''Tasvîr-i Efkâr'' ( ota, تسویر افکار, ) was a long term Ottoman newspaper which existed between 1862 and 1925 with some interruptions. The paper was one of the early privately-owned publications in the Ottoman Empire. It is known for its founder

İbrahim Şinasi İbrahim Şinasi (5 August 1826 – 13 September 1871) was a pioneering Ottoman intellectual, author, journalist, translator, playwright, and newspaper editor. He was the innovator of several fields: he wrote one of the earliest examples of an Ot ...

and for its leading editors, including

Namık Kemal Namık Kemal (21 December 1840 – 2 December 1888) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Democracy, democrat, writer, intellectual, reformer, journalist, playwright, and Political activism, political activist who was influential in the formation of ...

and Yunus Nadi.

History and profile

First period (1862–1868)

''Tasvîr-i Efkâr'' was first published on 27 June 1862 although its license was granted on 14 May 1861. The paper came out twice per week. Its founder and chief editor was İbrahim Şinasi. In the first issue he declared the goal of the paper as expressing the voice of public. Soon after its start ''Tasvîr-i Efkâr'' enjoyed higher levels of circulation. Şinasi edited the paper until 30 January 1865 when he left the Empire for Europe. During his editorship ''Tasvîr-i Efkâr'' featured less news reports on the activities of the upper classes and the travels of Sultan Abdülaziz. Instead, it focused on news reports related to public such as fires, taxes, crop production, commercial and educational activities. During the same period ''Tasvîr-i Efkâr'' featured numerous poems by Şinasi who also published the Turkish translations of French poems. Şinasi was replaced by Namık Kemal as editor-in-chief who expanded the coverage of ''Tasvîr-i Efkâr''. Namık Kemal's term lasted until 1867 when he had to leave the Empire due to the increased pressure of the government on him. The paper was edited by

Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem Recaizade Mahmud Ekrem ( ota, رجاﺋﻰ زاده محمود اكرم; 1 March 1847 – 31 January 1914) was an Ottoman civil servant, writer, literary critic, and intellectual, who was known for his apolitical views. He wrote poems, dramas a ...

and Kayazâde Reşad until its closure in 1868. It produced 835 issues during this period.

Second period (1909–1925)

The license of the paper was sold to Ebüzziyâ Mehmed Tevfik in 1909, and it was redesigned under the title ''Yeni Tasvîr-i Efkâr'' of which the first issue appeared on 31 May 1909.

Süleyman Nazif Süleyman Nazif ( ota, سلیمان نظیف;‎ 29 January 1870 – 4 January 1927) was a Turkish people, Turkish poet and a prominent member of the Committee of Union and Progress, CUP. He mastered Arabic language, Arabic, Persian language, ...

collaborated with Ebüzziyâ Mehmed Tevfik in the publication of the paper, but he left it soon. The paper was closed down many times during this period, but resumed publication under different titles. Following the death of Ebüzziyâ Mehmed Tevfik in January 1913 the paper was owned by his children, Talha and Velid Ebüzziya. The editor of the paper under the ownership of the Ebüzziya brothers was Yunus Nadi. Its publisher was Matbaa-i Ebüzziya which was based in Nuruosmaniye district of Istanbul. The paper supported the independence movement led by

Mustafa Kemal Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Mo ...

because of which it was frequently censored. ''Tasvîr-i Efkâr'' is the first Ottoman paper which published a photograph and biography of Mustafa Kemal. The paper folded immediately after the

occupation of Istanbul The occupation of Istanbul ( tr, İstanbul'un İşgali; 12 November 1918 – 4 October 1923), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, by British, French, Italian, and Greek forces, took place in accordance with the Armistice of Mudros, which ended O ...

in 1918, and its owners exiled into

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. Following the return of Velid Ebüzziya to Istanbul in 1921 the paper was restarted with the title ''Tevhîd-i Efkâr'' on 2 July. Because he could not get a license for its original title. The paper was published until 4 March 1925 when it was closed by the

Independence Tribunal An Independence Tribunal ( tr, İstiklâl Mahkemesi, plural ''İstiklâl Mahkemeleri'') was a court invested with superior authority and the first were established in 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence in order to prosecute those who we ...

in Istanbul. The reason for its closure was its oppositional stance against the

Turkish government The Government of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükûmeti) is the national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative democracy and a constitutional republic within a pluriform multi-party ...

. The court employed the Law for the Maintenance of Order, which had been put into force after the

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

led by

Sheikh Said Sheikh Said of Palu ( ku, شێخ سەعید, translit=Şêx Seîd, 1865 – June 29, 1925) was a Kurdish sheikh, the main leader of the Sheikh Said rebellion and a Sheikh of the Naqshbandi order. He was born in 1865 in Palu to an influenti ...

, as a basis for its ban.

Contributors

Early contributors of ''Tasvîr-i Efkâr'' included Şinasi's close friends Nâmık Kemal,

Ahmed Vefik Paşa Ahmed Vefik Pasha ( ota, احمد وفیق پاشا ) (3 July 1823 2 April 1891) was an Ottoman statesman, diplomat, scholar, playwright, and translator during the Tanzimat and First Constitutional Era periods. He was commissioned with top-rank ...

and Sâmipaşazâde Suphi. In the late Ottoman period when the paper was owned by the Ebüzziya brothers notable contributors were

Zekeriya Sertel Zekeriya Sertel, also known as Mehmet Zekeriya Sertel, (1890–1980) was a Turkish journalist. He is the first director of state press department and founder and editor of various periodicals. From 1950 to 1980 Sertel lived in exile. Early life ...

Ahmet Rasim Ahmet Rasim (1864–1932) was an Ottoman liberal politician and writer, who wrote primarily about social issues. Biography Ahmet Rasim was born in Istanbul in 1864. He was a graduate of the Darüşşafaka High School. After graduation he worked a ...

, Cenap Şehabattin, Ruşen Eşref, Abdülhak Hamit, and

Yahya Kemal Yahya may refer to: * Yahya (name), a common Arabic male given name * Yahya (Zaragoza), 11th-century ruler of Zaragoza * John the Baptist in Islam, also known as Yaḥyā ibn Zakarīyā See also * Tepe Yahya Tapeh Yahya () is an archaeological ...

Spin-off

The paper was restarted with its original title, ''Tasvîr-i Efkâr'', by Velid Ebüzziya and Ziyad Ebüzziya on 2 May 1940 and existed until the death of Velid Ebüzziya on 12 January 1945. It adopted a pro-

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

approach and supported the Turkey's entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Then, Ziyad Ebüzziya and

Cihad Baban Mustafa Cihad Baban (''Cihad'' also spelled ''Cihat''; 26 September 1911 – 28 September 1984) was a Turkish journalist, author, and a parliamentary deputy in the 1950s and 1960s. Background Baban was born in Istanbul, where he attended Gala ...

continued to publish it under the title ''Tasvir'' which folded in 1949.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tasvir Efkar 1862 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1925 disestablishments in Turkey Banned newspapers Censorship in Turkey Defunct newspapers published in the Ottoman Empire Defunct newspapers published in Turkey Defunct Turkish-language newspapers Newspapers published in Istanbul Newspapers established in 1862 Publications disestablished in 1925