Persian, also known by its endonym Farsi or Parsi, is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and used officially within Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan in three mutually intelligible standard varieties, respectively Iranian Persian, Dari Persian, and Tajiki Persian. It is also spoken natively in the Tajik variety by a significant population within Uzbekistan, as well as within other regions with a Persianate history in the cultural sphere of Greater Iran. It is written officially within Iran and Afghanistan in the Persian alphabet, a derivative of the Arabic script, and within Tajikistan in the Tajik alphabet, a derivative of the Cyrillic script.
Kurdish people or Kurds are an Iranic ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northern Syria. There are exclaves of Kurds in Central Anatolia, Khorasan, and the Caucasus, as well as significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey and Western Europe. The Kurdish population is estimated to be between 30 and 45 million.
The Kurds are an Iranian ethnic group in the Middle East. They have historically inhabited the mountainous areas to the south of Lake Van and Lake Urmia, a geographical area collectively referred to as Kurdistan. Most Kurds speak Northern Kurdish Kurmanji Kurdish (Kurmanji) and Central Kurdish (Sorani).
The Topkapı Palace, or the Seraglio, is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire, and was the main residence of its sultans.
An odalisque was a chambermaid or a female attendant in a Turkish seraglio, particularly the court ladies in the household of the Ottoman sultan. In western European usage, the term came to mean the harem concubine, and refers to the eroticized artistic genre in which a woman is represented mostly or completely nude in a reclining position, often in the setting of a harem. It was part of a fascination with Orientalism, particularly in Great Britain and France.
A couch, also known as a sofa, settee, chesterfield, or davenport, is a cushioned item of furniture for seating multiple people. It is commonly found in the form of a bench with upholstered armrests and is often fitted with springs and tailored cushion and pillows. Although a couch is used primarily for seating, it may be used for sleeping. In homes, couches are normally put in the family room, living room, den, or lounge. They are sometimes also found in non-residential settings such as hotels, lobbies of commercial offices, waiting rooms, and bars. Couches can also vary in size, color, and design.
A divan or diwan was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official.
Turkish literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Turkish language. The Ottoman form of Turkish, which forms the basis of much of the written corpus, was highly influenced by Persian and Arabic literature, and used the Ottoman Turkish alphabet.
Diyarbakır, formerly Diyarbekir, is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province.
An ottoman is a piece of furniture. Generally ottomans have neither backs nor arms. They may be an upholstered low couch or a smaller cushioned seat used as a table, stool or footstool. The seat may have hinges and a lid for the inside hollow, which can be used for storing linen, magazines, or other items, making it a form of storage furniture. The smaller version is usually placed near to an armchair or sofa as part of living room decor, or may be used as a fireside seat.
In the late 18th century, the Ottoman Empire faced threats on numerous frontiers from multiple industrialised European powers. In response, the empire initiated a period of internal reform, attempting to bring itself into competition with the expanding West. The period of these reforms is known as the Tanzimat, and led to the end of the Old Regime period. Despite the Ottoman empire's precarious international position, the central state was significantly strengthened. The process of reforming and modernization in the empire began with the declaration of the Nizam-I Cedid during the reign of Sultan Selim III and was punctuated by several reform decrees, such as the Hatt-ı Şerif of Gülhane in 1839 and the Hatt-ı Hümayun in 1856. Over the course of the 19th century, the Ottoman state became increasingly powerful and rationalized, exercising a greater degree of influence over its population than in any previous era.
Muhammad bin Suleyman, better known by his pen name Fuzuli, was a 16th-century poet who composed works in his native Azerbaijani, as well as Persian and Arabic. He is regarded as one of the greatest poets of Turkic literature and a prominent figure in both Azerbaijani and Ottoman literature. Fuzuli's work was widely known and admired throughout the Turkic cultural landscape from the 16th to the 19th centuries, with his fame reaching as far as Central Asia and India.
A chibouk is a very long-stemmed Turkish tobacco pipe, often featuring a clay bowl ornamented with precious stones. The stem of the chibouk generally ranges between 4 and 5 ft., much longer than even Western churchwarden pipes. While primarily known as a Turkish pipe, the chibouk was once popular across the Ottoman Empire and in Iran as well.
In Islamic cultures of the Middle East, North Africa, Sicily and South Asia, a Diwan is a collection of poems by one author, usually excluding his or her long poems (mathnawī).
Dewan designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A dewan was the head of a state institution of the same name. Diwans belonged to the elite families in the history of Mughal and post-Mughal India and held high posts within the government.
Diwan and divan are terms originally used in Persian, Arabic, and Turkish with derivatives in other Asian and European languages such as diwaan, dewan, etc.. These terms may refer to:
A dragoman was an interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish-, Arabic-, and Persian-speaking countries and polities of the Middle East and European embassies, consulates, vice-consulates and trading posts. A dragoman had to have a knowledge of Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and European languages.
The poetry of the Ottoman Empire, or Ottoman Divan poetry, is little known outside modern Turkey, which forms the heartland of what was once the Ottoman Empire. It is, however, a rich and ancient poetic tradition that lasted for nearly 700 years, and one whose influence can still be felt in the modern Turkish poetic tradition.
Kurdish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which asserts that Kurds are a nation and espouses the creation of an independent Kurdistan from Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
Khuda or Khoda is the Persian word for God. Originally, it was used as a noun in reference to Ahura Mazda. Iranian languages, Turkic languages, and many Indo-Aryan languages employ the word. Today, it is a word that is largely used in the non-Arabic Islamic world, with wide usage from its native country Iran, along with Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and some Muslim-majority areas of India, as well as Southern and Southwestern Russia.
