Who is Pierre Loti?

Pierre Loti, whose real name is Louis Marie Julien Viaud (14 January 1850 - 10 June 1923), is a French novelist. According to the author of some names, Pierre Loti, during his student years; According to some sources, it is said to have been given by Tahitian natives during the Oceania expedition in 1867. “Loti” is the name of an exotic flower that grows in exotic climates.

He was born in 1850 in Rochefort, France, as the youngest of a Protestant family. He entered the French Navy at the age of 17. After completing his maritime education, he became a captain in 1881 and he was promoted to colonel in the following years. Found in the Middle East and the Far East. As a naval officer, he had the opportunity to learn about the foreign culture he spoke in his novels by visiting many places. He then reflected his experiences and observations on these journeys to his books.

The first novel in 1879 and at that time the Aziyade that sections of the Ottoman Turkey 's (Aziyade) Following the publication in 1878 Mariage de Loti (Wedding of the Lot), 1886 Pech d'Islande'l to (Iceland Fisherman)' s published . Loti became a writer who had himself accepted the literary scene. In the following years, he published a book every year and his books were read by a large audience. He was elected to the French Academy in 1891 and received the Légion d'Honneur engagement in 1910. Pierre Loti, an impressionist writer, had a very simple language. This impressionism in literature deeply influenced his personality. Expressing a deep despair, his works had a broad sense of death as well as love. With all this hopelessness, he reflected his feelings of compassion and pity on the humanity he felt inside.

Pierre Loti, who has been to Istanbul many times, came to Istanbul for the first time in 1876 as a duty officer on a French ship. Loti was influenced by the Ottoman way of life and showed this effect in many works. Here he met the woman who named her novel Aziyadé. He lived in Eyüpsultan when he was in Istanbul. Admiring Istanbul, Pierre Loti has always described herself as a Turkish friend.

In 1913 he wrote La Turquie Agonisant (Can Drive that Turkey) Loti criticized Western policy on the books when it comes to Turkey the same year as a state guest, was hosted Arsenal met in a big ceremony at Pier by Sultan Resat in the palace. He always defended the Turks against Europe in the Balkan Wars, World War I and after the Anatolian occupation. Loti gained the sympathy of the Turkish people as he supported the resistance in Anatolia during the National Struggle and heavily criticized his own country, the invader France. Indeed, Turkey Grand National Assembly on October 4, 1921 Pierre Loti 'sent a letter of gratitude to their offering. In addition, Pierre Loti was accepted as the “Honorary Nurse of the City of Istanbul” in 1920 and a community named after him was established. [4] Later, a street in Divanyolu in Istanbul was called “Pierre Loti Street” and a coffeehouse in Eyüp was named “Pierre Loti coffee”. Today, the hill where this coffeehouse is located is also known as Pierre Loti Hill. In addition, in the Eyüp-Piyerloti cable car built to reach this hill, Loti is called. Pierre Loti French High School, founded in Istanbul-Beyoğlu in 1942, was given its own name.