Nasreddin Hodza
Nasreddin Hoja (also known as Nusrettin Hoca, Nasreddin Hoca, Nasreddin Hodja, Nasreddin Hodza, Nastratin Hogea, Nasreddin Hogia, Hodza Nasredin, Maulana Nasruddin, Nasr Eddin Hodja, Nastradhin Chotzas, Mulla Nasrudin, Molla Nasreddin, Mulla Nasruddin and Hodja Nasreddine) 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 the 11th and the 14th century. However, he is well known among various Turkic peoples living in a wide geography between Anatolia and Xinjiang (in 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 Baky 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 comedy and the rebellious feelings of people against the dynasties that once ruled this geography.
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