The great Turkish mystic Nasreddin Hoja is known with his several funny jokes which teaches sincerity, patience, tolerance and persistence. His jokes are never rude or ugly and hurt no one. He tries to light the world with his advices and teachings. He is sharp and repartee but naïve as well. He is never pessimist but an optimist. He has a cheerful nature and he is a typical affectionate father figure of Anatolia. With his wisdom he shows how to get over the challenges and the path to the ones who are lost and in trouble. He makes them think as well as he enlightens them.
Nasreddin Hoja is the contemporary of Rumi. They even leaved in the same region in Turkey. He was born in a village of Sivrihisar, a town in Turkey. His actual birth date is not known. It is known that after he studied in a madrasa in Sivrihisar, he moved to Aksehir, another city in Turkey, in 1237 and lived there till the end of his life. He sometimes lived his life as a scholar, judge and as an imam. His wife, his son, kids of the neighbors, artisans, mullahs, villagers, thieves and his donkey are the main characters of his jokes.
In this selection famous jokes of Nasreddin Hoja which are told from generations to generations are translated from Turkish to English. The published Nasreddin Hoca joke books which were the used resource for this translation are a mere collection of these known stories so there are no volumes of books as well. There is no written manuscript by Nasreddin Hoja himself or anyone else but people around him kept his stories till present time and made him live for centuries. He is still known, respected and loved in Turkey as if he is still alive.
