Ufki, Ali

He was born to a Polish noble family at the beginning of the 17th century in Lvov. He was captured by Tartans then later by the Turks and was converted to Islam. His talent in music and languages were recognised early and he became a high ranking interpreter and the leader of the sultan's conservatory. He wrote several scientific works and translated the Bible into Turkish. One of his most interesting works is the Medzsmua-i Szaz u Szöz (The collection of melodies and lyrics) from 1650, in which he recorded two hundred musical pieces for instruments, at least a hundred and fifty asik-poems and several classical sung poems.

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