Kâtib Naskh is a classical nesih typeface for Arabic and Ottoman Turkish, with synchronized Latin.
It follows an old rule of the Ottoman scribes: never sacrifice clarity for form. The contrast is moderate, the letter stacking is restrained, and every shape is drawn to be read for pages, not admired for a line. Yet the character of the script stays intact, from the rhythm of the baseline to the classical proportions of each letter.
One font file carries three scripts. Arabic, Ottoman Turkish and Latin share the same rhythm and weight, so a bilingual title, a footnote in transliteration or an Ottoman quotation inside an English text all sit together naturally.
Tested like software. Crafted like calligraphy.
Before release, Kâtib Naskh was put through extensive shaping tests, using large word sets drawn from Qur'anic editions, Ottoman manuscripts and classical Arabic sources, alongside stress lists built to find the hardest letter combinations.
Every letter. Every harakah. Your color.
Letters and vocalization marks are built as separate color layers. Set the harakat in red, the way the old mushaf copyists did, or keep everything in one ink.
What's included:
- Full Arabic and Ottoman Turkish alphabets, including پ چ ژ گ ڭ
- Complete harakat with precise mark positioning
- Classical Qur'anic marks, pause signs and honorific abbreviations
- Contextual ligatures and classical orthographic forms
- Three styles: Regular, Bold and Outline
Kâtib Naskh is designed by Fatih Babacan, who brings more than 2 decades of work in calligraphy, typography, font development and Ottoman Turkish teaching. It is the first release of Kâtib Type Foundry in Istanbul.
