Research Article / Araştırma Makalesi Cite as/ Atıf: Öztürk, E. (2023). Aziz Efendi’nin Muhayyelâtı: Türk fantazi sanatının başlangıç eseri?. Turkish Studies - Language, 18(4), 2781-2791. https://dx.doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.73213 Received/Geliş: 26 October/Ekim 2023 Checked by plagiarism software Accepted/Kabul: 25 December/Aralık 2023 © Yazar(lar)/Author(s) | CC BY- NC 4.0 Published/Yayın: 30 December/Aralık 2023 Aziz Efendi’nin Muhayyelâtı: Türk Fantazi Sanatının Başlangıç Eseri? Aziz Effendi’s Muhayyelât: Inception Point of the Turkish Fantasy Art? Emrah Öztürk * Abstract: There has only been more than a handful of fantasy fiction written within Turkish literature. It is only recently within the last two decades that we see Turkish authors produce literary works within this genre. This paper investigates the journey of Muhayyelât-ı Ledünn-i İlahi [Phantasms from Divine Presence], written as early as 1797, by Aziz Effendi. The interesting aspect of this book is that the definition of its genre and its perception changed throughout the years. Despite the fact that Aziz Effendi wrote the Muhayyelât in 1797, the book was published in 1852, within the era of Tanzimat Reformation. Correspondingly, it did not impress the intellectuals and authors of that time due to its fantastic content. According to them the book was signifying an old folk tale tradition that must be left behind immediately. However, in the following century, the book acknowledged as an individualized folk tale compilation by scholars. Therefore, in the 21 st Century, with the emergence of Turkish fantasy literature, Muhayyelât has been accepted as the inception point of this genre. This study will summary these different acknowledgments under the four centuries. Consequently, in the conclusion chapter, within the light of these four centuries, the relevant genre of the book will be reconsidered. Structured Abstract: Cretan Aziz Effendi’s Muhayyelât-ı Ledünn-i İlahi, written in 1797 and first published in 1852 to be discarded for decades after its first publication, regardless of its audience’s reception and to be categorised as fairy tale, overlooking the elements and features in the book making it an early example of fantasy. To a large extent Muhayyelât narrates Arabian Nights-like fantastic adventures in three separate sections using frame-story technique. Based on this fact, while some acknowledged the book as an example of literary fairy tale (Gökalp, 1999, p. 185), other more recent studies point towards the book as a fantasy novel (Uysal, 2006, p. 161). In the parallel of the realism conception, Muhayyelât’s genre and its perception changed throughout the years. This study will summary these different acknowledgments under the four centuries. The book was published in 1852, within the era of Tanzimat Reformation. Correspondingly, it did not impress the intellectuals and authors of that time due to its fantastic content. According to them the book was signifying an old folk tale tradition that must be left behind immediately. However, in the following century, the book acknowledged as an individualized folk tale compilation by scholars. Therefore, in the 21 st Century, with the emergence of Turkish fantasy literature, Muhayyelât has been accepted as the inception point of this genre. Aziz Effendi was appointed at the Prussian Kingdom as an Ottoman ambassador. He could speak German and during his mission he might have meet up with the German literary society. After all, he was an * Yrd. Doç. Dr, Arkın Yaratıcı Sanatlar ve Tasarım Üniversitesi, Sanat Fakültesi, Film Tasarımı ve Yönetimi Bölümü Asst. Prof. Dr., Arkın University of Creative Arts and Design, Faculty of Art, Film Design and Directing Department 0000-0001-9907-2167 emrah.ozturk@arucad.edu.tr