Sözen, Metin. Anadolu Kentleri, Anadolu’nun Kenti
İstanbul. İstanbul: Creative Yayıncılık, 2000, 363pp.

ABSTRACT

Anatolian Cities: Istanbul an Anatolian City

Anadolu Kentleri, Anadolu’nun Kenti İstanbul

This book is
divided into two parts: aspects of daily life in various Anatolian towns, and
essays on Istanbul. It includes photographs of landscapes and historical
monuments. The author mainly discusses his own experience of Anatolian towns
and Istanbul, and expresses his personal feelings and thoughts. He relates to
the past of these places and refers to the lost architectural structures.

He provides
details on monuments from Anatolian towns such as Antalya, Bursa, Çorum,
Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Kastamonu, Niğde and Urfa, and gives insights into the
daily life of these places. He describes the neighbourhoods, the markets and
the places of entertainment. The author has given his book a literary flavour
by including verses describing towns by famous poets such as Behçet Necatigil
and Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, as well as samples of prose, myths, lullabies,
limericks and songs.

In the second
part of the book, the author goes slightly beyond his own views of the city,
narrating the foundation myth of Istanbul and talking about the origins of its
name. He recounts the Ottoman conquest, and thereafter depicts the
architectural legacies of the period such as Sultanahmet, Yedikule, Galata
Tower, Fatih Complex, Mihrimah Sultan Complex, Süleymaniye Complex, Beyazıt
Square and Kapalıçarşı, as well as neighbourhoods like Eyüp, Emirgan and
Çemberlitaş.

These chapters
are directed towards an audience that appreciates poetry, is interested in old
urban myths and would enjoy reading about life in Anatolian towns in a romantic
style. No references are provided since the book is based on firsthand
observation of Anatolian towns and Istanbul in the twentieth century. This work
constitutes an original primary source for future generations.

Feryal
Tansuğ

Translated
by Aysu Dincer