoman-Turkish dictionary, is of major importance.
He was born at Saraçhanebaşı quarter of Fatih district, İstanbul in 1850. His real name was Omar. His father Ali Bey was a master saddler by profession, his mother Zehra Fatma Hanım was the daughter of an immigrant family from Varna (now in Bulgaria).
He started primary school in İstanbul. After his father's death, while seven years old, he went to Varna to live with his uncle. Since there was no opportunity to pursue a regular educational path, he tried to close the gap by taking various courses. He learned Arabic and Persian. After working on calligraphy and memorizing of the Qur'an, he taught at Varna's Rüştiye (middle school). In those years, he chose "Naji" (Naci in Turkish) as pen-name, and made some attempts in poetry.
After meeting with Mutasarrıf Süleymaniyeli Mehmet Sait Pasha, he left the teaching that continued for ten years, and became Pasha's private katib. He traveled a lot in Rumelia and Anatolia. In 1881, he went to Chios with Mehmet Pasha. There he started writing poems and sent some to Tercüman-ı Hakikat ("Interpreter of Truth"); Kuzu ("Lamb") of 1881, Nusaybin Civarında Bir Vadi (a valley near Nusaybin) of 1882, Dicle ("Tigris") of 1883. After returning to Istanbul, he worked in the Foreign Ministry. When Mehmed Said Pasha was assigned to Berlin, Naci rejected the offer to go with him and he continued to serve in the Foreign Ministry. Shortly after he resigned from the civil service and began his career in journalism. Proposed by Ahmet Mithat Efendi, Naci became editor-in-chief of Tercüman-ı Hakikat. In 1884, he married to Mediha Hanım, the daughter of Ahmet Mithat. After his promotion, he was engaged in learning French, which he succeeded in a short time. Some of his poems got fame because of the French translations.
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