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Habibullah's Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire AND HER TIMES - N - Related Pages: Ottoman Empire Encyclopedia, Index Turkish Newsreaders Encyclopedic Dictionary, Index Turkish Culture -- Two Turkish traditions we especially like Turkish Culture -- 4 things you shouldn't do in Turkey Turkish Culture -- 5 things you should do in Turkey Turkish Superstitions Famous Femmes of Modern Turkish History Circumcision and what many Turks believe about Westerners Sultans and Concubines and Eunuchs, oh my...! Site visitors may navigate the encyclopedia using the Ottoman Empire Index or the Encyclopedia Sources Page. N Term Meaning Comments nahil Wax decorations of trees, animals and flowers created by special craftsmen, often with silver thread and precious stones.   nakış Right click to 'View' or 'Zoom' image enlargement... A modern-day miniature of the city of Bukhara (Buhara) by the artist Nusret Çolpan.77 A miniature painting. The first letter of each chapter of many Medieval European manuscripts was embellished with red ink called 'minium'. Pictures drawn to decorate these works began to be known by a variation of this name. The Ottoman, Persian, and Arabic equivalent for the European-based word 'miniature', is nakış. And artists involved with the craft were referred to as nakkaş. A miniature is created without regard to perspective and dimension -- painted in pure and shiny colors without shadows on specially made paper. Not having the perspective and dimension concepts to worry about gave nakkaş the opportunity of depicting a very wide area or if necessary, an event in whole.77 Right click to 'View' or 'Zoom' image enlargement... Detail from a miniature of Jerusalem (by Nusret Çolpan), showing the Dome on the Rock mosque (see cami).77 nakkaş An artist of miniature paintings. See also nakış. Such an artist, for example, was Abdullah Buhari. namaz Prayer   nargile Right click to 'View' or 'Zoom' image enlargement... From the Venetian National Library archive...7 Long distinctive Turkish water pipe that was smoked by both men and women in Ottoman times -- both at home and on the street! The Turkish Nargile in pictures How to set'm up and use'em with these favorite tobacco flavors Also known by the name 'hookah', 'narghile', 'hubble-bubble' or simply 'water pipe" -- this long-stemmed pipe is designed with a long tube passing through an urn of water that cools the smoke as it is drawn through. Nasreddin Hoca Oooooouup!20-1 Turkish Folk Hero/Humorist/Philosopher Supposed have been born in the region near Akşehir and to have lived -- from 1208 to 1284 -- during the time of Selçuk Turkish domination of Asia Minor. But his antics and stories were well-known to the Ottomans too. There are even some downright racy ones that are attributed to the Hoca -- which came down through Ottoman sources. We'll see if we can't find time to translate a couple for you -- and place them in an appropriate place on The Learning Practical Turkish Website... nazır A Minister (of the state). Such as Adliye Nazırı. Nene Hatun b. Erzurum, Turkey 1857, d. 22 May 1955 Nene Hatun shortly before her passing... An iconic Turkish heroine (even in modern times) -- who established her reputation for bravery late in the Ottoman Age. She lived well into the 20th Century, and saw the new Turkish Republic successfully rise from the Ottoman ashes... Modern Turks still say that "the country needs more Kara Fatmalar, Nene Hatunlar and Hatice Hatunlar (another such heroic woman during the Independence War)." Her name came up again in 2005 during controversial trial proceedings against Orhan Pamuk, whose off-the-wall allegations (regarding Kurdish and Armenian genocide) sideswiped Turks and friends of Turks worldwide. (Click following for more on the Orhan Pamuk allegations.) One write-in visitor to Turkey's Hürriyet Online, a well-known Online Turkish Talk Forum, recalled Nene Hatun during his criticism of Pamuk when he said, "I'm from Erzurum and it's well known what happened here during the Russo-Turkish War. The 20-year-old girl Nene Hatun (and her followers) wouldn't have attacked unless they had been attacked themselves. The Turks were obviously defending themselves. Anyone who wants proof need only come to Erzurum. How Orhan Pamuk got his 'impressions' to the contrary is hard for me to comprehend." Some of the write-in comments left by other visitors to Hürriyet Online weren't quite so mild and civilized, we opine. But this one was interesting due to its recollection of Nene Hatun, more than 125 years after the events which brought her fame. Nene Hatun (somewhat in the vein of a soldierly Barbara Fritchie) became a national hero at age 20 during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 -- as a result of her actions in retaking the Azizye Military Emplacement in Erzurum, which had fallen to the Russians (after a sneak attack led by a gang of Armenian Nationalists of that era). Her name is generalized (Nene Hatun-lar) to mean 'Nene Hatun and her followers' when talking of those events in history -- or nowadays, it can be used to mean 'any heroic Turkish women'. Kara Fatma (a famous Turkish woman soldier during the War of Independence) falls into the same category. The idea for this entry inspired by GRW (January 2006). nesih Right click to 'View' or 'Zoom' image enlargement... The four-panelled, "God taught us the Holy Kuran..." A work from the mid-1800s by Sultan Abdülmecid I in the nesih calligraphic style.78 A style of calligraphic writing derived from the Kûfi and sülüs styles, but which was easier than either.   Nevruz According to the old Iranian calendar this day was considered the first day of the year (i.e., the Persian New Year's Day) and the beginning of spring (present-day March 22, date of the vernal equinox).   de Nicolay, Nicolas French [costume] artist who (probably) penetrated (and subsequently described) previously secret areas of the Harem and the Selamlık -- as a result of his friendship with a Harem eunuch. He came to Constantinople with French Ambassador Gabriel d'Aramon in 1551. One of his descriptions (arising either from his friend the eunuch or his own personal observations) covers parts of the Seraglio that would in later years be occupied by the Revan and Baghdad Kiosks, the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle and the Privy Stables. And what he described as the 'Serail of the Sultana' and Palace School corresponds roughly to the entire Harem and much of the Selamlık, in addition to portions of the Third Court, and black eunuchs quarters.24 Considering the amount of secrecy demanded by the Ottomans, de Nicolay's penetration was extremely significant. His important drawings of court costumes were published in 1567-68 in Quartre premiers Livres des navigation et peregrinations oriental. nilüfer Water lily flower or sorbet made from the distilled liquid of the plant (shaped somewhat like a horseshoe).   nişanlar Military insignia/decorations. See also, yeniçeri nişanları.   nişancı The secretary of the imperial council who controlled the tuğra to be attached to the official orders and letters. Modern day meaning is 'marksman'... Nostradamus (1503-1566) Doctor Michel...41 Use right mouse button to 'View' larger illustration... "French physician and astrologer who wrote Centuries, a famous collection of prophecies published in 1555. The prophecies in Centuries appear in four-line rhyming verses called quatrains. In vague language, they describe events from the mid-1500s through the end of the world, which is predicted to come in AD 3797. Many people have interpreted the prophecies in Centuries, connecting certain ones with events that have taken place since Nostradamus's time. The name 'Nostradamus' is a Latin name he used in place of his original name, Michel de Nostredame. Nostradamus was born in Saint Remi, in southern France, and was raised as a Roman Catholic. He studied medicine in Montpellier, and started a practice about 1525. Soon after, he began to treat victims of the plague in communities of southern France. Nostradamus used innovative methods of treatment, and his success in curing extremely ill patients earned him a reputation as a specially gifted healer. About 1550, Nostradamus moved to Salon, where he began to write his prophecies. The publication of Centuries increased his fame, bringing many people to visit him in Salon during the rest of his life. Catherine de Medicis, queen of France, asked him to plot the horoscopes of her husband, King Henry II, and their children. In 1560, King Charles IX of France appointed Nostradamus court physician."21 In a fictional adventure, Notsradamus (as a young medical student), befriended Habibullah and Anne Boleyn -- and together they matched wits (unsuccessfully) with the cunning Cardinal Wolsey at The Field of the Cloth of Gold. Nöbetyeri Black eunuch's guard room

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