Reşat Ekrem Koçu (1905 – July 6, 1975) was a Turkish writer and historian. His best known work is his unfinished Istanbul Encyclopedia (''İstanbul Ansiklopedisi''), which recounts many tales of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

from Ottoman times. Koçu and his colorful depictions of Ottoman Istanbul are celebrated in

Orhan Pamuk Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, his work has sold over thirteen million books in sixty-three lan ...

's book '' Istanbul: Memories and the City''.

Life

Koçu was born in Istanbul. After completing his high-school education at ''Bursa Erkek Lisesi'' in the north-western town of

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

, Koçu studied history at

Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

, where he later worked as a researcher of the Ottoman period. From 1933, in the wake of Atatürk's secularist reform of the Turkish university system, Koçu taught history in the high schools of Alman, Kuleli, Pertevniyal and

Vefa Vefa is part of the district of Fatih in Istanbul, and lies inside what was once the old walled city of Constantinople. It lies roughly northwest of the eastern section of the Aqueduct of Valens, and is rich in monuments, both Byzantine and Ott ...

in Istanbul. During his teaching years, Koçu also published poems, stories and novels.

Works

Koçu's best known work is his Istanbul Encyclopedia (''İstanbul Ansiklopedisi''), which evokes many different aspects of the ancient city, including many stories from Ottoman times. The first volume of this unfinished work was brought out by Koçu in 1958. In 1973, financial difficulties forced Koçu to interrupt composition at the eleventh volume, while still working on the letter B. The text is accompanied by fanciful line illustrations.Pamuk, Orhan (2005). ''Istanbul: Memories of a City''. Chapter 19: Resat Ekrem Koçu's collection of facts and curiosities: the Istanbul Encyclopedia. Translated by Freely, Maureen, Faber & Faber. Koçu's other works include ''Forsa Halil'' (1962), ''Patrona Halil'' (1967), ''Erkek Kızlar'' (1962), ''Haşmetli Yosmalar'' (1962), ''Türk Giyim, Kuşam ve Süsleme Sözlüğü'' (1967), ''Osmanlı Padişahları'' (1960) and ''Eski İstanbul'da Meyhaneler ve Meyhane Köçekleri'' (1947).

Legacy

The novelist

describes Koçu as a major source of inspiration during his childhood years. An entire section of Pamuk's largely autobiographical work '' Istanbul: Memories and the City'' is devoted to Koçu.

Bibliography

* ''Forsa Halil'' * ''Kabakçı Mustafa'' * ''Dağ Padişahları'' * ''Erkek Kızlar'' * ''Patrona Halil'' * ''Esircibaş''ı * ''Kösem Sultan'' * ''Fatih Sultan Mehmet'' * ''Osmanlı Padişahları'' * ''Eski İstanbul'da Meyhaneler ve Meyhane köçekleri'' * ''Aşk Yolunda İstanbul'da Neler Olmuş'' * ''Kızlarağasının Piçi'' * ''Tarihte İstanbul Esnafı'' * ''Tarihimizde Garip Vakalar'' * ''Cevahirli Hanımsultan'' * ''Osmanlı Tarihinin Panoraması'' * ''Hatice Sultan ve Ressam Melling'' * ''Yeniçeriler'' * ''Topkapı Sarayı'' * ''İstanbul Ansiklopedisi''

References

External links

Brief biography of Koçu
(in Turkish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kocu, Resat Ekrem 20th-century Turkish historians Turkish encyclopedists Writers from Istanbul Istanbul University alumni 1975 deaths 1905 births Turkish LGBT writers 20th-century LGBT people