Ahmet Tanpinar - The Time Regulation Institute

135 Kantian imperative: or categorical imperative, the ethical system devised by Immanuel Kant, which describes a moral law that applies to all rational beings and is independent of any personal motives or desires.

135 ortaoyunu : a kind of improvisational theater common in coffeehouses in the Ottoman Empire.

136 meddah : a coffeehouse storyteller or stand-up comedian.

137 bedesten : a market where antiques, jewelry, and works of art are sold; a covered bazaar; can be used to refer to the Grand Bazaar.

138 banu : a common name, used to refer to a beautiful woman, a lady.

138 cadu : a derivation of the Turkish word cadı meaning “witch” or “sorceress.”

145 battle of Holy Ali: either the Battle of Badr, in which Ali, successor of the prophet Muhammad according to Shia Muslims, defeated the Umayyad leader; or the Battle of Karbala’, again with the Umayyad, at which Ali was killed and his succession put to an end.

180 Taflan Deva Bey: a name meaning “the cherry laurel cure.”

215 Balıkpazarı: a lively street market in the historical Beyo glu neighborhood of Istanbul.

223 Bukagılı Dede: an Istanbul saint; literally, the Hobbling Saint.

223 Elekçi Baba: An Istanbul saint; literally, the Garbler.

223 Uryan Dede: an Istanbul saint; literally, the Naked Ancestor.

223 Tezveren Sultan: a legendary saint some say was a woman.

223 Yilanlı Dede: an Istanbul saint; literally, the Ancestor of Snakes. People believed praying at his tomb gave them children.

223 Karpuz Hoca: literally, Master Watermelon.

223 Sheikh Mustafa of Altıparmak: literally, Sheikh Mustafa of Goldfinger.

223 Deli Hafiz: an Istanbul saint; literally, the Crazy, who has memorized the Koran.

223 Sheikh Virani: literally, the Sheikh in Ruins.

223 Gömleksiz Dede: An Istanbul saint; literally, the Saint Shirtless.

226 masallah : praise God, wonderful.

230 baldız: sister-in-law.

230 Mahur: a makam in Turkish classical music, known for its lively and soothing properties.

230 Isfahan: both a city in Iran and a makam in Turkish classical music.

230 Rast: a makam in Turkish classical music.

278 Graham: Benjamin Graham, an American economist and professional inventor.

278 rabia : split seconds, famous female mystic, the fourth.

281 Çelebi: honorific meaning “gentleman.”

286 Spengler: Oswald Spengler, German historian of philosophy born 1880.

301 Committee of Union and Progress: A revolutionary political organization that aligned with the Young Turks in 1906 and oversaw the reinstatement of the constitution in 1908. After a brief flirtation with democracy, its leaders moved back to authoritarian rule and are thought by some to have orchestrated the mass slaughter and deportation of Anatolia’s Armenians. Having taken the Ottomans into World War I on the side of the Germans, the committee was disbanded, and in some cases its members court-martialed, at the war’s end.

342 Osman Hamdi: Ottoman archeologist, painter, and curator born in Istanbul in 1842.

346 Bektasi ceremony: the Bekta si Sufi order was founded in the thirteenth century, active throughout the Ottoman Empire, and linked with the janissaries until both were banned by Mahmud II in 1826.

350 estagfurullah : of Arabic origin, meaning “don’t mention it” or “don’t so think so badly of yourself.”

353 semaiye : a style of poem in folk literature.

354 maya : a traditional folk song.

354 Satan’s Mountain: a legendary mountain in southeast Turkey.

358 zeybek : a traditional dance from the Aegean region of Turkey, which calls for slow and high knee steps and arms swinging widely through the air.

378 Üç Serefli Mosque: Built in Edirne in 1410 by Müslihiddin A ga, master to the famous architect Mimar Sinan, the mosque has four minarets, one rising from each corner of a large courtyard. The highest minaret has three balconies, and each balcony ( s eref ) is accessible by a different set of stairs.