Giritli Sirri Pasha
Encyclopedia
Giritli Sırrı Pasha was a 19th century Ottoman
administrator and man of letters of Turkish Cretan origin.
He was born in 1844 in Kandiye, Crete
, Ottoman Empire as the son of Helvacızade Salih Tosun Efendi. He started out as a clerk in the local Ottoman bureaucracy in Crete
and later came to İstanbul
, pursuing an education with a particular religious emphasis. Climbing through the hierarchy, he served as governor of Trabzon
, Kastamonu
, Ankara
, Sivas and Baghdad
, and was noted as a successful administrator.
He published his writings of a personal and political nature under the title "Letters of Sırrı Paşa" (Mektubat-ı Sırrı Paşa). Yet another collection is his commentaries (tefsir) of various verses of the Koran, united under the titles Sırr-ı Kur'an (the secret of Koran), Sırr-ı insan, Sırr-ı Tenzil, Sırr-ı Meryem and Ahsenü'l-Kasas. The last one in particular, on the theme of the stories of Joseph
and Jacob
, remains a work of reference in Turkish literature
.
Sırrı Pasha married the poetess and composer Leyla Saz
, and was the father of Vedat Tek
, a groundbreaking figure of Turkish architecture.
He died at a relatively early age in 1895.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
administrator and man of letters of Turkish Cretan origin.
He was born in 1844 in Kandiye, Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, Ottoman Empire as the son of Helvacızade Salih Tosun Efendi. He started out as a clerk in the local Ottoman bureaucracy in Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
and later came to İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, pursuing an education with a particular religious emphasis. Climbing through the hierarchy, he served as governor of Trabzon
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
, Kastamonu
Kastamonu
Kastamonu is the capital district of the Kastamonu Province, Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 102,059 of which 64,606 live in the urban center of Kastamonu. The district covers an area of , and the town lies at an elevation of...
, Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, Sivas and Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, and was noted as a successful administrator.
He published his writings of a personal and political nature under the title "Letters of Sırrı Paşa" (Mektubat-ı Sırrı Paşa). Yet another collection is his commentaries (tefsir) of various verses of the Koran, united under the titles Sırr-ı Kur'an (the secret of Koran), Sırr-ı insan, Sırr-ı Tenzil, Sırr-ı Meryem and Ahsenü'l-Kasas. The last one in particular, on the theme of the stories of Joseph
Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....
and Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
, remains a work of reference in Turkish literature
Turkish literature
Turkish literature comprises both oral compositions and written texts in the Turkish language, either in its Ottoman form or in less exclusively literary forms, such as that spoken in the Republic of Turkey today...
.
Sırrı Pasha married the poetess and composer Leyla Saz
Leyla Saz
Leyla Saz, also called Leyla Hanimefendi in her time, was a Turkish composer, poet and writer.Born in 1850 in Istanbul to a family of Ottoman aristocrats of Cretan Turkish origins, she was the daughter of İsmail Hakkı Pasha, Leyla Saz, also called Leyla Hanimefendi in her time, was a Turkish...
, and was the father of Vedat Tek
Vedat Tek
Mehmet Vedat Tek was a notable Turkish architect, who has been one of the leading figures of the First Turkish National Architecture Movement.-Early life and career:...
, a groundbreaking figure of Turkish architecture.
He died at a relatively early age in 1895.