About some Turks who glorified Turkey. Turkish Ashyk Poetry The period of the republic and the present

"A great era needs great people"
Ya. Hasek

Below you will find a short tour of the biographies of the most popular people in Turkey, a kind of "life of wonderful people" in miniature. And there are enough worthy people in this country, however, as elsewhere. The incompleteness of the list and the fragmentary nature of the information about the persons included in it is quite understandable and excusable, because, as the wise Kozma Prutkov said: “You can’t grasp the immensity.” So, let's begin.

Almost everyone knows that one of the favorite characters of oriental folklore is. But, probably, not everyone knows that his historical homeland is Turkey (see). And what stories did not happen to him. For example, one morning Khoja bought three kilograms of meat and, bringing it home, went about his business. And the wife called her friends and arranged for them a magnificent treat. When the Khoja returned, she served him lean pilaf from one rice on the water. Khoja asked: “If you didn’t have time to cook a meat dish, couldn’t you throw a few fatty pieces of meat into the pilaf to add flavor?” To this, the wife replied: “I wanted to, but then a story came out. When I was busy with rice, your favorite tabby cat jumped out from somewhere and ate all the meat. I came, I look - she licks her lips. Khoja silently brought the scales, pulled the cat out from under the brazier and weighed it; came out exactly three kilograms. Then he said to his wife: “Oh, you shameless! If this is meat, where did the cat go? And if it's a cat, where is the meat? In fact, he was fatally unlucky with wives. In his youth, Hodja was deceived and slipped him an ugly bride. When in the morning, after the wedding night, the hodja began to dress to go out, his wife, flirtingly, asked: “Efendi, to which of your relatives can I show myself?” Khoja adequately replied: "Just don't show yourself to me, but there whoever you want."

Khoja Nasreddin was born in the village of Khortu, in the district in 605, (1206 from the birth of Christ). He received his education in the city, moreover, when Khoja, along with his fellow villagers, came to study; then those, seeing minarets that they had never seen in their lives, asked in surprise: “How are they made?” - “Don't you know? Oh, you are boobies! Hodge remarked. “It’s very simple: they turn the inside of the wells out.”

The “grave” of Khoja Nasreddin is located in the city of Akshehir, located two hundred kilometers south of his native village. It is curious that the date of death on the tombstone of the crafty merry fellow and joker is also deliberately indicated in his manner - backwards (this is how Khoja often rode his donkey) - that is, 386 AH, instead of 683 years (1284 from the birth of Christ). That is, it turns out that Khoja died much earlier than he was born! But in general, to the question of the Sultan, for how long will people be born, and even die, Khoja answered - “Until, finally, hell and paradise overflow.” Now every year Akshehir hosts the International Festival of Khoja Nasreddin. If you visit there and want to swim in the local lake, it will not hurt to remember another parable. So one true believer, about to perform a full ablution in the Akshekhir lake, asked Khoja who was there: “Most respected, in which direction should I turn during the ablution?” - “Where your clothes are, turn around in that direction,” the wise Hodge advised him. Somehow, envious people asked Nasreddin an insidious question, to which it seemed impossible to answer: "Where is the center of the Earth's surface?" - “Here,” Hodge answered, sticking his stick into the ground. “If you don’t believe me, you can make sure I’m right by measuring the distances in all directions ...” That is why, now at the entrance to the city, to the left of the highway, there is a monument - on a donkey sits an old man in a wide-brimmed hat, thrusting a long stick into the globe, on which is written: DunyanIn merkezi burasIdIr("Dunyanyn Merkezi Burasydyr" - "the center of the world is here").

The peoples of the East have a funny tradition: the one who pronounces the name of Khoja is obliged to tell seven stories. It is believed that the seven stories of Nasreddin can lead a person to insight and comprehension of the truth. Therefore, whether you like it or not, here is the seventh story for you. Once Khoja Nasreddin changed the mosque. Having met him at the bazaar, the mullah of the former cult place of worship began to shame Nasreddin. “You are a wise man,” he said, “do you really think that from the new mosque your prayers will reach Allah better?” “Oh no dear, it all depends on the provider,” Khoja Nasreddin smiled.

Great, rich and powerful (unlike poor Khoja) was another illustrious son of the Turkish land Sultan Mehmed II(Fatih Sultan Mehmed) the padishah of the Ottoman Empire, who crushed and annexed the city (renamed to him) to the possessions of the state. This was a person who played a leading role in the transformation of the Ottoman Empire into a mighty power. He was born in 1430 and died in 1481 in Gebze. Mehmed, best known for his dignity "Fatih" (Fatih - Conqueror), however, had another more peaceful hobby, he was a poet and very fond of art. The literature of the Ottoman Empire, which did not have a bright creative face until that time, as a result of its interest and abundant material incentives for poets and poetry, reached its peak in the 15th century. He was such a modest padishah of the Omani Empire that he published poetry only under a pseudonym. By the way, he had another similar passion - in disguise, Mehmed liked to wander around the capital like Haroun al-Rashid. And woe was to the one who, through his stupidity and naivety, recognized him in this guise or under a pseudonym.

To the Land of the Red Apple

But not only Mehmed II was a poet and romantic, romanticism, especially in amorous relations, another famous Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent(1495-1566), also called Kanuni (Kanuni - Legislator). Under him, the Ottoman Empire turned into a huge world power, the heir to the great Caliphate; the sultans began to call themselves caliphs, "deputies of the Prophet" and "rulers of the faithful." The Sultan became the leader of the Muslims in the holy war against the infidels; even the rite of coronation did not consist in the laying on of a crown, but in girdling with a "sacred sword." When, after the coronation, returning to the palace, the Sultan passed by the Janissary barracks, one of the commanders came out to meet him and brought a bowl of sherbet. After drinking sherbet and filling the bowl with gold coins, the Sultan uttered the ritual phrase: “Kyzyl elmada goryushyuruz” ( KIzIl elma’da goruşürüz We will meet again in the Land of the Red Apple. This meant that the Janissaries had to prepare for a campaign to the west - to Christian Europe, which the Turks called the "Country of the Red (in some sources - the Golden) Apple."

Suleiman the Magnificent was one of the most enlightened sovereigns of that time: he wrote poetry, knew six languages ​​and was an admirer of Aristotle. The Sultan's court amazed Western ambassadors with its luxury and splendor of ceremonies; all the talents of the East, famous poets, famous architects and respected theologians were gathered here. The Europeans were especially struck by the fact that all the highest dignitaries and assistants of the Sultan in matters of government were his slaves - “kapikulu”. They were recruited among the Janissaries, from whom the most talented were selected and trained from them as officials - "people of the pen." Over time, a cured slave could become a grand vizier or a pasha governor - but he always remained a disciplined and obedient slave, and for the slightest offense the sultan could order to cut off his head. The head of the offending vizier was brought to the sultan on a silver platter, and then put on display for the people at the gates of the sultan's palace; there were usually many heads lying there, some on precious dishes, others on wooden plates, and the heads of minor officials were simply thrown to the ground. The Palace of the Grand Vizier was called "" ("The Highest Gate"), which in French sounded La Sablime Porte, so European diplomats called the Turkish government the "High Port". The Grand Vizier headed the council of dignitaries, the "sofa", and resolved all current issues; sometimes the sultan attended the meetings of the divan and, remaining unnoticed behind the curtain, listened to whether important state affairs were discussed correctly.

However, in truth, Suleiman spent time not only at sofa meetings and on campaigns, he often indulged in sensual pleasures in his huge body. - this is a whole complex of many buildings among beautiful gardens - a world of luxury and grace, rising on a hill high above the city and the sea. The innermost center of the palace was the Sultan's "house of pleasure", where hundreds of beautiful odalisques lived under the protection of black eunuchs. When the sultan came to the "house of pleasure" and sat on the throne; slave girls in transparent muslin danced and sang, trying to attract his attention, and the one that he liked, the sultan put a small scarf on his shoulder. “I want him back to me at night,” he said, and this meant that the chosen one should spend the night with him.

Haseki Alexandra Anastasia Lisowska, or Roksolana

Once a saffron handkerchief fell on the shoulder of the Slav woman Anastasia, who, not losing her face and using her chance, managed to become the only favorite of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Having quickly learned the Turkish language and quickly adapted to the customs of a foreign country, the smart Anastasia soon turned into the formidable sultana Hürrem Haseki, known in Europe as who sat on the throne next to Suleiman, and before whom the European ambassadors fawned. When the time came, the Sultan chose the son of Roksolana as the heir to the throne - according to the custom of the court, this meant that the rest of the children were doomed to death. “One of my sons who ascends the throne has the right to kill his brothers so that there is order on earth,” said the law of Mehmed II, and his successors strictly followed this law - on the day of the death of the Sultan, black eunuchs burst into and under sobs and screams concubines strangled their children. The brutality of the Ottomans really helped to maintain order - there were no wars for the throne in the empire, which are common for other states.

It was at this time, when the Ottoman Empire was at its peak, that the greatest architect of Turkey lived and worked (presumably 1490-1588). He held the high position of chief architect of the palace under three padishahs: Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II and Murad III. It was Sinan who built for Sultan Suleiman a magnificent, outwardly very similar to, but filled inside with the luxury and grace of the East. Just like many courtiers of the Sultan, Sinan was a Janissary in his youth, studied military affairs and, by the way, the art of building, then fought, built fortifications and bridges, and, in the end, became the chief architect of the empire. During his long and fruitful life, he built about a hundred mosques, as well as many palaces, libraries and baths in various cities of the Ottoman Empire. As for the baths, the Turkish baths () then looked more like palaces, they were decorated with high lead domes and finished with marble inside (Muslims adopted the love of baths from the Romans and Greeks). Like Roman baths, Turkish baths were built with public funds and served as a favorite place for recreation and entertainment for the common people. For a small fee, the attendants gave visitors the famous Turkish massage, kneaded their joints until they crunched, rubbed the body and brought the visitor into a state of bliss - “bliss”. After steaming enough, you could sit in the lounge, discuss the news, drink a cup and smoke a pipe. then it was a new drink, brought from Arabia, but already managed to fall in love with the Turks. The Prophet forbade the faithful to drink wine, and it was gradually replaced in combination with hashish and tobacco: the Turks were heavy smokers then and never parted with long pipes.

Even after his death, Sinan continued to be an authority for his followers and earned the respect and admiration of subsequent generations for his unique talent as an architect. In Turkey, he received the enviable title of "Ser Mimaryan-y cihan ve mukhendisyan-y devran" (the leader of all architects and engineers in the world at all times). By the way, the Khan Jami mosque, designed and built under the leadership of Sinan, has survived even on the territory of Ukraine in the glorious city of Evpatoria. The participation of the famous Turkish master in the construction of a mosque in the Crimea is explained by the fact that in the 16th century the importance of the city of Gezlev (modern Evpatoria) increased significantly. The seaport connecting Turkey with the Crimea made Gezlev an important stronghold on the northwestern border of the Ottoman Empire, as well as a craft, cultural and religious center of the peninsula.

Such wonderful people lived in Turkey before historical materialism, as the irresistible son of a Turkish citizen, the famous heat engineer and fighter Ostap-Suleiman-Berta-Maria Bender-bey, would say. As you know, his poor dad died in terrible convulsions and did not leave his son Ostap-Suleiman the slightest inheritance, and his mother was a countess and lived on unearned income. But the rotation of life could not break the strong nature of a worthy descendant of the Janissaries. Ostap appeared in world history at half past twelve from the northwest, from the village of Chmarovka, at the age of twenty-eight, and has remained forever in it and in our memory ever since.

Historical materialism was mentioned, of course, not just like that, but with a hint that from ancient epic times we are smoothly moving to the beginning of the last century, with its socialist ideas, faith in the bright future of working humanity and the ghost of communism, which wandered like a restless , throughout Europe. The ideas of the French Revolution, developed by European socialists and communists, found fertile ground in Turkey. And this soil was, oddly enough, the principles - the equality of all, despite the social status, members of the Muslim ummah (community), as well as the unconditional equality of all before the face of Allah - which, although not implemented in real life, were the most important concepts of social relationships and personal feelings. The entire development of socialist ideas in Turkey during the 20th century, and especially their influence on intellectuals - writers and poets - is rooted in this attempt to synthesize the fundamental principles of democracy and the Muslim religion. Turkish literature in its present form was greatly influenced by the classical heritage and, above all, by poetry.

The creative development of the poet was no exception. Nazima Hikmet Rana (01/20/1902, Thessaloniki - 06/03/1963, Moscow), who was born and raised in an aristocratic family. His grandfather Mehmed Nazim Pasha was a governor in various parts of the Ottoman Empire, and at the same time he was known as a skilled poet. Even in early childhood, Nazim got acquainted with creativity (1207-1273). Grandfather read him poems of the great sheikh in the evenings instead of a lullaby. Poets were often mentioned by Hikmet among his teachers, not only literary, but also moral, who had a great influence on the formation of his personality.

At the age of 18, Nazim ran away from home to Anatolia, wanting to join the rebels in their liberation war against the invaders. There he saw with his own eyes the true life of the common people in all its severity. Dugouts instead of houses, empty villages as a result of long wars, lack of rights and poverty. In his autobiographical book, Life is a Beautiful Thing, Brother, he reminisced about that time. “Thirty-five days, equal to thirty-five years, I spent on the road, I, an Istanbul youth, the grandson of a pasha. So I met Anatolia, and now everything that I saw and experienced lay in front of me like a bloodied torn handkerchief ... My heart led me to where I came! In 1921, Nazim left for revolutionary Russia to study at the Communist University of the Working People of the East. Since 1922, he has been a member of the Communist Party, which, by the way, is still officially banned in Turkey. In 1924, the poet returned home and began to contribute to revolutionary newspapers and magazines. The first collection of poems by Hikmet "Song of those who drink the sun" was published in 1928 in Baku. During these years, he combined his struggle with salon poetry with the expression of extremely “leftist” aesthetic views. There are many futuristic and formalistic heaps in the poems of that period, something like this - “And only then will I be happy when they put a turbine on my stomach, and pick up two sledgehammers from behind” (poem “Makinalashmak”). But it was a growing pain, because Hikmet, in his destiny, was, first of all, a "revolutionary of literature."

Nazim Hikmet became a classic during his lifetime. In 1929, his collection of poems "835 lines" was published in Turkey, which instantly turned the young poet into a star of the first magnitude in the literary horizon of Turkey. But the rebel and the communist could never find a common language with the authorities. After the release of almost every new book, he was sentenced to prison. In 1938, Hikmet was sentenced to 28 years in prison. In total, he spent 17 years in Turkish prisons. In 1950, under the influence of world public opinion, the Turkish government was forced to release the poet. Having barely left the prison, but having learned about the assassination attempt that was being prepared against him, Nazym Hikmet literally went to the open sea on a fishing boat. He was lucky - he was picked up by a steamer en route to Romania. In 1951, he flew from Bucharest to Moscow to fully enjoy the socialist paradise, where, as he thought, his dreams of a brighter future were realized. However, very soon the poet became convinced that Soviet reality contradicted the proclaimed ideals. The tragedy of the last years of Nazim Hikmet's life is the tragedy of all left-wing intellectuals, all who sincerely believe in the ideas of justice, equality and brotherhood.

Deprived of Turkish citizenship, Nazim Hikmet became a legend in his homeland. Songs have been composed to his poems - in different languages, in different countries of the world. His plays are staged in many theaters around the world. The poet's works are republished in his homeland, translated into many languages. Volumes of memoirs, countless articles, dissertations and even novels have been written about his life. Turkish literary critics call Nazim Hikmet nothing more than a reformer of the poetic language. Isn't that why each of his newly discovered lines becomes for Turkish literature the same value as Pushkin's line for us? However, of course, it was not so much the form of his texts as their social content that exerted that influence on the minds that frightened the authorities so much.

The longer the period of time separates us from the poet himself, the more fully the greatness of Nazim Hikmet Ran is revealed. Time is a harsh but fair judge, unmistakably determining the true place of this or that artist in the history of literature. The complex and harsh 20th century made Hikmet one of its great poets. He, along with Neruda, Aragon, Eluard, Lorca, Pasternak, defines the face of world poetry of the 20th century.

But all this is already, although not very distant, but still the past. In the 60-70s of the last century, the Turks again "conquered" Europe, turning from simple laborers into first-class builders, restorers, mechanics, etc. Now they are renovating old houses, shops and other public buildings across the continent from Moscow to Madrid. The money they earn "works" in their homeland, in Turkey. Now it is no longer the Turks who go to European countries for consumer goods, but we make commercial trips to Turkey, buying this consumer goods for foreign currency, and thereby contribute to the further growth of the Turkish economy. Of course, “big things are seen from a distance”, but who is the first thing that comes to mind now when we think about Turkey? Who are they, the glorious Turkish heroes and idols of our time and the "new" Turks?

Of course, this is also a high fashion couturier, an Italian fashion designer of Turkish origin. Rifat Ozbek, which is constantly in the focus of the world's fashion press. Ozbek is especially famous for the bright colors and impeccable cut of his collections, which clearly show oriental trends.

And a beautiful (but, of course, not a Komsomol member and not an athlete) famous Turkish actress - the queen of Turkish cinema. In Turkey, they like to call her Elizabeth Taylor of the East. In the 70-80s of the XX century, Turkan Shoray was perhaps the most popular and famous film actress on both banks. She was remembered by the broad masses of our people from the television series "Korolek - a singing bird" and, of course, from the film "My Love, My Sorrow" (a romantic poem based on the play by Nazim Hikmet "The Legend of Love"), where Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Anatoly Papanov, Vsevolod Sanaev and Irina Miroshnichenko.

And a weightlifter Naim Suleiman-Oglu, the first three-time Olympic champion in the history of weightlifting (1988, 1992 and 1996). He was born in 1967 to a Turkish family living in Bulgaria. Although he was only 1.47m tall, the kid quickly caught the attention of trainers with his incredible ability to lift weights. In 1984, Bulgaria (like all socialist countries led by the USSR) boycotted the Los Angeles Games, but a few weeks after the Games, Suleiman-Oglu lifted a weight that was 30 kg more than that lifted by the Olympic champion in this weight category. In 1986 Suleiman-Oglu emigrated to Turkey. Naim is listed in the Guinness Book of Records for several positions at once: firstly, as a weightlifter who won 10 world championships, including the Olympic Games, secondly, as the youngest world record holder who set a world record when he was 16 years and 62 days old and thirdly, as an athlete who lifted in a snatch two and a half times his own weight - 150 kg in the 60 kg category. In Turkey, they say this about Naim's fantastic popularity: - "When he dine in a restaurant, no one asks him to pay the bill, if he exceeds the speed limit on the road, he does not have to pay a fine, the police only wish him a happy journey."

And, finally, the most "sweet ladies' lollipop" in Turkey is the famous one. This Turk owes his fame in the vastness of our vast homeland to the domestic favorite of overripe prima donnas, who sang his hit Şıkıdım in full in the Russian-Bulgarian manner. But Tarkan especially firmly conquered weak female hearts with his sexual smacking in the song Simarik. Tarkan Tevetoglu was born in Germany in 1972 in the suburb of Frankfurt, the town of Alzey. The father and mother of the future star were ordinary guest workers and worked hard at the factory there. Tarkan's adventures began already in the womb. She, being pregnant, got into a car accident and lay in a coma for a month. Doctors in such a situation advised to make an artificial miscarriage. But Tarkan's father, the wise Ali Bey, saw in a dream his son with a star on his head and realized that everything would be tip-top. And so it happened. After 14 years, having earned some money, Tarkan's hardworking ancestors pulled back to their historical homeland.

After graduating from school, the smart guy went straight to where he made an attempt to enter the university. However, realizing the groundlessness of his claims to receive a higher education, he did not lose heart, but remained there and began to earn a piece of bread with butter by performing in bars and clubs. Well, then everything went like clockwork. In 1993, Tarkan met producer Mehmed Sogut-Oglu, the owner of one of the most famous Turkish recording companies, Istanbul Plak. This meeting radically changed his life. The fact is that Mehmed, according to rumors, breathes unevenly towards young boys, whom he seduces with traditional promises: "I will make a star out of you." However, the cunning Tarkan acted smarter than most youngsters, and responded to the producer’s tempting offer with the words of the fitter Mechnikov, exhausted by Narzan: “Money in the morning, chairs in the evening.” And Mehmed made every effort to get these very “chairs”. So Tarkan turned into the number one Turkish star, while regularly appearing on the covers of all printed publications, without exception. And, what is absolutely wonderful, he turned out to be the first male to decorate the Turkish version of Cosmopolitan magazine with his pretty mature face.

Of course, it cannot be said that the dear Tarkan leads a purely monastic lifestyle. Several dozen Turkish girls claim that it was he who shook off the pollen of their innocence and made them mothers. At the same time, with one of them, the boy flew big. A friend of innocent fun turned out to be the daughter of a high-ranking official, who, having learned from whom she was pregnant, demanded that this sexual terrorist immediately marry. Otherwise, he threatened, the "singer" would not be in trouble, no matter what the star he was. Since the matrimonial fetters were not included in Tarkan's plans, the evil father, as an educational measure, decided to send him to military service, since the hero's age was suitable. The handsome man did not actively want to fulfill his civic duty to the Turkish Motherland, and he quickly fled to the States. But… still had to serve. The fact is that the Turkish diaspora in Europe and America, very patriotic, zealously called for boycotts of the concerts of this nasty deserter. And it already smelled of very, very significant material losses. After his, though not very long-term, fulfillment of his duty to the Motherland, forgiven by the kind Turkish people, Tarkan returned to his work, still enjoying himself to the fullest with temperamental fans. Again, in his videos, he is surrounded by a crowd of not too carefully dressed girls, but about his personal life, all sorts of fascinating gossip again roam.

Additionally:

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Turkish literature, as a rule, began its development with folk art, namely with the writing of religious works. In this country there were two main languages ​​- Ottoman and Arabic, and one national language - Turkish. Turkish writers created fairy tales, songs, fables, romantic stories. In Russian today, fables about Khoja Nasreddin are still popular.

Sofa poetry began its development in the 13th century, and continued until the 15th century. Poems were written by famous authors of that time in the likeness of Arabic and Persian literature on religious topics. At the same time, prose began to appear.

The authors of Turkey in their works actively showed social idealism and criticized reality. They also often used national motives, and the characters were thought out to the smallest detail, their psychologism was fully revealed.

In the 50s of the 20th century, the authors began to use the theme of the village. Turkey is a very unusual and atmospheric country, so the description of life in the villages leaves no one indifferent. These are amazing stories about life and traditions. Also at this time there were many satirists.

Like any other country, Turkey has gone through difficult periods, which could not but affect the literature. Significant changes in society took place here in the 60-70s of the 20th century, so socio-political topics were most developed and in demand.

Today, there are a lot of modern Turkish writers who have become famous all over the world for their love novels, books in a variety of genres and directions. Their works fully describe the color and exoticism of Turkey, the life of the inhabitants, traditions and customs. Of course, Turkish authors adopted techniques from colleagues from other countries, which is also visible in their works.

We have compiled a list of the best Turkish authors who have created amazing works on a variety of topics. At the same time, you will be able to learn from them how the country lives, what it had to go through and feel the warm and sunny atmosphere that reigns here today.

• Sait Faik Abasyyanyk
• Reshad Enis Aigen
• Sabahattin Ali
• Cetin Altan
• Omer Asan
• Musa Anter
• Ahmet Hashim
• Aka Gunduz
• Reshat Nuri Guntekin
• Nedim Gursel
• Hasan Jemal
• Necati Jumaly
• Feridun Zaimoglu
• Ibrahim Shinasi (Shinazi)
• Orhan Yilmazskaya
• Mehmet Rashit Ogutcu
• Tuna Kiremitchi
• Sedat Lachiner
• Agah Syrry Levend
• Mirzabala Mammadzadeh
• Suleiman Nazif
• Namyk Kemal
• Khalid Fahri Ozansoy
• Oktay Rifat
• Khaldun Taner
• Ahmed Hamdi Tanpınar
• Hamdullah Suphi Tanreover
• Kemal Tahir
• Suheil Unver
• Khalid Zia Ushakligil
• Duran (Duran) Cetin
• Leyla Erbil
• Refik Erduran
• Mehmet Emin Yurdakul
• Yusuf Nabi
• Yasar Kemal
• Nuri Pakdil
• Orhan Pamuk

Literature of Turkey- Literary works created on the territory of Anatolia, part of the culture of Turkey.

Old Turkic period

The first Turkic written texts date back to the 6th century, but literary texts arose later. The traditions of oral art are laid down in the work of Mahmud Kashgari "Divans-y Lugat-i Türk", written in the 11th century. The main place among them was occupied by poetry, which was read to the accompaniment of a stringed musical instrument called "kopuz". The poets were called kams, ozans and shamans, their names were: Aprynchura Tigin, Chuchu, Kul Tarkan, Chysuya Tutunga, Ashyga Tutuna, Sungku Suli and Kalyma Keishi. The first major poetic work was “Kudatgu Bilig” (“Blessed Knowledge”) by Yusuf Balasaguni. The heroic epic of the Oguz tribes "Oguz-name" also belongs to pre-Islamic monuments.

Muslim period

After the adoption of Islam in the middle of the 10th century by the Karakhanid state, literature was divided into “secular” (sofa or classical literature), “folk” (or ashug-saz literature), and later into “Sufi” branches. Sofa literature was closed in the circle of the upper class, and ashug-saz literature retained the features of folk art and was free from the mystical and scholastic ideas of Islam. This division was reflected in the linguistics of the Seljuk state and in the Ottoman Empire, where the main languages ​​were two: Arabic (religious and scientific language) and "Ottoman" (official and literary language), and Turkish remained a folk and colloquial language for a long time.

Folk literature

In the oral Oguz epos, a cycle about grandfather Korkud arose, and then dastans about Kyor-ogly, romantic tales of hikiaye, fairy tales and fables about Khoja Nasreddin and animals, proverbs, sayings, riddles, popular ditties - mani, songs "turkuyi koshma" (lyrical ) and “hula tashlama” (tragic).

Sofa poetry

Sofa poetry of the Ottoman Empire began to take shape in the XIII-XV centuries in the likeness of Arabic and Persian literature, and translations of poems from the Persian language are often found among the first examples of this poetry. The first divan poets Ahmed-i Dai and Gazi Burkhaneddin were students of the madrasah and mostly wrote poems on religious themes. The poets composed poems in the form of Turkic quatrains, which had syllabic and syllabo-tonic metrics, as well as in the aruz metric, which they adopted from Arab-Persian literature. In addition, the Turks borrowed poetic forms: mesnevi, kasyda, gazelle.

During the transitional period of divan poetry (XV-XVI centuries), the court provided great support to its development. In addition to poetry, prose appeared, written by such authors as Ahmed Pasha, Necati, Merjimek Ahmed, Ashik Pasha-zade and Sinan Pasha. During the heyday of sofa poetry (XVI-XVIII centuries), classics began to form based on local material, new trends began to appear, such as “Sebk-i Hindi” (Indian style), which was followed by Fuzuli, Baki, Bagdatly Rukhi, Yusuf Nabi, Nef -i, Ahmed Nedim, Sheikh Galib, Evliya Chelebi, Kyatib Chelebi, Naima, Veisi and Nergisi.

Sufi literature

The first works of Old Anatolian literature (mid-13th - mid-15th centuries) belonged to Sufism. Ahmed Fakih's The Book of Destiny is considered the oldest work. His student, Sheyad Hamza, wrote the poem Yusuf and Zelikha. In addition to them, the poet Rumi left several poems in Turkish; his tradition was continued by his son Sultan Veled. The wandering dervish Yunus Emre was known for his inspirational hymn-poems, which reflected his oppositional views. The first major work was the mesnevi poem "The Book of the Wanderer" by the Sufi Ashik Pasha.

national literature

Beginning in the 18th century, the Ottomans became actively involved in Western civilization. The date of publication of the newspaper "Terjuman-y Akhval" (1860) is considered the beginning of the development of this stage in literature. It was the first private and independent publication. This literature is divided into the following periods: the period of constitutional reforms, "servet-i funun", "fesr-i ati", national period, republican and modern periods.

During the period of constitutional reforms, the writers Namyk Kemal, Shinasi, Ahmet Mithat, Ziya Pasha, Mahmud Ekrem, Abdulhak Khamit, Sami Pashazade, Sezai became famous.

Servet-i funun

From 1891 to 1944, the literary magazine Serveti fünun (Wealth of Sciences) was published in Istanbul, around which young writers who created the “new literature” and had a Western orientation were grouped. The most famous writers were Tevfik Fikret, Faik Ali, Halit Ziya Ushaklygil, Mehmet Rauf, Suleiman Nazif and the poets Mahmud Ekrem Rejaizade, Jenab Shakhabeddin. The journal published critical articles, essays on historical figures, translations of French classics, new European poetry, Turkish poems written in vers libre, illustrations from various European magazines, Turkish novels "September" (Eylül) by M. Rauf, "Broken Lives" (Kırık hayatlar), H. Zii.

Fejr-i ati

Founded on February 24, 1910, Fecr-i ati (The Coming Dawn), the first literary society existed until 1912. The purpose of the society was educational goals. It included twenty young writers: Ahmet Samim, Ahmet Hashim, Tahsin Nahid, Celal Sakhir, Refik Khalid Karay, Shehabettin Suleiman, Mehmet Behcet, Mehmet Fuat Koprulu-zade, Mufid Ratib, Yakub Kadri, Emin Bulent Serdaroglu, Hamdullah Suphi Tanryover, Yakub Kadri Karaosmanoglu.

National period

The names of the main figures of the national period: Ömer Seyfettin, Mehmet Akif Ersoy, Khalide Edip Adyvar, Reshat Nuri Guntekin.

Republican period and modernity

The largest writers of the Republic of Turkey: Reşat Nuri Güntekin, Aka Gündüz, Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoglu, Peyami Safa, feminist Khalide Edib Adıvar, Mahmut Yesari, Osman Cemal Kaygılı, who were characterized by social realism, a critical perception of reality, the use of national motifs and psychologism of characters.

Nazim Hikmet Ran becomes the brightest poet, having departed from the poetic form "dize". However, many poets continued to follow the hedge style, whose followers were Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Ziya Osman Saba, Kemalettin Kamu, Ahmet Muhip Dranas.

In the 1940s, the direction of realism was developed by Dzhevdet Kudret Solok, Taryk Bugra, Samim Kojagyoz, Dzhevat Shakir Kabaagachly, Oktay Akbal, Khaldun Taner.

Since the 1950s, the theme of the village has come into literature. The most famous works of this direction are: “Our Village” by Mahmut Makal and “Revenge of the Serpents” by Fakir Baykurt. Yasar Kemal in 1955 published the first volume of the novel "Skinny Memed" about the life of the Chukurova Valley, which laid the foundations for the style of the writer Kemal Tahir ("People from the Lake", 1955). Demir Özlü, Ferit Edgü, Yusuf Atylgan and Nezihe Merić belong to this direction.

The satirical direction has acquired a prominent representative in the person of Aziz Nesin, who twice received the Golden Palm literary award and worldwide fame. Muzaffer Izgyu and Ryfat Ylgaz, the author of the comedies "Klass Hababam", also became famous in this genre.

Due to significant changes in society in the 1960s - 1970s, socio-political topics became the most relevant. The writers Osman Atilla, Yavuz Bulent Bakiler, Feyzi Khalici, Ayhan Inal, Ismet Ozel, Ataol Behramoglu, Hilmi Yavuz, Sevgi Soysal, Cetin Altan, Adalet Agaoglu, Tezer Ozlu, Pinar Kur, Selim Ileri, Bekir Yildiz, Tomris Uyar and Ayla Kutlu tried find new literary forms. Only in 1980, the depoliticization of Turkish society led to the emergence of interest in Turkish and Turkic history, reflected in the works of Mustafa Necati Sepetcioglu.

Turkey's most famous contemporary writer is Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk.

Other writers are Yashar Nabi Nayr, Orkhan Veli Kanyk, Oktay Rifat, Cahit Kulebi, Hussein Rahmi Gurpinar, Necati Dzhumaly, Selim Ileri.

One of the most important manifestations of Turkish culture in the Middle Ages was literature. Written fiction developed as a continuation of the Seljuk. She was characterized by the same features: imitation, the dominance of the poetic genre, the abundance of Arabic and Persian words in the language of poets, because of which it was incomprehensible to ordinary Turks. This literature was intended for the high Turkish society of that time. Medieval Turkish literature is represented mainly by poetry. Artistic prose - novel, story, short story - did not exist in Turkish literature during the period under consideration, it originated in the second half of the 19th century. Prose works of the early period of Turkish culture are oral folk art, scientific, theological, literature - treatises, chronicles, lives. The prevailing influence on Turkish literary literature was provided by Persian and Arabic samples - rules, canons, types of versification, thematic and aesthetic system.

It is difficult to imagine the scale of the literary transformation experienced by Turkish literature between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Persianization of literature concerned an integral aesthetic system from language, poetic form, literary genres, themes, plot, heroes to the very nature of literary creativity, poetics, and the feelings of the people. Mostly the classics of Persian and Azerbaijani literature were taken as a model. According to the figurative expression of the English orientalist E. Gibb, in the first centuries of the development of Turkish literature, there was a “Persian echo” in it. Turkish poets sought to assimilate the aesthetics of Persian poetry, recognizing its beauty, imagery, and poetry. Due to this influence, the Turks, more warriors than thinkers, created literature, to a certain extent, alien to their own psychology, mentality. For more than four centuries, Turkish poetry has been under Persian and Arabic influence. However, at the beginning of the XVIII century. the Turkish “spirit” began to free itself from foreign borrowings, to emancipate, and only at the end of the 19th century, according to the definition of the same E. Gibb, the Turkish “whisper” manifested itself in full and sounded in the Europeanized Turkish literature. In our opinion, this opinion is somewhat exaggerated, since some Ottoman poets strove for self-expression, albeit within the framework of the literary canon.

The period of greatest development of Turkish literature begins in the second half of the 15th century, when the Ottoman state became a powerful empire. But even at this time, Turkish literature was mostly imitative.

Turkish literature in the XV-XVI centuries. was heavily dependent on court support. Poets were grouped at the courts of sultans and their sons (some sultans were poets: Murad II, Mehmed II Fatih, Bayazid II, Selim I, Suleiman Kanuni, Selim II, etc.). The Ottoman court poets turned the rough Turkish dialect into a brilliant literary language, delivering true aesthetic pleasure to connoisseurs. At the same time, this language is so far from spoken, artificial to a certain extent, that it remained incomprehensible to ordinary Turks.

In the XVI century. The Ottoman Empire reached its highest power, uniting vast territories in North Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East. Istanbul in 1453 became the capital of the empire, the center of the intersection of eastern and western civilizations. The capital attracted poets from Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and other countries, the art of calligraphy flourished, the manuscript turned into a true work of art. Luxury, generous patronage of the sultans was reflected in the theme of court poetry. In great favor were poets who sang of palace holidays, feasts, especially under Selim the Terrible and Suleiman Kanuni. Poets not only devoted many poems to wealth and pleasures, but also competed with each other in who would write the sofa faster and longer. Turkish poetry began to acquire a qualitatively new content, the poets not only followed the form, metrics and technique of the Persians and Arabs, but also brought them to perfection. But the desire of Ottoman poets to free themselves from alien influence is already becoming noticeable; the Istanbul dialect is used in poetry.

The greatest rise of Turkish literature falls on the 16th century, when the power of the Ottoman Empire reached its highest level. In this era, a number of names stood out, which made up the glory of Turkish literature of the era of feudalism.

In the following decades, Turkish poetry continued to develop. Not only sultans and princes, but also great nobles kept poets with them. During these years, poets lived and created, leaving a deep mark on Turkish literature. The most significant of them were Hyyali, Zati and especially Baki.

16th century became the golden age of Ottoman classical poetry, in which, in addition to the above-mentioned poets, it should be noted the wonderful romantic mystic Fazli, who wrote the allegorical and mystical epic "The Rose and the Nightingale", Khalili, who wrote elegies, Lyamiya, who translated and commented on the wonderful works of Persian poetry, Firdousi "Long (not confused with his great namesake) with his collection of oriental tales and legends, etc. During this period, fables and animal epic appear.

In the following decades, there were many court lyric poets, but not a single major name was noted among them. Moreover, their works testify to the decline in skill and impoverishment in Turkish poetry of the lyric and anacreontic genre. The effect on the minds of poets was the economic, political and military decline that the Ottoman Empire began to experience from the end of the 16th century. However, it was precisely this circumstance that led to the emergence of a new poetic genre - satirical, more significant in social terms than the previous ones. In the works of this genre, the poets viciously castigated the vices to which the ruling circles were subject. To the largest representatives of the satirical genre in the first half of the 17th century. include Veysey and Nephi.

Thus, the problem of the development of Turkish literature, as well as culture in general, is connected with the process of the formation of the Turkish nation, its consolidation. The development of medieval Turkish literature provides an interesting example of a transformation in which Arab-Persian literary norms become dominant. The alien value system was perceived both in the social and state structure, and in the direction of cultural and aesthetic guidelines.

The oldest works of Turkish folklore preserve pre-Islamic myths about the creation of the world and the origin of man. Of the monuments of the heroic epos, the cycle "Oguz-name" which absorbed such myths is the most significant. The post-Islamic form of the Oguz epic was a cycle associated with the name of Dede Korkud ("Kitabi Dede Korkud"). Later folklore (from the 13th century) includes legendary tales built on a historical basis. The cycle of dastans about Korogly enjoys special fame.

A significant place is occupied by romantic stories of hikiae, works of popular literature, fairy tales - fairy tales, household, comic, etc., fables about animals, anecdotes (including about Khoja Nasreddin), proverbs, sayings, riddles. Mani quatrains, lyrical songs of Turku and koshma, songs of hula tashlama have always been especially popular.

The Turks, who joined Islam relatively late, also adopted Muslim culture. In the Seljukid state, Arabic was the language of religion and science, and Persian was the language of court poetry. The first accurately dated works of written literature created in Asia Minor in Turkish belong to the middle. 13th c. The first works of early Turkic or Old Anatolian literature (mid-13th - mid-15th centuries) were of a Sufi character. Turkish verses appeared, and their appearance caused a struggle between two systems of versification: the Turkic folk oral poetry, which had syllabic and syllabic-tonic metrics, and the Arabic-Persian metrical systems Aruz, which then dominated Turkish poetry for six centuries.

The oldest Turkish Sufi work is considered to be the "Book of Destiny" by Ahmed Fakih (d. ca. 1250); his student Sheyad Hamza created the poem "Yusuf and Zelikha". The 14th-15th centuries are characterized by the appearance of novels in verse. They are somewhat reminiscent of fables and are very instructive works.

The complication of Turkish literature leads to the fact that a large number of epithets and comparisons appear. In the 19th century, Turkish literature becomes more Westernized. Turkish journalists and poets appear who create works that are very similar to the creations of their Western counterparts. One of these is "The Poet's Marriage".

The 20th century is characterized by the development of a realistic trend in literature and the emergence of nationalist ideas. Writers turn not only to the life of big cities, but also do not forget about the provinces. The works of Omer Seifeddin, Karaosmanoglu and other literary creators of this period are worth your attention, there is no doubt that Turkey is rich in poets and writers.

After the First World War, the modernization and standardization of the Turkish language began. Of his contemporaries, the novelist Orhan Pamuk is an important character. He explores the genius loci of Istanbul, intertwining his own memories with the cultural history of the city where he has lived for over 50 years. The author shows readers the monuments and the lost paradise of Istanbul, narrow streets, Ottoman villas and canals, introduces writers, artists, journalists and crazy historians who have described a century and a half of the "modernization" of the city. Tours to Turkey should be remembered not only for relaxation, but also for gaining new knowledge about the literature of this state.