From Azgur to Istanbul
Ömer Faik Nemanzade was born on 24 December 1872 in the village of Azgur (Atskuri), Akhaltsikhe district, Tiflis Governorate. He studied in Istanbul — first at the Fatih madrasa, then at Darüşşafaka, a school with a strong place for the sciences and languages. In his last year of study he worked at the post office in Galata.
Teacher and journalist
Back in the Caucasus he taught in Shaki (1898–1900) and Shamakhi (1900–1902). From 1903 he wrote for the Tiflis newspaper “Sharq-i Rus”, where Jalil Mammadguluzadeh also worked. Later he published in the Baku newspapers “Irshad”, “Taraqqi”, “Achiq Soz” and in “Azerbaijan”.
“Geyrat” and “Molla Nasreddin”
In 1905–1907 he ran the “Geyrat” printing house in Tiflis, where the first issue of “Molla Nasreddin” came out in 1906. The idea — a magazine of caricatures and sharp satire that even the illiterate could understand — was Ömer Faik’s. Considering himself a figure the authorities distrusted, he invited Jalil Mammadguluzadeh to be editor. The magazine sold up to 5,000 copies a week.
Books
- “Nashr-i asara davat” (A call to publish works), Tiflis, 1905
- “Biza hansi elmlar lazimdir” (Which sciences we need), Tiflis, 1907
- “Khatiralarim” (My memoirs) — published posthumously
Death
From 1924 he worked in education in the Azerbaijan SSR. He was arrested during the repressions and shot in Tbilisi on 10 October 1937.
Where to read
His writings are gathered at omarfaig.info; books and newspapers are in our Books and newspapers section. His home village — Azgur.