Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi
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Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi (Turkish: Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi), who lived in the 17th century in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire, is one of the first aviators to have succeeded in flying with artificial wings. He is supposed to have been inspired by and used the studies of Leonardo da Vinci on the flight of birds. He started flying from the Galata Tower, a high tower in Istanbul, and managed to fly over the Bosporus. The few people known to have succeeded in this kind of flight are an aviator from Moorish Spain and an English monk in the 9th and 12th centuries, respectively. One of Hezarfen's friends Lagari Hasan Celebi is known to have performed the first flight with a rocket in a conical cage filled with gun powder. Ahmet Celebi, because of his vast scientific knowledge was given the name Hezarfen, meaning “a thousand sciences”. In his early studies of flying, he was motivated by the 10th century Turkish scientist Ismail Cevheri. Celebi, after carefully studying Cevheri’s findings and when he felt confident enough arranged a public demonstration. He climbed the Galata Tower and launched himself into the wind; he passed over the Bosporus and landed in the slopes of Üsküdar on the Anatolian side.
This event created a great sensation. Sultan Murat IV was delighted and wanted to award Hezarfen but religious leaders and palace advisers soon changed his mind. Hezarfen was exiled to Algeria where he died soon at the age of 31.
Being one of the three airports in Istanbul, Hezarfen Airfield is a good example of Turks fidelity to this hero.