Ahmet Tanpinar - The Time Regulation Institute

Çesminigâr:an Ottoman winter soup made with egg and flour; the beloved’s eye.

Halit:lasting, constant, eternal.

Hayri:blessed, auspicious, fortunate.

Lutfullah:blessed or loved by God (equivalent to Amadeus)

Nasit:the reciter of poetry (as he proves a smooth talker at the trial and in his newly elevated position after marrying the aunt).

Nuri:pertaining to light, the one lit by the spiritual light of saintliness (it is “nur” in our “honor”).

Pakize:clean, pure, innocent.

Honorifics

Aziz:saint; dear, as in “my dear friend.”

Aga:lord, master, gentleman, village headman (sometimes spelled “agha”).

Bey:gentleman, sir.

Beyefendi:gentleman, sir but of a higher status or degree than “bey.”

Baldız:sister-in-law.

Efendi:master; also commonly added to a first name to lend a sense of higher standing or social rank.

Hanım:madam, lady.

Hanımefendi:madam or lady but of a higher status than “hanım.”

Hoca:an imam, a teacher; used generally with first names to elevate the sense of status or importance.

Hoca efendi:same as “hoca” but with even higher status; that is, esteemed hoca.

Usta:master, specialist; also added to names to stress the individual’s importance and/or capabilities.

3 A Parrot’s Tale : the Tuiname or Tutinama (also translated as Tales of a Parrot ), a fourteenth-century Persian series of fifty-two stories.

4 Emsile and Avamil : books of basic Arabic grammar and model language.

4 muvakkit : religious timekeeper and clock repairman, the official keeper of time in the Ottoman Empire, a learned man involved in the study of philosophy and astronomy.

4 Mehmed IV: sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687.

6 kalfa : an apprentice, master builder, foreman.

10 Turgot: most likely Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, French economist and statesman born 1727.

10 Necker: a French statesman of Swiss birth and finance minister under Louis XVI.

10 Schacht: German banker born 1877.

11 Abdülhamid II: Ottoman sultan.

14 Aziz: literally refers to a saint but is aslo used as a term of endearment meaning “beloved” or “my good friend.”

20 Receb: the seventh month of the Arabic calendar; considered one of the three holy months.

21 karagöz: one of the lead characters in traditional Turkish shadow-puppet theater.

21 Efendi: literally “master” but commonly used for “sir.”

21 iftar : the breaking of the fast at sunset during the holy month of Ramadan.

21 sahur : predawn meal before the day of fasting during Ramadan.

21 bismillah : a common oath meaning “dear God” or “in the name of God.”

23 Egyptian Affair: either the first Egyptian-Ottoman War (1831–33) or the second (1839–41).

26 makamsher : a mode in Turkish classical music; each makam has its own particular mood.

26 alaturca : in the Turkish or Eastern style.

26 alafranga : in the French or Western style.

30 in that era: after the rebellion of the Young Turks brought about the reestablishment of the constitution in 1908.

35 medrese : a college for Islamic instruction; in English often spelled “madrassa” or “madrasah.”

37 Armistice years: The Mudros Armistice, signed on October 31, 1918, called for total and unconditional surrender of Ottoman forces at the end of the First World War. A large allied fleet reached Istanbul on November 13, 1918. The allied occupation of Istanbul lasted until the departure of the final attachment of British troops on October 2, 1923.

37 Declaration of Independence: the birth of the Turkish Republic in 1923.

39 Arab Mosque: A former thirteenth-century Roman Catholic chapel dedicated to St. Paul. The only example of Gothic religious architecture in Istanbul. Renamed the Arab Mosque, after the Muslims expelled from Spain during the Inquisition. Located in Istanbul’s historic Galata neighborhood.

40 the emperor Andronikos: Andronikos I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor born c. 1118.

42 baglama : a stringed instrument also known as the saz .

46 Mahmud I: sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1730 to 1754.

46 kahvecıbası : the imperial coffee maker.

47 oya : needlework flower chains often used to decorate the edge of a headscarf.

47 saray : palace.

53 oud: a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in Arabic, Hebrew, and Greek music.

55 Kahvecıbası Cemetery: cemetery of the imperial coffee maker.

60 han : an Ottoman inn for commercial travelers, with a closed inner courtyard for animals.

61 Ramadan: the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, during which Muslims observe a fast.

61 Kandil: one of the five Islamic holy nights when minarets are illuminated.

61 Saban: the eighth month of the Arabic calendar, which precedes the month of Ramadan.

69 ahretlik : from ahret, meaning the afterlife; a pious man; an adopted maid committed to a lifetime of service.

70 mehdi : prophet.

71 Mahmud Sevket Pasa: Ottoman soldier and statesman who played a role in the overthrow of Abdülhamid II. Assassinated in 1913.

72 hoca efendi: an esteemed instructor.

75 kusdili : a bird language that people use to communicate with one another.

83 Tünel: funicular going from the Galata Bridge to Beyo glu.

85 Seker Bayram: the festival of sweets following the feast of Ramadan.

86 Kurban Bayram: Eid ul-Adha, the sacrificial religious holiday celebrating Abraham’s obedience to God.

86 Burmalı Mescit: Built in 1540 in the Vefa neighborhood of Istanbul. Literally, the Spiral Mosque, for the spirals on its single minaret.

90 war in Anatolia: the War of Independence (May 19, 1919–July 24, 1923) was waged by nationalists following the Allies’ occupation of the land now known as Turkey in the aftermath of World War I.

94 meyhane : a tavern serving alcohol and meze.

98 Saliha Sultan: the mother of Ottoman sultan Mahmud I and the wife of the sultan Mustafa II.

126 onomancy: divinations based on a person’s name.

126 numerology: the study of the purported divine or mystical relationship between numbers and perceived events.

126 alchemy: the medieval precursor of modern chemistry, the effort to turn other solids into gold.

135 Bergson: Henri-Louis Bergson, French philosopher active in the first half of the twentieth century.