Instructors
Deniz Öktem Bektaş
After completing her studies at the Department of English Literature at Boğaziçi University, she continued her graduate work at Georgetown University in the U.S.A. While working on her master's at the Department of Communication, Culture and Technology, she met Mohamed Zakariya, with whom she started calligraphy lessons in riq’a and naskh. Coming back to Turkey at the end of 2002, she continued to take calligraphy lessons with Hasan Çelebi and Davut Bektaş in the scripts of riq’a, naskh, and thuluth. In 2007, she obtained her ijaza in the naskh and thuluth scripts. She received encouragement awards in naskh at the 7th International Calligraphy Competition organized by IRCICA in 2007 and at the Calligraphy Biennial in Sharjah in 2008. In the national calligraphy competition conducted by the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey (2015), she received 3rd prize for writing several pages from the Qur’an in the script of naskh. Mrs.Bektaş has participated in exhibitions in Turkey and internationally, and continues her work alongside her husband, Davut Bektaş, in their studio in Istanbul.
Mustafa Çelebi
Mustafa Celebi was born in Istanbul in 1964. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Mimar Sinan University in 1986, completing his master’s degree in 1990 and his doctorate in 2003. In 1994, he began working as an assistant at Atatürk University. Three years later, he established his own art studio in Istanbul and has continued his work independently since then. He served as an assistant professor at the Department of Traditional Turkish Arts at Fatih Sultan Mehmet Foundation University between 2011 and 2021.
Throughout his career as an illuminator, Mr. Çelebi has participated in numerous exhibitions both in Turkey and abroad. He has also produced artwork for private collections and has undertaken mosque decoration projects. Two mosques, for which he intensively worked to create ornamentation designs, are the Büyük Çamlıca Mosque (2019) and the Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha Mosque (2021-2022).
Combining the classical understanding of illumination with modern interpretations, the artist continues to practice his art at his own studio, named Mustafa Çelebi Art Studio, in Istanbul.
Osman Doruk
He learned the art of bookbinding from his instructors at Mimar Sinan University in 2005 and taught at the same academy for many years. In 2010, he founded Pürsanat art studio with his artist friends and focused his work there. While collaborating with significant rare book collectors both domestically and internationally, he continues to pursue style, technique, and materials in Turkish bookbinding.
Muhammad Melifini Hobe
Muhammad was born and raised in South Africa, Johannesburg. He became a Muslim in 1991 and in 1994, he was sent to Waterfall Islamic Institute, where he studied Islamic studies, completed his hifz (memorisation of the Holy Quran), and developed an interest in Arabic calligraphy.
During his teaching years at Waterfall Islamic Institute, he met Turkish calligrapher Hilal Kazan, who, on recognising his skill and efforts, encouraged and assisted him in travelling to Istanbul, Turkey, to study under the Turkish master of calligraphy, Hasan Çelebi.
Muhammad began his apprenticeship with Master Hasan Çelebi in 2009 with the help of IRCICA and on completing his tuition, obtained the Ijazah (licence/diploma) in the Thuluth and Naskh scripts in 2013.
Muhammad has since continued to work as a professional calligrapher, participating in numerous exhibitions both in Turkey and internationally as well as passing on his knowledge by teaching his own students.
Elinor Aishah Holland
Her passion and enthusiasm for calligraphy began during a visit to Istanbul as a teenager. Finding the study of Arabic calligraphic forms difficult here in the US, she discovered the NY Society of Scribes and undertook an education in Latin lettering. Her path eventually led her to master scribe Mohamed Zakariya. Holland received an Icazet, or calligraphic certification in Arabic script, in 2013. As a freelance lettering artist in Latin and Arabic scripts, her work includes all aspects of involvement with the art, including exhibiting, teaching, and doing commercial and commission work. Clients include the Zaytuna College, Smithsonian Institute, The NY Public Library, Clinton Global Initiative, NY Society of Scribes, Long Island University, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the US Department of State.
Dila Özşahin
She was born in Adana. After graduating from Adana Anatolian High School in 2004, she graduated from Boğaziçi University, Department of Psychology in 2008. She completed her master’s degree in Preventive Guidance Services at Sakarya University. In 2008, she started working as a psychologist in Adana, and in 2009 started receiving illumination art training at Adana Public Education Centre and continued for a year. In 2012, she continued illumination classes with Calligrapher- Muzehhibe Ayten Tiryaki and received illumination ijazah (authorization) in 2020.
Since 2021, the artist has been giving illumination classes in Adana and participated in the ‘Feyz.’ exhibition organized by Ayten Tiryaki and her students in 2023. In 2024, she participated in the Traditional Art Exhibition held within the scope of Adana Culture Route Festival in Adana. In 2025, she attended the 3rd Yeditepe Biennial and the 6th Craft Istanbul Exhibition.
She continues working as a psychologist and psychotherapist in her office in Adana. She was educated in English, Arabic, Spanish, French, and Persian. Among the awards she has received are the Incentive Award in Illumination at Konya Metropolitan Municipality, 4th International Islamic Arts Competition in 2022, Honorable Mention award at Gaziantep University, 1st International Traditional Turkish Islamic Arts Competition in 2023, and Honorable Mention award in Illumination at the Başakşehir Municipality Traditional Arts Competition in 2024.
