Transcript Nasreddin Hodja

Nasreddin Hodja
Rapid Reading Exercise
• Nasreddin Hodja was a contemporary of the
famous Chinese king Timurlane, who invaded
Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) around the year
1280. Depending on what country you come
from, Nasreddin Hodja’s name varies: Mullah
Nasruddin (Iran and Pakistan), Joha (Arabian
Peninsula and the Middle East), Hodja (Turkey).
He is known by various names from Morocco to
China. Whether he is called Hodja, Mullah
Nasruddin or Joha, he is Islam’s best-known
trickster.
• Nasreddin Hodja was born in 1250 A.D. in the
small Turkish village of Hortu, which is near the
larger town of Sivrihisar. His father was the
imam of the village. The family later moved to
the city of Aksehir, where Hodja became the
dervish (or darweesh) of two famous Islamic
mystics. During his life, Hodja also worked as a
university professor in Istanbul until he died. He
is buried in Aksehir in what is now Central
Turkey. His tombstone is inscribed with the date
1285.
• Many people heard about Nasreddin Hodja and
soon his stories spread over a large area, but
mainly in countries under the Ottoman Empire
and where only Turkish was spoken. Many
stories and books are still written about him and
most jokes are about funny things that
happened during people’s everyday life. A lot of
times, the jokes and stories often make fun of
Nasreddin. The oldest Hodja story is found in the
book called Saltukname, which was written in
1480.
• The legacy of Nasreddin Hodja is still celebrated
today. Every year, between July 5-10, many
people go to the International Nasreddin Hodja
Festival; it is organized in Aksehir, where his
tomb is. To keep Hodja alive, Turkish writers and
artists have used his stories in drama, music,
movies (especially cartoons), comic strips and
paintings. The city of Bukhara in Uzbekistan also
honours the memory of Hodja with a picture of
him riding his donkey backwards and grasping
its tail (as he is traditionally represented in
drawings). Even though Hodja is dead, he still
lives on in his stories and jokes.