Necmi Sagip Bodamyalizade and the
SHAKESPEARE SCHOOL

One of the best outcomes of developing Tales of Cyprus for me has been discovering and learning about unsung Cypriot heroes such as Necmi Sagıp Bodamyalizade who changed the lives of so many Cypriots when he set up his Shakespeare School in Nicosia back in 1927.

Bodamyalizade was one of those rare individuals who became very well-known during his lifetime but then sadly disappeared into obscurity after his death. The first time I posted his life story was back in 2016 and it soon became one of my most popular and widely shared posts.

Today, it is my pleasure to bring you an updated version of the life story of Necmi Sagıp Bodamyalizade and his remarkable Shakespeare School. I hope you enjoy it.

Necmi Sagıp Bodamyalizade (anglicised as Nejmi Sagip Bodamialısade) was born on the 1st of November in 1897 and named Mahmûd Aziz. The name of his village or birthplace is unknown however it is widely believed that he was born somewhere in the district of Paphos, perhaps in the village of Meladeia. It is known that his father Ahmet Aziz Bodamyalızade served as a judge in Paphos in the village of Polis (Polis Chrysochou) which is only seven miles from Meladeia. Some believe that Mahmûd Aziz was born in the village of Potamia in the district of Nicosia but this cannot be verified. As for his mother, her name was Lütfiye Hanım and apparently, she was once a Christian woman named Maria but somewhat frustratingly, I couldn’t find any information about her. Mahmûd was her only son.

Unfortunately, I could not find any information about Mahmûd Aziz’s family or his early life and upbringing. Did he have any sisters? Which primary school did he attend? What did he do as a young boy? I would be ever so grateful if any of my readers can share any information about Mahmûd Aziz (Necmi Sagıp Bodamyalizade). In 1911, at the age of fourteen, young Mahmûd Aziz left his family home to attend a high school in Nicosia. Perhaps he attended the Idadi High School located within the Kadı Menteş Mansion in the Selimiye quarter of North Nicosia. Or perhaps he attended the English School which was founded in 1900 by the Anglican priest and educator, Frank Darvall Newham. It was during his high school education, when the teenage Mahmûd Aziz decided to change his name to Necmi Sagıp Bodamyalizade (necm-isağıp is derived from the Qur’an and means piercing star or highest star). As to why he changed his name – no one seems to know.

After successfully completing high school in 1914, Bodamyalizade began writing articles in English defending the rights of Cypriot Muslims (Turks) in publications such as ‘The Near East’. His passion for ‘faith, identity and culture’ would influence and shape his life’s work for decades to come. It is said that Bodamyalizade was fluent in Arabic, Turkish and English with a good understanding of Greek.

In 1919, Bodamyalizade now aged 22, apparently fell in love with a British girl named Alice. Some sources suggest that Alice was the daughter of Sir Malcolm Stevenson who was the British Police Commissioner and the British governor of Cyprus at the time. This cannot be true as Sir Malcolm’s only daughter was born in 1916 and her name was Maude. Nothing is known about Bodamyalizade’s love for Alice except that to avoid a public scandal, his father Ahmet Aziz sent him to England to study at the prestigious Oxford University. Another source however, states that Bodamyalizade made up his own mind to go and study at Oxford in a vain attempt to impress his English sweetheart. Whatever the reason, it appears that Bodamyalizade became the first Turkish Cypriot to travel to England to study at a university.

Once at Oxford, Bodamyalizade was enrolled in an undergraduate degree course where he studied the classics as well as English Language and Literature. He soon took an interest in Marxist-Leninist ideology and played an active role in various labour movements. In 1921, during his second year at Oxford, Bodamyalizade befriended some English coal miners and became embroiled in their plight for better working conditions. He discovered that coal mining was a dangerous, filthy and lowly-paid job. Many miners went on strike after the owners of the mining pits threatened to reduce their monthly pay from £4 down to £2 and increase their working hours. Bodamyalizade was particularly affected by the coal miners’ strike that began in Wales. When he began to publish letters and poems in support of the strikers, he was arrested and sent to prison. Apparently, he even spent some time in a lunatic asylum where he was mistreated by the attendants who worked there.

There are a few conflicting stories as to why Bodamyalizade was imprisoned in England. One story claims that he was imprisoned because of his outspoken and documented views on Communism. Researcher Dr. Ahmet Cavit An suggests that Bodamyalızade was arrested for openly expressing a sympathetic view towards communism and that he was tortured and jailed and later placed in a lunatic asylum.

Apparently, Bodamyalızade wrote about his troubles in England in a book he titled ‘The Grace of Divine Justice’ which outlines his experience with the English miners, the British police as well as his views on religion and communism. Unfortunately, I am unable to find a copy of this book. There is another, rather unbelievable claim that Bodamyalizade was imprisoned and deported because he sent the British Prime Minister Lloyd George a series of letters stating that he wanted to marry his daughter, Megan.

In his book ‘Felezof’, author and acclaimed Cypriot shadow master, Mehmet Ertuğ explains that Bodamyalizade entered a writing competition that was organised by the Prime Minister. He used the pseudonym ‘Mut Podaimlisade’ to disguise the fact that he was Turkish believing that the anti-Turkish sentiment was still felt strongly in the halls of Parliament after the First World War.

When Bodamyalizade wins the writing competition he is denied the prize so he writes a series of letters addressed to Lloyd George demanding that he should be allowed to marry his daughter as his prize for winning the writing competition. Megan would have been eighteen years old at that time. When Lloyd George discovered that Bodamyalizade was Turkish, he had the young writer thrown into prison and consequently deported back to Cyprus. Unfortunately, I cannot find any documentation to verify that this writing competition took place or that Bodamyalizade wrote demanding letters to the British Prime Minister.

On the 14th of August in 1921, Bodamyalizade was released from prison and swiftly deported back to Cyprus with a caveat that he must never return to England. This meant that he was unable to complete his education at Oxford University.

There is some speculation that his father Ahmet Aziz may have paid the British authorities to have his son released from prison and brought back to Cyprus, although this cannot be verified. When Bodamyalızade returned to Cyprus (perhaps in September 1921), he was warmly welcomed and embraced by many locals in Nicosia who now regarded him as a somewhat eccentric but highly intelligent man. He now had a long beard and dressed in a western-style manner, complete with top hat and coat tails. It wasn’t long before the locals began calling him ‘Felezof efendi’ (Mr Philosopher).

Unfortunately, there is very little information about Bodamyalızade’s life during the 1920s. I have read that between 1922 and 1923, he began giving private English lessons to children from wealthy families in Nicosia. I can just picture him riding his bicycle through the narrow streets of Nicosia with a stack of books strapped to his bicycle rack on his way to the homes of his students. By 1925, Bodamyalızade’s reputation as a scholar and professor was growing. He soon caught the attention of Kazım Nami Duru who was the principal at the Turkish Cypriot High School in Nicosia. Mr Duru offered Bodamyalızade a teaching position at his school for a small fee.

To earn extra money, Bodamyalızade taught English to young recruits and officers at the Nicosia Police Department as well offering evening classes to high school teachers and other government workers. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any information regarding Bodamyalızade’s place of residence in Nicosia or anything at all about his social life or private life. Did he have any significant relationships? Did he have plans to get married? Did he visit his parents often? Where did they live? Who were his close friends? What did he do for fun? Who knows? Perhaps teaching and writing were his only true passions.

In 1927, at the age of 30. Bodamyalızade opened his own private school in Nicosia with the support of Kâzım Nami Duru and the Evkaf organisation. He rented a mansion known as ‘Fotalılar Inn’ which was located on İdadi Street, opposite the Dedezade Inn. Evkaf was a religious organisation that supported the Turkish Cypriot community. Bodamyalızade named his school the ‘Shakespeare School’ perhaps to please the British colonial administration and to pay tribute to William Shakespeare, the famous English playwright and writer whom he adored. Apparently, a few prominent Turkish Cypriots in Nicosia begged him to name his school after a popular Turkish hero, but Bodamyalızade refused.

The Shakespeare School therefore became the first private school in Cyprus to be established by a Turkish Cypriot. At first, the school only provided preschool (kindergarten) and primary school education. In its first year of operation, 50 students (20 boys and 30 girls) were enrolled at the Shakespeare School. As interest in English-based education grew, Bodamyalızade was forced to relocate his school from the Fotalılar Mansion to the upper story of a large family home that belonged to Doctor Fazıl Küçük. He also added a middle school and high school department. Unfortunately, the year is unknown. Although the primary language of instruction at the school was English, lessons in Turkish were also offered. Most remarkably is that male and female students were allowed to sit together in some of the classes. By 1934, there were 421 students enrolled at the Shakespeare School, (167 boys and 254 girls). Over time, locals began referring to his school as the ‘Philosopher’s School’. Despite his sometimes unusual and perhaps eccentric behaviour, Bodamyalızade was regarded by many people to be an excellent administrator and teacher. His students were always clean and tidy and looked very smart in their school uniform with its official school badge. Some of his former students remember going on excursions by train to Famagusta and other areas. Other teachers at the school included Hatice Savorna, Türkan Uludağ, Ms. Peyker , Ms. Tekiye S. Soyel, Ms. Etzaci Vijdan, Ms. Kamer, Ms. Süreyya and Hatice Hüseyin. The latter was a former pupil at the Shakespeare School who later worked as a librarian with Türkan Uludağ at the Nicosia National Library.

Bodamyalızade continued to offer special adult evening classes for teachers and civil servants. He even organised special classes during the summer months when other schools were closed. In terms of operational costs, it is reported that Bodamyalızade received funding from various sources including student fees (reported to be between £2 to £4 pounds per student per year), financial contributions from the British Colonial Government, donations from Evkaf and various Turkish Cypriot benefactors. In addition, Bodamyalızade published and sold his own books to raise money. By 1935, a third of all the children who were living in and around Nicosia were enrolled at the Shakespeare School. Many of the high school graduates were favoured for government-based jobs or employment in the private sector especially those who obtained their General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level (also known as O-level). It is also reported that graduates of the Shakespeare School had higher English proficiency than the graduates from other schools such as the Victoria Girls’ High School and Cyprus Islamic High School. This success was one reason why the school was particularly popular with girls. Consequently, by 1937, the school had more female students in secondary education than the Victoria Girls’ High School. The number of boys at the school was equal to that of the Cyprus Islamic (Turkish) High School. In addition to the Turkish students who attended the school, there were also a small number of Armenian and Greek students. The highest number of students at the school occurred in 1937. One of those students was Beria Okan Özoran, the daughter of Mehmet Remzi Okan, who was the owner of the Söz newspaper.

By all accounts, Bodamyalızade was indeed a rather interesting and eccentric man. He apparently kept snakes, eagles, and monkeys in a locked room at his school. One of his former students, Süheyla Küçük recounts the philosopher’s interest in exotic animals. “I remember there was a closed room in the philosopher’s school, and it captivated all the students. From time to time, we would peer into the room through the keyhole. We were told that the philosopher kept pigeon nests on either side of the room and snake boxes on the floor. I remember, the male students would bring the philosopher bottles of milk early each morning to feed the snakes before the children arrived at the school.” Bodamyalızade’s friend, Hikmet Arif Mapolar also remembers the animals at the school. “The animals would respond to various commands issued by the professor. They would stop when he told them to stop, and sit when he told them to sit. His snakes obeyed his every command. He did not use these animals for education but kept them solely for his own amusement”.

Sometime towards the end of the 1930s, Bodamyalizade began to experience significant financial problems. His landlord Dr. Küçük states in his memoir that Bodamyalizade was unable to pay him rent for over a year. In sheer frustration, Küçük was forced to pay him £100 just to get him to leave his family home. With the money, Bodamyalizade managed to relocate his school to a large two-story building on İdadi Street (also known as Mufti Street) which was also in the Selimiye mahallah (neighbourhood) of Nicosia. The historic building was located opposite the Idadi High School and close to the Küçük and Büyük Madrasas. In 1941, during the Second World War, Bodamyalızade became concerned by a rumour that Britain was preparing to hand Cyprus over to Greece. According to author Dr. Ahmet Cavit An, Bodamyalızade visited many clubs, coffeehouses and private homes and collected thousands of signatures to support his cause which was to prevent the erosion of Turkish Cypriot identity and human rights of all Muslims in Cyprus. He declared himself the ‘Representative of Cypriot Mohammedans’, a title which he used in his literary works. A newspaper article written in 1945 by a Turkish Cypriot journalist named Hikmet Arif Mapolar described Bodamyalızade as a man of average height, slightly overweight with a head like a statue and a face like a God. His eyes would shine brightly as he spoke and he remained calm even when angered or upset by something or someone. Mapolar went on to describe Bodamyalızade as a genius who had given Cypriot Turks pride and protection by highlighting their plight through his writings in the English media. He regarded Bodamyalızade as a confident, intelligent and good-natured person who was against the suppression and oppression of women and the mistreatment of animals.

After the Second World War, new schools began to open in Cyprus offering English-based instruction resulting in a reduction of student enrolments at the Shakespeare School. Bodamyalızade was now facing serious financial problems. Apart from a reduction in student numbers, Bodamyalızade was now also dealing with teacher shortages as many teachers (with a good command of English) were now being appointed at other schools. When Mehmet Münir was replaced as the General Director of Evkaf in 1948, Bodamyalızade lost one of his greatest supporters and benefactors. In October 1947, the Hürsöz newspaper published an article pleading with the Turkish Cypriot community to provide financial aid to help support Bodamyalızade declaring that his school was now in dire straits. Unfortunately, by 1949 the financial viability of the Shakespeare School worsened and Bodamyalızade was forced to close down his middle and high school departments leaving only the primary and pre-school (kindergarten) open for business. Consequently, he was forced to relocate his school to a smaller building on Nuri Efendi Street near the British Colonial Law Courts. Unfortunately, he soon faced more financial stress and again found himself unable to pay the school’s rent which in 1950 was estimated to be around £100 a year. He was eventually evicted by Court Order from the Nuri Efendi Street building. It is unclear as to where he moved next. In 1952, after only 25 years in operation, the Shakespeare School was forced to close its doors for good. Sadly, Bodamyalızade could not reverse the severe drop-in student enrolments nor could he halt his ever-increasing debt.

After the closure of his school in 1952, Bodamyalızade struggled to find work. Thankfully, in September 1953 he was appointed by the Ministry of Education to teach English at the Lefke Turkish Technical School. He stayed there until 1954 earning a salary of around 60 Cyprus pounds per month. Unfortunately, by now Bodamyalızade had lost the passion to teach. It would appear that the loss of his beloved Shakespeare School had crushed him.

In late 1953, he received a negative report by a visiting School Inspector and he was also repeatedly reprimanded by the school principal for his many absences. On the 5th of February in 1954, he was finally dismissed from his teaching position by the Ministry of Education. Although he was officially unemployed, Bodamyalızade continued to give private English lessons when and where he could for the next two years. He was often seen riding his bicycle through the narrow streets of Nicosia, always with a thick school bag full of books. He was known to stop and talk to anyone who had the time to listen. Although he never married, there is some speculation that he may have been engaged (apparently for 18 years) to one of his part-time teachers, Peyker Hanım, but once again. this claim cannot be verified. Some claim that he lived a lonely life as a bachelor.

In September 1956, his life improved somewhat when he was offered a part-time teaching job at the Atatürk Secondary School (formerly the Turkish Evening Secondary School). A year later he was promoted to a full-time position earning a monthly salary of around 40 Cyprus Pounds. However, in 1960 when Cyprus gained its independence from Britain, his teaching contract was terminated on the grounds that he did not have a formal qualification.

By the time he turned 63, Bodamyalızade had exhausted all of his assets and sold off all of his inheritance. He was staying in cheap hotels and guesthouses and surviving on a small pension and the kindness of others. His last known residence was a room at the Olympus Hotel (located on the corner of Kykkos Avenue and Ledra Street) in the Greek quarter of Nicosia. The Olympus was a Four-Star Hotel that was built sometime after the First World War. It was once regarded as one of the most prominent and beautiful buildings in central Nicosia that attracted many famous guests including Winston Churchill who stayed there in February 1943. It would appear that the owner of the Olympus Hotel took pity on Bodamyalizade and allowed him to live there rent-free. Perhaps he thought that Bodamyalızade would serve as an attraction for his hotel guests.

Despite the poverty he experienced during the late 1950s and early 1960s, Bodamyalizade remained well dressed wearing his tailored suits and overcoat. He was also known to frequently visit the Tandi’nin Hamamı (Tandi’s Turkish Bath) near the Famagusta Gate. In December 1963, the killing of a Turkish Cypriot taxi driver and his partner in Nicosia, triggered a bloody and deadly period of intercommunal violence in Cyprus. Barricades with razor wire were erected in the centre of Nicosia (known as the Green Line) by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force to separate and divide the Greek and Turkish quarters. No one dared to cross to the other side during those dark days, but somehow Bodamyalızade was seen riding his bicycle to visit his friends and relatives on the Turkish side before returning to his room at the Hotel Olympus on the Greek side without being noticed by the UN guards.

Sadly, in late April 1964, Bodamyalızade’s lifeless body was found in his room by hotel staff during their morning rounds. The philosopher was dead at 66 years of age. There is one unsubstantiated report that Bodamyalızade was actually found dead on a bridge near the Pedieos (Kanlıdere) river. When no-one was found to claim Bodamyalızade’s body, the management at the Olympus Hotel called the Red Cross who arranged to transfer his body to a local hospital morgue. A telegram was sent to a friend of Bodamyalızade named Kemal Hussein Demircioglu who arranged to collect his body from the morgue and organise his burial. Apparently, Demircioglu had to buy a burial shroud because the hospital refused to loan him any bedsheets to wrap Bodamyalızade’s body. For some unknown reason, Bodamyalızade was buried in an unmarked grave in a cemetery on the outskirts of the village of Dikoma, around six miles north from Nicosia.

I have read that Bodamyalızade was buried without any ceremony or special acknowledgement. I have also read that all his books and personal belongings were moved from the Olympus Hotel and brought to the offices of Evkaf. A few books and personal belongings were saved, taken by some of the staff however, the vast majority were burned in an oven behind the Evkaf building. How utterly sad that such a distinguished and educated man such as Necmi Sagıp Bodamyalızade, who helped to improve the lives and livelihoods of so many Cypriots should be forgotten at the end of his life. Bodamyalızade was certainly a man who was ahead of his time. He was a proud Cypriot with deep concerns about the future of Cyprus and especially the bi-communal relationship between Muslims and Christians.

In one of his letters to a newspaper he writes. ‘Let’s forget any past animosity and put away any poisonous remarks that could only promote hatred against each other. We are all children of this beautiful island. Let’s join together and bring back the good old days of Cyprus to become the envy of the world once again.’ He wrote frequently about the necessity for all women and girls to have access to education and equal rights. He expressed his views openly in what was certainly, a conservative Cypriot society. He was against the suppression and oppression of women and was an outspoken advocate against any mistreatment or cruelty to animals.

With regards to his written work and publications, Bodamyalızade was active and prolific throughout his life. In 1922, he began translating Turkish literature into English and publishing his stories and poems in various Cypriot magazines and newspapers. In 1925, he received worldwide acclaim and recognition for translating parts of the Qur’an into English and publishing a book titled ‘The Gouran Versified’. Apparently, many famous people such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, George Bernard Shaw and İsmet İnönü praised his work and personally wrote to Bodamyalızade to thank him for his efforts. In fact, he once received a letter from the author George Bernard Shaw recommending that he should translate other parts of the Qur’an.

In 1952, Bodamyalızade did just that and translated and published various parts of the Qur’an in Turkish. For me, Bodamyalızade is indeed an unsung Cypriot hero. As a teacher myself, I admire his courage and commitment to education and respect his quest to improve the lives and livelihoods of his fellow Cypriots. Rest in Peace ‘felezof efendi’. You have not been forgotten. I would dearly love to hear from anyone who can share any information about Necmi Sagıp Bodamyalızade and his Shakespeare School. Especially if you can fill in any gaps or correct any information that appears in this version of his life story.

Please feel free email me directly at: conemmanuelle@talesofcyprus.com

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I’d like to acknowledge the help and support of various individuals who have helped me over the last ten years to learn more about Necmi Sagıp Bodamyalızade and his Shakespeare School. This includes Gülten İrfan Erdoğan (nee Yıldırım), Sermen and Eren Erdoğan, Serin Selçuk, Dr. Ahmet Cavit An, Kadir Kada, Kemal Erbilek and Sevgul Uludağ. I was also fortunate to have access to various academic documents and papers including, ‘The Shakespeare School and Necmi Sagıp Bodamyalızade in the History of Turkish Cypriot Education’ by Ali Efdal Özkul and Mete Özsezer, and ‘Necmi Sagıp Bodamyalızade and His Work’ by Halil Deniz.

FOOTNOTE

In 2014, I was fortunate to meet and interview a former student from the Shakespeare School. Her name was Gülten İrfan Erdoğan (nee Yıldırım) and she was the mother of my good friends Eren and Sermen Erdoğan. She was only seven years old when she attended the school in 1936 along with her younger sister Ayten. The two sisters were born in the Troodos mountain village of Amiantos but moved to Nicosia to study at the Shakespeare School which believed was located near the Yeni Cami (New Mosque) not far from the church of Agios Loukas.