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 Rhodes. He served with the famous Admiral Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa for many years. He was appointed as the Admiral of the Fleet on the death of Piri and Murat Reis. He was forced on to the shore in India due to a defeat by the Portuguese and by a tornado while trying to bring the navy backs from Basra. He returned home via Gujarat, Khorasan, Persia, Semerkand, Bukhara, Mashhad, Qazvin and Hamadan (Iran). He was appointed as Chancellor to the Sultan’s Court because it was believed that he had died at sea and someone else had already been appointed in his place as admiral. After, he became Captain of the Galata Protection Ship of the Sultan.

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 India and the people he met in a discourse that occasionally features poems. Apart from this work, which was also translated into numerous western languages, he also wrote works related to geography and astronomy such as Muhit (The Environment, 1554), which he wrote in India and gives information about South-Eastern Asia.

MAIN WORKS:

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).

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