Dr. Acaloğlu was born in 1956 in Kapanakchi, Georgia. After finishing high school in his hometown, he completed the philology program at Baku State University. He began working as a research assistant in the Department of Mythology of the Institute of Literature in 1986. From 1983 to 1986, he pursued his Ph.D. studies in semiology at Tartu University, Estonia. During this period, his thesis supervisors were Juri Lotman and Leo Gumilev. He worked as a researcher in the Department of Ethnography from 1987 to 1990 and then became a lecturer at Baku State University in 1990. He served as an advisor to the president of Azerbaijan between 1992 and 1993. In mid-1993, he left his position and settled in Turkey. He joined the Russian language program at Istanbul Bilgi University and worked as a lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at Yeditepe University between the years 2008-2019. His academic works are mainly on mythology, folk literature, and the cultural heritage of Eurasian peoples. He has published two books and around forty articles during his academic career. In his career, he has undertaken research in Southern Caucasia, Central Asia, and Siberia, and given many conferences and public lectures. Along with his academic and political career, he has also taken part in several TV programs, published many interviews and popular articles, and translated over thirty books.
E-mail: arifacal@gmail.com