Qara Shemsi Abdal

Qara Shemsi Abdal (Ottoman Turkish: قارا شمسی عبدالله‎; born 1828 - died 1886), was a Turkish poet of the Ottoman era. He wrote in Turkish and Persian.

Abdal was born in Konya into a poor family, and did not receive institutional education. He became a member of the Mevlevi Order and was tutored by Emir Şah Kaygusuz, the custodian (türbedar) of Rumi's mausoleum. After his studies under Kaygusuz, he took the name "Abdal" as nom de plume. Prior to this, he apparently has used the pen names "Shemi", "Nuri", "Shemsi", and "Niazi".

Abdal subsequently went to Crete, where he became the shaykh of the retreat of the Mevlevi's in Hanya (Chania). He died in Crete as well. Abdal's son Aref published his father's poems; the first part of the work contained his Persian poems and texts related to the Islamic prophet, the first four caliphs, and the Islamic saints. The last part of the work contains material about the Battle of Karbala, condemnation of Yazid, and other such texts (i.e. an "elegy for the martyrs of Karbala").

Sources

• Yazici, T. (1982). "ABDĀL, QARA ŠEMSĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. I, Fasc. 2. p. 174.