{"id":6833,"date":"2025-06-24T16:20:06","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T13:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.sahaney.com\/?p=6833"},"modified":"2025-08-14T13:37:19","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T10:37:19","slug":"ahmed-rasim-bey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sahaney.com\/en\/ahmed-rasim-bey\/","title":{"rendered":"Ahmed Rasim Bey"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Ahmed Rasim Bey<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Ahmed Rasim Bey was born in 1864 in Sar\u0131g\u00fczel, Istanbul. His father was Bahaddin Efendi from Cyprus (Mente\u015feo\u011flu), and his mother was Nevher Han\u0131m. Ahmed Rasim attended a local primary school and entered Dar\u00fc\u015f\u015fafaka in 1875. He studied there for eight years and graduated with top honors in 1883. He then worked in the technical office of the Ministry of Post and Telegraph. After working there for a year and a half, he resigned. Shortly after, he served as a member of the inspection board of the Ministry of National Education for a brief period.<\/p>

Encouraged by Ahmet Mithat Efendi, Ahmed Rasim began his career in journalism. From 1891 onward, he became known as one of the prominent writers of B\u00e2b\u0131\u00e2li (the Ottoman center of press and government). During the Republican era, he was elected as a member of parliament for Istanbul in 1927. When he arrived in Ankara, he had no financial means and had to stay in a room at an inn. A relative who noticed this situation brought it to Atat\u00fcrk's attention during a dinner at \u00c7ankaya. Upon hearing the news, Gazi (Atat\u00fcrk) was deeply saddened. He sent his aide to invite Ahmed Rasim Bey to \u00c7ankaya. Feeling embarrassed because he had no proper clothes to wear, Ahmed Rasim hesitated, but Atat\u00fcrk personally welcomed him and invited him to sit beside him.\n\nAfter a long conversation, Atat\u00fcrk said:\n\u201cMaster! You come to Ankara and don\u2019t let us know. We\u2019ve missed you. I\u2019d like to make a proposal and kindly ask that you accept it. If we nominate you for one of the vacant parliamentary seats, would you agree?\u201d\n\nFaced with such hardship, Ahmed Rasim expressed his gratitude for this kind and heartfelt offer:\n\u201cYour Excellency! There is a saying: \u2018A morsel lies in the lion\u2019s mouth.\u2019 It turns out that this saying is indeed true. And now, I have finally reached that morsel.<\/p>

He died at the age of 68 on Heybeliada and was buried in the Heybeliada cemetery.<\/p>

Ahmed Rasim, a prominent journalist, had around 140 works of various sizes published, along with thousands of articles. During the Armistice period, he was tried in a military court because of one of his articles but was eventually acquitted. He wrote on a wide range of topics and translated many works from French. He also authored novels and short stories, and prepared textbooks for schools.\n\nAmong his writings, his vivid and detailed depictions of life in Istanbul during the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II (1876\u20131909) stand out as timeless masterpieces. His works \u015eehir Mektuplar\u0131 (\u201cCity Letters\u201d) and Resimli ve Harital\u0131 Osmanl\u0131 Tarihi (\u201cIllustrated and Mapped History of the Ottoman Empire\u201d) are still read today with great admiration.\n\nHe was a true Istanbul gentleman. He also had a poetic side and wrote beautiful song lyrics \u2014 most of the lyrics for his songs were his own.<\/p>

Ahmed Rasim, who learned music from Zek\u00e2i Dede at D\u00e2r\u00fc\u015f\u015fafaka despite not knowing musical notation, composed around 65 songs, 50 of which are known today. He remained within the framework of 21 makams (modes) in all his compositions, yet managed to create beautiful works with his sincere style. He began composing while still a student at D\u00e2r\u00fc\u015f\u015fafaka, at the age of 18, with a Z\u00e2vil mode song.\n\nRenowned composer Osman Nihat Ak\u0131n is his grandson through his daughter.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

A significant portion of his works is included in the TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation) repertoire. Some of them are:<\/p>