Ottoman Lyric Poetry

Hello,

For hundreds of years the Ottoman empire survived and was a major world power for most of that time. It provided a line of division between Europe, Asia, and Africa. The world we live in today is deeply influenced by the Ottoman but what do we really know of them. When we get past the myths and stereotypes perpetuated by people like the British terrorist T.E. Lawrence we generally have little left. One area worth exploring is Ottoman lyrical poetry and now through a new book we can learn and come to understand the Ottoman civilization.

Here is a sample from "Ottoman Lyric Poetry An Anthology" a new book from University of Texas Press

Nâilî What witch are you, that entangles our hearts in your curls?

You are a gazelle who sets traps in the holy sanctuary of the Kaaba

Your lashes are Tatar soldiers, and you the warlord, Hulagu

Your reign has ravaged the country of the spirit, the Baghdad of the heart

Both Hizir and Jesus have sacrificed themselves to the water of life of your lip

You are the drink of water for which the soul of Alexander thirsts

Oh my love, my sun, you are the adornment of the nine gardens of the skies

You cannot be compared to the beloved's cheek, you are the wild rose that blooms alone

Oh, Nâilî, the beloved's brows scowl with anger

When you say of her mouth, it is as fine as the tip of her curl

http://www.cs.rpi.edu/~sibel/poetry/books/ottoman/index.html

Andrews, Walter G. Black, Najaat. * Kalpakli, Mehmet. "Ottoman Lyric Poetry An Anthology" Austin: University of Texas Press.

Walter G. Andrews is retired from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilization at the University of Washington, Najaat Black is a poet and fiction writer. Mehmet Kalpakli teaches at Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul.

As a small aside I find it curious that the cover picture is from Shiraz and shows a Turkoman couple. The picture must date to about 1550 and is clearly Persian.

Best wishes,
Barry

Persian Rugs the O'Connell Guides