''Tasvîr-i Efkâr'' (, ) was a long term

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...

newspaper which existed between 1862 and 1925 with some interruptions. The paper was one of the early privately-owned publications in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. It is known for its founder

İbrahim Şinasi İbrahim Şinasi Efendi (; 5 August 1826 – 13 September 1871) was a pioneering Ottoman Empire, Ottoman intellectual, founder of Turkish dramaturgy, author, journalist, translator, playwright, linguist and newspaper editor. He was the innovato ...

and for its leading editors, including

Namık Kemal Namık Kemal (, ; ; 21 December 1840 – 2 December 1888) was an Ottoman writer, poet, democrat, intellectual, reformer, journalist, playwright, and political activist who was influential in the formation of the Young Ottomans and their stru ...

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 (; 1 March 1847 – 31 January 1914) was a Turkish civil servant, writer, literary critic, and intellectual, who was known for his apolitical views. He wrote poems, dramas and novels, dealt extensively with European lite ...

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 (;‎ 29 January 1870 – 4 January 1927) was a Turkish poet and a prominent member of the CUP. He mastered Arabic, Persian, and French languages and worked as a civil servant during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. He c ...

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 () is one of the names of the Islamic 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 Moustafa * Moustafa A ...

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 () or occupation of Constantinople (12 November 1918 – 4 October 1923), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, by United Kingdom, British, France, French, Italy, Italian, and Greece, Greek forces, took place in accordan ...

in 1918, and its owners exiled into

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. 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 (, 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 were against the system of ...

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

Turkish government The Government of Turkey () 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 system. The term government can me ...

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

riot A riot or mob violence 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 p ...

led by

Sheikh Said Sheikh Said (; – 29 June 1925) was a Zaza Kurd religious leader, one of the leading sheikhs of the Naqshbandi order and the head of the Sheikh Said rebellion. He was born around 1865 in Hınıs or Palu, into an influential family of the N ...

, as a basis for its ban.

Contributors

Early contributors of ''Tasvîr-i Efkâr'' included Şinasi's close friends Nâmık Kemal, Ahmed Vefik Paşa and Sâmipaşazâde Suphi. In the late Ottoman period when the paper was owned by the Ebüzziya brothers notable contributors were Zekeriya Sertel, Ahmet Rasim, 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 * Yahya of Antioch / Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Antaki / Yaḥya ibn Saʿīd al-Anṭākī, 11th century Christian Arabic historian. * ...

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 (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

approach and supported

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

's entry into

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Then, Ziyad Ebüzziya and Cihad Baban 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