Talk:Zaro Aga

Untitled
It should be noted that Arthur Custance was a religious creationist advocate for extreme age claims, as they 'supported' the Biblical claims. Thus, his 'endorsement' means nothing.Ryoung122 07:47, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

Even the referenced book site says the figures mentioned are to be taken with some skepticism and primarily based on memory reports. 98.223.49.54 (talk) 16:18, 6 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Greetings,

While most people wouldn't give this case ANY credence, it does help to establish an historical pattern of age claims and points to the need for verification. If NO ONE exaggerated their age, there would be no need for age verification, would there? Therefore, even the false claims are important...

Further, someone may believe this case on the nonrational bases of religious, nationalistic, or perhaps quack affliations. Ryoung122 19:16, 6 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm the originator of the article and I have translated the text from Turkish Wikipedia, which uses several books as the reference. Rohat Alakom a Kurdish/Turkish historian and the writer gives extensive research on the topic in his book Kurder i den moderna turkiska litteraturen (1991, Stockholm, Vejin) or Eski İstanbul Kürtleri (1453 - 1925) (Kurdish of The Old Istanbul) with dates, pictures and other sources. After the death there was an autopsy made in Turkey and some of his internals are displayed to the public. Debates on the exact age exist because at the time in Ottoman Empire birth records were not kept as accurate as in Roman Catholic west. Since there's no custom of baptism, people were reluctant to report births on time. Especially male births were reported late to delay the mandatory military service. So, according to the birth and death certificates he was born in 1777 and lived 157 years. However, he could be lived as long as 160 years because of the latency in reporting the birth. According to several sources Zaro Aga has spent quite some in the US as a public attraction, so I am sure you can also find other US based references on this topic. A secondary autopsy was made at some US university (I'll put the name up here if I find it) so there must also be some reports, papers or articles on this. I think his travels in the US and the fact that his body was sent from Turkey to US for autopsy after the death could be the source of rumors about him being a US citizen or dying in the US. BillyGee (talk) 03:49, 10 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Greetings,

If you wish to e-mail me the documents, please send them to ryoung122@yahoo.com.

Sincerely, Robert Young

Remove
This is not original research. I don't believe his claim. But sources say same thing. Takabeg (talk) 06:58, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Better presentation
Isn't it better to call him Agha than Aga as written in the english text in the picture below Michelle's Cigrattte. Thanks Manaviko (talk) 15:34, 8 November 2015 (UTC)

Walter Bowermann
Walter Bowermann did NOT verify this claim. In fact, he debunked it - Agha was only 97 when he died. I'll have to find the citation. --Sailor Haumea (talk) 20:03, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Translation glitches
What is "highly looked upon" supposed to mean in reference to his wife? The obvious literal meaning is that "lots of people looked at her", which seems wholly unremarkable and certainly not worth mentioning in an article about a different person (her husband). Maybe the intent of the original has been lost in this translation, and a more idiomatic English phrase can be found, but even so, unless it speaks to Zaro Aga's motivations or actions, it's difficult to see how his wife's status is relevant. Please clarify the meaning and explain why it's relevant, or excise what amounts to irrelevant commentary about other people. 124.171.138.127 (talk) 00:09, 11 August 2021 (UTC)