Saniye Çancı
Five Cities
Type
abstract
Year
2014
Tanpınar, Ahmet Hamdi. Beş Şehir. İstanbul: Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı, 1969, 260pp.
ABSTRACT
Five Cities
Beş Şehir
In his book Beş Şehir (Five Cities), Turkish novelist and essayist Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar (1901-1962) narrates his impressions about Ankara, Erzurum, Konya, Bursa, and Istanbul. He describes the architecture of these cities, and emphasises their importance in history, and their place in social and cultural life by recounting his memories and feelings about them. Tanpınar tries to create a dialogue between the past and the present in Beş Şehir, which was first published in 1946. He says, “The past is always present.”
The author compares the past and the present situations of the cities by approaching “these cities as a man of heart rather than an engineer”. He describes Ankara as the “interior castle” of central Anatolia because all of the civilisations in this region fought their most critical battles in and around Ankara. This is why Tanpınar considers Ankara to be an epic city.
Like Ankara, Erzurum is also an epic city for Tanpınar because this is where Turks entered Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert (Malazgirt) in 1071 and where they laid the foundation for the Turkish War of Independence in the twentieth century.
According to Tanpınar, Konya “resembles the central Anatolian people who have a strong soul, like living on their own, and are unimposing in appearance but rich in heart”. While tracking down the traces of the past civilisations in the city, Tanpınar talks about Mevlana whose name has been identified with Konya.
Tanpınar analyses the architecture of Bursa, the works of art in the city, and the names of the streets. He believes that all these elements bring the past and the present together in Bursa.
The chapter allocated to Istanbul conveys a strong sense of nostalgia. The writer underlines urban scenes which were identified with Istanbul in the past but have been lost in the present. For example, Tanpınar talks in detail about coffee houses where intellectuals got together, life in the Ottoman court, and moonlit boat trips along the Bosphorus. This work has a romantic tone at times and as Tanpınar suggests, “mourns the things that have disappeared from our lives, while longing for the future” (iii). Beş Şehir may disappoint the reader who expects to find information and data provided in travel guides. Beş Şehir, has an important place in Turkish literature, and is a fabulous narrative of the five cities named above.
Saniye Çancı
Citation
Çancı, Saniye. '"English abstract of 'Five Cities'". Translated by Saniye Çancı. In Cities as Built and Lived Environments: Scholarship from Muslim Contexts, 1875 to 2011, by Aptin Khanbaghi. 26. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2014.
Authorities
Collections
Copyright
Muslim Civilisations Abstracts - The Aga Khan University
Terms of Use
Public Domain
Country
Türkiye
Language
English
Related Documents
Five Cities
Type
abstract
Year
2014
Tanpınar, Ahmet Hamdi. Beş Şehir. İstanbul: Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı, 1969, 260pp.
ABSTRACT
Five Cities
Beş Şehir
In his book Beş Şehir (Five Cities), Turkish novelist and essayist Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar (1901-1962) narrates his impressions about Ankara, Erzurum, Konya, Bursa, and Istanbul. He describes the architecture of these cities, and emphasises their importance in history, and their place in social and cultural life by recounting his memories and feelings about them. Tanpınar tries to create a dialogue between the past and the present in Beş Şehir, which was first published in 1946. He says, “The past is always present.”
The author compares the past and the present situations of the cities by approaching “these cities as a man of heart rather than an engineer”. He describes Ankara as the “interior castle” of central Anatolia because all of the civilisations in this region fought their most critical battles in and around Ankara. This is why Tanpınar considers Ankara to be an epic city.
Like Ankara, Erzurum is also an epic city for Tanpınar because this is where Turks entered Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert (Malazgirt) in 1071 and where they laid the foundation for the Turkish War of Independence in the twentieth century.
According to Tanpınar, Konya “resembles the central Anatolian people who have a strong soul, like living on their own, and are unimposing in appearance but rich in heart”. While tracking down the traces of the past civilisations in the city, Tanpınar talks about Mevlana whose name has been identified with Konya.
Tanpınar analyses the architecture of Bursa, the works of art in the city, and the names of the streets. He believes that all these elements bring the past and the present together in Bursa.
The chapter allocated to Istanbul conveys a strong sense of nostalgia. The writer underlines urban scenes which were identified with Istanbul in the past but have been lost in the present. For example, Tanpınar talks in detail about coffee houses where intellectuals got together, life in the Ottoman court, and moonlit boat trips along the Bosphorus. This work has a romantic tone at times and as Tanpınar suggests, “mourns the things that have disappeared from our lives, while longing for the future” (iii). Beş Şehir may disappoint the reader who expects to find information and data provided in travel guides. Beş Şehir, has an important place in Turkish literature, and is a fabulous narrative of the five cities named above.
Saniye Çancı
Citation
Çancı, Saniye. '"English abstract of 'Five Cities'". Translated by Saniye Çancı. In Cities as Built and Lived Environments: Scholarship from Muslim Contexts, 1875 to 2011, by Aptin Khanbaghi. 26. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2014.
Authorities
Collections
Copyright
Muslim Civilisations Abstracts - The Aga Khan University
Terms of Use
Public Domain
Country
Türkiye
Language
English