Nasreddin Hoja

Nasreddin Hoja was a populist philosopher and wise man, remembered for his funny stories and anecdotes. His exact country and lifetime are not known certainly but he is usually assumed to have lived in Anatolia between 11th and 14th centuries. However, he is well known among various Turkic people living in a wide geography between Anatolia and Sinkiang China (where Uighurs live) and it is possible to find one of his statues in Bukhara? (showing him riding his donkey backwards and grasping its tail , as he is traditionally depicted) or a journal bearing his name in Baku or Tabriz?. Mark Twain's Library of Humor includes a story attributed to Nasreddin Hoja. The anectodes attributed to him reveal a satirical personality with a biting tongue that he was not afraid to use even against the most tyrannical sultans of his time. He seems to be the symbol of both the Cental Asian style satirical commedy and the rebellious feelings of people against the dynasties that once ruled this geography.