TURKISH INVENTORS

Mimar Sinan: He was a talented architect whose works of art are still alive. He built his greatest masterpiece, Selimiye Mosque, in Edirne. He restored Hagia Sofia and built 80 more mosques during the time of the Ottoman Empire. He was well-known for his great practical intelligence. He discovered the rail system that makes the buildings steady and firm.

Cabir Bin Hayyan : He was an excellent chemist and alchemist, astronomer, engineer, geographer, philosopher, physicist, pharmacist and physician. Not many people around the world know that he was the first discoverer of the idea of an atom bomb. He actually explained “atomic fission” 1200 years ago.

Fatih Sultan Mehmet : He was an inventor as well as a Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. When he conquered Istanbul, he was only 21 years old. During the Ottoman conquest of İstanbul, he invented a mortar. He called this invention “Şahi” mortar. Remarkably, Şahi, was the first mortar in history and had an important effect in the conquest as a strong weapon.

Piri Reis: He was an admiral in the Ottoman Naval Force. He was also a worldwide known geographer and cartographer. He drew the first world map which is nearly the same as contemporary maps. He was especially famous for the map which displayed America in details.

Akşemsettin : He was a philosopher and scientist. He was also very wellknown as the teacher of Mehmed the Conqueror. He was born in 1389 in Damascus and he died in 1459 soon after he was 70 years old. Akşemsettin discovered the germ before the microscope was discovered. He explained his discovery with these words: “Ilnesses spread from person to person through very little living creatures which we can’t see”. In fact, he stated that germs are contagious.

Biruni: He was born in 973 and died in 1051. He was the first man to discover the rotation of the earth around its own axis. Also he was the first scientist who talked about the existence of America, Japan and Cape of Good Hope. He was a writer and wrote books about Maths, Geology, Geography, Medicine, Philosophy, Physics and Astronomy.