Nasreddin Hodja
He was born in Hortu region of Sivrihisar, died in Akşehir. His father is Abdullah Efendi, the imam of Hortu village, and his mother is Sıdıka Hatun from the same village. He first studied at a madrasa in Sivrihisar, and after his father's death, he returned to Hortu and became a village imam. He settled in Akşehir in 1237, listened to the lectures of Seyyid Mahmud Hayrani and Sayyid Hacı İbrahim, and continued his studies on the religion of Islam. According to a rumor, he taught classes in the madrasah and served as a judge. Later, he settled in Akşehir and served as imam, judge and professor there. The information about his life has been mixed with rumors and sometimes acquired extraordinary qualities because of the excessive love of the people for him. Among these rumors are that he met the Seljuk sultans, became close to Mevlana Celaleddin, talked to Timur, who lived at least seventy years after him, and even appeared in several places.
The value of Nasreddin Hodja is not measured by the events he experienced, but by the fineness of the meaning, satire and mockery elements in the humorous jokes he and the people told through his mouth. As it is understood from the analysis of the humorous jokes that are claimed to be him, and the explanation of the words in them, he expressed the life style of the Anatolian people, not of a certain period, but the element of comedy, the type of ridicule and entertainment, the skill of praise and satire. The focus of the elements that make up the jokes about him is love, satire, praise and ridicule. It is ridiculing, leading to self-contradiction, preferring softness with a very thin and scathing expression over the rigidities of the Shari'a. While saying these things, he takes on contradictory qualities such as knowledgeable, ignorant, shrewd, docile, callous, shy, aggressive, confused, cunning, cowardly, and dashing. Especially being in contradiction with the situation of the other person is the dominant element of his humor. These elements constitute the products of thought that reflect the attitude of the Anatolian people towards certain events. Nasreddin Hodja is revealed as a focus of humor, reflecting the feelings of the people. The person who is told uses the mouth of the speaker, so that the people can make their voice heard with the language of Nasreddin Hodja. Nasreddin Hodja appears in all his humorous jokes, not as an abstract entity, but in connection with a lived event, a phenomenon. Expresses the reaction or approval in the face of the event with one of the types of humor. The events he witnessed usually took place in public. Hodja rarely or never enters among the nobles and those around the high palace. For example, he does not have a joke about the Seljuk sultans he is said to have met. The "hamam, Timur and loincloth" joke about Timur was produced later, since he lived long before Timur. The popular taste created a satire of the type "I'm telling you, my daughter-in-law, listen to the Hodja," by appearing in front of an emperor like Timur, who instilled fear around him in the bathhouse. The people of the palace who are vilified here, indirectly see their own society above the people.
Another feature that is expressed in Nasreddin Hodja's humorous jokes and reflects the feelings of the people in his personality is the place of the donkey. Hodja is inseparable from his donkey, his vehicle and mount, the donkey, is actually an element of satire and ridicule. It can be said that the horse has no place in the humor products created by the Anatolian people. The donkey is the most common symbol of enduring pain, distress, beatings and hunger. Donkeys are not found in humorous jokes produced around nobles and palaces, whereas horses occupy a large place. In this regard, another contradiction is exhibited, the humorous element and the scathing element are brought together in humor. An example of this is the Hodja saying "Will you believe the donkey's word or mine", when the villager who asked for the donkey said, "The donkey is not at home", and the villager insists, "Here the donkey is in the barn", when he hears it braying in the barn.
The beliefs of the vulgar ascetics about the "afterlife" also have an important place in his jokes. The humorous jokes titled "Fincancı's Mules" and "I Always Passed Through This Place in My Health" reveal the emotion against a strict belief. The joke "Eat Kürküm Eat", which tells about what is important in the society, shows the reaction of the people in Hodja's language. The influence of Nasreddin Hodja spread to all segments of society and enabled the emergence of humorous genres that reflect the feelings of many different regions such as "İncili Sergeant", "Bekri Mustafa", "Bektashi". The first two of these express the rather vulgar taste of the people of the palace, and the third express the public's reaction against the strictness of the Shari'a.
Akşehir made its name known to the world with Nasreddin Hodja. International and national celebrations and festivals are held to commemorate the famous thinker and humorist Nasreddin Hodja, who lived in Akşehir between 1208-1284.
The value of Nasreddin Hodja is not measured by the events he experienced, but by the fineness of the meaning, satire and mockery elements in the humorous jokes he and the people told through his mouth. As it is understood from the analysis of the humorous jokes that are claimed to be him, and the explanation of the words in them, he expressed the life style of the Anatolian people, not of a certain period, but the element of comedy, the type of ridicule and entertainment, the skill of praise and satire. The focus of the elements that make up the jokes about him is love, satire, praise and ridicule. It is ridiculing, leading to self-contradiction, preferring softness with a very thin and scathing expression over the rigidities of the Shari'a. While saying these things, he takes on contradictory qualities such as knowledgeable, ignorant, shrewd, docile, callous, shy, aggressive, confused, cunning, cowardly, and dashing. Especially being in contradiction with the situation of the other person is the dominant element of his humor. These elements constitute the products of thought that reflect the attitude of the Anatolian people towards certain events. Nasreddin Hodja is revealed as a focus of humor, reflecting the feelings of the people. The person who is told uses the mouth of the speaker, so that the people can make their voice heard with the language of Nasreddin Hodja. Nasreddin Hodja appears in all his humorous jokes, not as an abstract entity, but in connection with a lived event, a phenomenon. Expresses the reaction or approval in the face of the event with one of the types of humor. The events he witnessed usually took place in public. Hodja rarely or never enters among the nobles and those around the high palace. For example, he does not have a joke about the Seljuk sultans he is said to have met. The "hamam, Timur and loincloth" joke about Timur was produced later, since he lived long before Timur. The popular taste created a satire of the type "I'm telling you, my daughter-in-law, listen to the Hodja," by appearing in front of an emperor like Timur, who instilled fear around him in the bathhouse. The people of the palace who are vilified here, indirectly see their own society above the people.
Another feature that is expressed in Nasreddin Hodja's humorous jokes and reflects the feelings of the people in his personality is the place of the donkey. Hodja is inseparable from his donkey, his vehicle and mount, the donkey, is actually an element of satire and ridicule. It can be said that the horse has no place in the humor products created by the Anatolian people. The donkey is the most common symbol of enduring pain, distress, beatings and hunger. Donkeys are not found in humorous jokes produced around nobles and palaces, whereas horses occupy a large place. In this regard, another contradiction is exhibited, the humorous element and the scathing element are brought together in humor. An example of this is the Hodja saying "Will you believe the donkey's word or mine", when the villager who asked for the donkey said, "The donkey is not at home", and the villager insists, "Here the donkey is in the barn", when he hears it braying in the barn.
The beliefs of the vulgar ascetics about the "afterlife" also have an important place in his jokes. The humorous jokes titled "Fincancı's Mules" and "I Always Passed Through This Place in My Health" reveal the emotion against a strict belief. The joke "Eat Kürküm Eat", which tells about what is important in the society, shows the reaction of the people in Hodja's language. The influence of Nasreddin Hodja spread to all segments of society and enabled the emergence of humorous genres that reflect the feelings of many different regions such as "İncili Sergeant", "Bekri Mustafa", "Bektashi". The first two of these express the rather vulgar taste of the people of the palace, and the third express the public's reaction against the strictness of the Shari'a.
Akşehir made its name known to the world with Nasreddin Hodja. International and national celebrations and festivals are held to commemorate the famous thinker and humorist Nasreddin Hodja, who lived in Akşehir between 1208-1284.