Poet, scientist
of geography and astronomy (b. ?,
İstanbul – d. 1562). He was a sailor in the period of Kanuni Sultan
Süleyman. He took part in all the naval campaigns of the Ottoman Navy beginning
with the conquest of
The most
important work of Seydi Ali Reis, who wrote poems with the pen name Katibi, is Mir'atü'l-Memâlik (Mirror of the
Countries) in which he narrates the journey that lasted three years mentioned
above. In this work he describes the places that he saw during his journey
starting with the shores of
Mir'at-ı Kâinat (Mirror of the Universe; maritime subjects), Hulasatü'l-Hey'i (Theories of Astronomy, astronomy and mathematics, translation by Ali Kuşçu), Muhit (Environment, geography, 1554), Cihannümâ (The Whole World, geography), Mir'atü'l-Memâlik (Mirror of the Countries, written in 1557, published in 1895; A summary of this work was published by Mustafa Nihat Özön with the title Hindelinden İstanbul’a - From India to İstanbul).
REFERENCE: İbrahim Alaeddin Gövsa / “Seydi Ali Resi –Kâtib-i Galataî” (Türk Meşhurları (1946), Yılmaz Öztuna / “Seydi Ali Reis” (Hayat Tarih Mecmuası, Sayı: 8 – 11, 1966), Cengiz Orhanlı / Seydi Ali Reis (1970), Bursalı Mehmed Tahir / Osmanlı Müellifleri III (1975), Behçet Necatigil / Edebiyatımızda İsimler Sözlüğü (18. bas. 1999), Şükran Kurdakul / Şairler ve Yazarlar Sözlüğü (gen. 6. bas. 1999), İhsan Işık / Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2006) - Ünlü Bilim Adamları (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 2, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013).