Literature of the
country: Turkey
RESEARC
H
Literary Writers
Turkey is situated at the intersection of geographical and
political borders. However, Turkey’s social and historical
context is more interesting as it is divided between its modern
identity and its Ottoman past. Hence, Turkish authors and
Turkish books embody this profound contrast. In recent times,
an increasing number of contemporary Turkish authors have
written both fiction and non-fiction works exploring this subject.
Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952) is a Turkish novelist,
screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize
in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, he has
sold over 13 million books in 63 languages, making him the
country's best-selling writer.
Pamuk's novels include Silent House, The White Castle, The
Black Book, The New Life, My Name Is Red and Snow. He is
the Robert Yik-Fong Tam Professor in the Humanities at
Columbia University, where he teaches writing and
comparative literature. He was elected to the American
Philosophical Society in 20.
Yaşar Kemal (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈjaʃar ceˈmal]; born
Kemal Sadık Gökçeli; 6 October 1923 – 28 February 2015)
was a Turkish writer and human rights activist of Kurdish origin
and one of Turkey's leading authors. He received 38 awards
during his lifetime and had been a candidate for the Nobel
Prize in Literature on the strength of Memed, My Hawk.
An outspoken intellectual, he often did not hesitate to speak
about sensitive issues, especially those concerning the
oppression of the Kurdish people. He was tried in 1995 under
anti-terror laws for an article he wrote for Der Spiegel
highlighting the Turkish Army's destruction of Kurdish villages
during the Turkish-Kurdish conflict. He was released but later
received a suspended 20-month jail sentence for another
article he wrote criticising racism in Turkey, especially against
the Kurds.
Sabahattin Ali (25 February 1907 – 2 April 1948) was a
Turkish novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist
Literary Genre
Turkish literature has a rich history and is known for its
diverse genres. According to Turkish literature, there are
three basic genres in the tradition: epic, folk poetry, and
folklore. Epic poetry is characterized by long narrative
poems that recount heroic deeds and adventures. The
Book of Dede Korkut is one of the most famous examples
of epic poetry in Turkish literature. Folk poetry includes
traditional songs and ballads that have been passed down
through generations. Turkish folk music is often
accompanied by the saz, a stringed instrument similar to a
lute. Folklore includes traditional stories, legends, and
myths that have been passed down through generations.
The Orhon inscriptions are some of the earliest examples
of Turkish folklore.
Short Story
a short story by Sait Faik Abasiyanik, one of the most
famous Turkish short story writers:
The Artichoke
One day, a man bought an artichoke from a greengrocer.
He took it home and began to peel off the leaves one by
one. As he did so, he noticed that there was a worm inside
the artichoke. The man was disgusted and threw the
artichoke away.
The next day, the man went back to the greengrocer and
told him about the worm. The greengrocer replied, "Oh,
that's nothing. You just have to cut off the part with the
worm and eat the rest."
The man was surprised. "Really?" he asked.
"Yes," said the greengrocer. "The artichoke is still good.
You just have to get rid of the bad part."
The man thought about this for a moment and realized
that the same was true of life. Sometimes there are bad
things, but you just have to get rid of them and focus on
the good.
Elif Shafak FRSL (Turkish: Elif Şafak, pronounced [eˈlif
ʃaˈfak]; née Bilgin; born 25 October 1971) is a Turkish-British
novelist, essayist, public speaker, political scientist and
activist.
Shafak[a] writes in Turkish and English, and has published 19
books. She is best known for her novels, which include The
Bastard of Istanbul, The Forty Rules of Love, Three Daughters
of Eve and 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. Her
works have been translated into 55 languages and have been
nominated for several literary awards. She has been described
by the Financial Times as "Turkey's leading female novelist",
with several of her works having been bestsellers in Turkey
and internationally.
Outstanding Literature
Turkish literature has a rich history and is known for its
diverse genres. Some of the most famous Turkish
novelists include “Orhan Pamuk”, “Elif Shafak”, and
“Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar”. Pamuk is known for his works
that explore the intersection of Western and Eastern
cultures, such as “My Name is Red” and “Snow”. Shafak is
known for her feminist and political themes, such as “The
Bastard of Istanbul”and “The Forty Rules of Love”.
Tanpinar is known for his works that explore the cultural
and social changes in Turkey during the early 20th
century, such as The Time Regulation Institute
In addition to novels, Turkish literature is also known for its
History and origin of Turkey
Turkish history extends back thousands of years before
the founding of the Turkish Republic in 1923. Turks,
originally a nomadic people from Central Asia, established
several empires, including the Seljuk Empire and later the
Ottoman Empire, which was founded in Anatolia by
Turkish ruler Osman in 1299.
The president of Turkey, officially the president of the
Republic of Türkiye (Turkish: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti
Cumhurbaşkanı), is the head of state and head of
government of Turkey. The president directs the executive
branch of the national government and is the commanderin-chief of the Turkish military. The president also heads
the National Security Council.
Language of Turkey
Turkish is the main language used there, with the
Constitution of Turkey designating it as the country’s
official language. It is spoken by 85-90% of the
population as their mother tongue and is used by
government, in schools, by the media and by the majority
of Turkish citizens in their day-to-day life for both speech
and writing.
Flag Symbolism
The red background of the Turkish flag represents the
bloodshed by soldiers who lost their lives during Turkey’s
War of Independence against the colonial powers of
France, England, Greece, and Russia. The flag
represents the reflection of the moon and a star in a pool
of blood of Turkish warriors. The crescent moon and star
serve as insignia for Turkic peoples. The crescent is
used in honor of the religious affiliations of the nation and
its people, while the white star represents the diversity of
Turkish cultures.
President of Turkey
The office of the president of Turkey was established with
the proclamation of the Republic of Türkiye on 29 October
1923, with the first president and founder being Mustafa
Kemal Atatürk. Traditionally, the presidency was mostly a
ceremonial position, with real executive authority being
exercised by the prime minister of Turkey. However,
constitutional amendments approved in the 2017
constitutional referendum abolished the office of prime
minister, and vested the presidency with full executive
powers, effective upon the 2018 general election. The
president is directly elected by eligible Turkish voters for a
five-year term.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was the first president.
The president of Turkey is referred to as Cumhurbaşkanı
("Republic leader"), and previously archaically as
Cumhurreisi or Reis-i Cumhur, also meaning "head of the
republic/people".
The name "Turkey" for the country has an interesting
history. Historians believe that the name originally
belonged to a different bird entirely, the guinea fowl,
which was a bird native to Africa. Following
domestication, these birds became a trade commodity,
and European countries started to import guinea fowl for
food. This trade route from Africa to Europe happened to
cross through Turkey, and because the birds were
imported through Turkey, some European countries
started began to refer to guinea fowls as turkey fowls.
So, when the Europeans traveled to the Americas and
encountered a larger but similar looking bird, either
through confusion or convenience, they decided to name
the birds turkeys, starting a long history of puzzling
etymology ¹.
In Turkish, the turkey is known as "hindi," relating the bird
to India. Some historians claim that this is again
confusion with the guinea fowl, which found ties to the
spice trade. Others believe that, rather than India, the
name is a result of Christopher Columbus’ misinformed
arrival to the “West Indies”
Current President
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the 12th and current president of
Turkey, who has held the office since 28 August 2014. He
was reelected for a 3rd term on 28 May 2023, which is set
to last until May 2028.
Money Currency
The official currency of Turkey is the Turkish lira