YAYIN YERİ: EOKA UNIVERSITY http://ecs.epoka.edu.al/index.php/ibac/ibac2012/paper/viewFile/593/571
1Batman
Üniversitesi, 72100 Batman
Turkey1,*
*e-mail:
ferhat.korkmaz@batman.edu.tr
SUMMARY
The
life in Balkan that has called attention through its polyphony all along takes its place in Tanzimat era
novel. In Tanzimat priod novel, it is
possible to encounter to a significant part of Balkans’ historical,
sociological, cultural and economic trace since some part of Balkans was tied
up with Ottoman Empire. Greece and Bulgaria’s cities being first, most of
today’s cities and sites connected with countries like Albania and Romania are
used as places and reflected to the works in question. Some certain parts
of Balkans that Ottoman Empire
maintained its sovereignty along 5-6 centuries becomes a place that can be
traveled easily and mentioned frequently in daily life.It is essential to
add the geography of Balkans, being a
battlefield especially between the end of 19th and beginning of 20th century,
is handled around the themes of war and sorrow in Tanzimat era novel. In this
frame, the novels of Ahmet Mithat Efendi
called Gönüllü and Arnavutlar-Solyotlar should be
considered the most important novels of us reflecting the cities and cultures
of Balkans with their historical atmosphere. Balkans in the novel of Mizancı
Murad which is called Turfanda mı Turfa
mı is subject to around the theme of
war. On the othe hand, Tanzimat era novels in which Balkan cities and cultures
could be encontered and we can not
mention in our summary. In our work, historical, cultural, sociological and
economic features of Balkan cities will be studied considering the fictive
atmosphere in Tanzimat era novels in
question.
1.INTRODUCTION
Balkans
has had strategical importance because
of being an entrance point between Europe and Asia throughout the history. It has always hosted all colours with its
ethnical and cultural diversity. Indeed, this situation is an affluence for
Balkans, but unfortunately, Balkans has been remembered as a geography of great
wars throughout the history. 19th century which is recorded the century of
rebellion to the history of Ottoman Empire, disorders started to prevail again. Therefore, Balkans
is reflected with an atmosphere in which continuous wars take place in early
period Turkish novelty. In terms of the issues of custom, belief, city,
architectural construction, social and economic life, the Ottoman novel is
effected with Balkan calture.
What
is the novelty of Tanzimat period? It
contains the time period which starts from the coming into appearence of novel
in Turkish society to the modern novel come out by Servet-i Fünun period.
Historically, it starts in 1872 with first writing Turkish novel called Taaşşuk-ı Talat u Fıtnat and it covers
30-35 year time period until Servet-i
Fünun novels published at the beginning of 1900s. Together with this, it is not
convenient to limit the idea, literary, political,social and artistic movements
by calender years. Ahmet Mithat Efendi
who is the most important figure of Tanzimat period novelty without a doubt
writes his last novel called Jön Türk
in 1908. Therefore, historical periods, idea and art movements can exist
together in some periods. Then we can say Tanzimat period novelty includes a
period starting from 1870s and continueing to 1910s, which covers a 40
year-time period. Tthis 40 year-time period is also the second part of
“rebellion century”.
In
Tanzimat period novelty, there are two Turkish novels that choose Balkan
geography as main regions called Arnavutlar-Solyotlar
(1888) and Gönüllü (1897). These two
novels are written by Ahmet Mithat Efendi. The common feature of these two
novels are to be given a significant part to Balkan culture and cities.
Generally, events take place in Greece, Albania and Bulgaria though it is
possible to say there are many Balkan cities
mentioned. Şıpka battle is the subject of last episode in the novel of
Mizancı Murat called Turfanda mı Yoksa
Turfa mı? (1892). Again, Şefik serves a sentence in Balkan lands in the
novel of Ahmet Mithat Efendi’s Yeryüzünde Bir Melek (1879).
1.GÖNÜLLÜ (1897)
The
novel called Gönüllü starts with the
scene of knife cleaning (in Turkish, bıçak silimi). Depiction in the novel is
related with the rural area between Yenişer and Serfiçe. The knife cleaning is
reflected an important part of Balkan culture. Even, an anectode is told in Gönüllü by mentioning this knife cleaning
festival is also a matter of Bektaşi anectode. Knife cleaning is an important
festival of people that deal with farming. An assembly is prepared last time
when Ramadan is about to come. Last wine chatting (sohbet-i meynûşâne) is
performed in this assembly. Bego who is the owner of a farm in the novel of Gönüllü has börek, baklava cooked and
turkey, goose and lamb slaughtered for dinner. It is mentioned in the novel that Bego sustains this custom
for five-six years. Gipsies, dancers (köçekler) and villagers present every
type of their play and music talents in knife cleaning. The novelist reserves a
significant part in the novel for performing of festival. A lot of information
is given in the Gönüllü about
monasteries constructed in Teselya. Starting with the Triadha monastery, the
novelist that says “ All of the mountains surrounding Teselya plain on the
northern east side is a thing consisting such a step rock.There is also a
monastery on almost all of every hill.”
(Ahmet Mithat Efendi, 2000a: 72) tells the monastery is made up of huge stones
like chest and this stones are integrated with lime to get a firm fortress
shape. The roof of the monastery of Aghia Triadha has been made up of stones called “pilaka” as being the
characteristic of regional architecture. The writer indicates that “pilaka” is
called as “piloça” in different Balkan cities and its width is several meters
and its height is about ten-fifteen cm.
In Gönüllü novel, it is
mentioned that the Aghia Stephanos monastery is also constructed with the same
style like the Aghia Triadha. The writer
mentions that it is not true that the reason that Greeks built the monastery in
heigh and sheltered place was because of fear related to the jannissaries and
Muslim Albanians. The writer expresses the actual reason as defending against
pagan (Ahmet Mithat Efendi, 2000a: 79).
The
village mentioned in Gönüllü is
located between Yenişehir (Larissa) and Serfiçe (Servia) cities. The novelist
mentions there are forty five-fifty families in the village and half of them
are Greeks, quarter is Bulgarians and the remaining of them are Vlaches called
“Koçovalık” and “podarlık” that is Albanian people working as guard. In
addition, in Gönüllü, the population
of Yenişehir (Larissa) is mentioned as fifty-sixty thousand during
Ottoman-Greek war in 1897.
During knife
cleaning gipsies
from Serres city come to Bego’s farm and village with their köçeks and
instruments. It is said in the novel that the local people like those musicians
very much. (Ahmet Mithat Efendi, 2000a: 13). Gipsies use tambourine. Novelist
Ahmet Mithat Efendi talk about gipsies with glory. Mehteran drum is mentioned
with playing 4-5 tambourines together. The teller of Gönüllü novel says gipsies
of Serres are incomparably superior in terms of clothing and beauty to gipsies
of Ayvansaray and Sulukule.
It is
said sirto to the dance danced by instrument named sirto or gusla by the Greek.
During knife cleaning Greek men and women dance sirto. As it is known, even if it has
different appliance types, sirto is known as Greek natioanal folk dance.
Bringing those ancient folk dances to his novel shows Ahmet Mithat Efendi has
important information about culture and tradition of nations living in the
Balkans geography. In fact Ahmet Mithat Efendi spends his early youth in the
Balkans geography (Korkmaz 2010, 44-78).
Filomene
doesn’t want to get married to Andrea Kostopolo since she loves Recep Köso. As
Filomene doesn’t know what to do against his father force, her mother death
gains her some time. Because, according to the novelist, when a Greek that lose
any relative have to mourn at least one year (Ahmet Mithat Efendi, 2000a: 217).
The
hero of the Gönüllü novel called
Kahramanoğlu Mehmet Bey is a blockhouse and farm owner between Yenişehir and
Serfiçe (the writer doesn’t give the village). He settles to the village at the
beginning of summer to have pasture and plantation reaped, harvest beaten,milk
converted to cheese, if it rains, to have the land fallowed. Sometimes, he
stays in the winters to hunt duck and carp, too.
Again
in Balkan lands it is accepted sinister when a rooster crow untimely. The
writer states that the villagers who live there cut and eat the roosters
crowing untimely and he points to that as a superstition.
When
Recep Köso joins to the Ottoman force directed by Ethem Paşa, he is assigned to
draw into Greece and learn the situation of Greek army. On this occasion, Recep
Köso stops by so many cities in the southern Greece to fulfill his spying
mission. Recep Köso comes around Tırhala (Trikala) and Golos (Volos). As
Ethem Paşa, the commander of the
army, gives the informations to Recep Köso about what he will do, he
talks about so many cities. He wants
Recep Köso to enter Golos, a port city, by using Meçova (Metsovo) and Katarin (Katara) passages through Pindus
mountains. The commander wants him to introduce himself as a Greek from Zanta
or Narda. He will work at Sakrib journal as a war correspondent. Serez
(Serres), Debre, Niş, İşkodra, Kalkandelen (Tetova), Elbasan (Rrethi i
Elbasanit), Selanik (Thessaloniki) are the other cities mentioned in Gönüllü.
Another
attractive place in Gönüllü novel is Aghia Triadha
monastery near Kalampaka (Καλαμπάκα). As a
result of our research the situation of todays Aghia Triadha totally overlaps
the novelist’s expressions. The novelist almost figures the monastery with a
realistic description. The father the Greek girl Filomene ,that Recep Köso
loves, abducts her to that monastery to prevent marriage. It is impossible to
enter the monastery except for the cage that is hanged with
thick ropes. Because the monastery is built on a thirty meter stiff
rock. Recep Köso will be able to enter the monastery only with the help of a
servent there and by giving money. There are many monasteries like this in
Teselya.
It is said that there is a delicate eating and drinking culture in
Rumelia which is mentioned as the Balkans geography. In Gönüllü novel, the Balkan geography’s this pleasure is mentioned in
this way: “… türlü hamur
taamları, etler, hele tatlılar cihetiyle Rumeli mutfakları âdeta İstanbul
mutfaklarına iddiâ-yı rüchana bile çıkışabilirler.” (Ahmet Mithat Efendi,
2000a: 13). The dinner table is laid on the floor. The European style hasn’t
fitted to the Balkans geography yet. First the dinner table is laid on the
floor, then an big table cloth is spread over it. Bread and spoons are put on
the table cloth, the guests sit around the table cloth on the floor and take a
side of it on their knees. Since the food is prepared as stuffed lamb, turkey
and goose, they are put in wide copper trays and are brought in the middle of
the table cloth.
As
a result of the treaty of Edirne (1829), Greece that gains independence
continues to struggle with Ottoman Empire to get Teselya. The Greek forces that
don’t obey the treaty of Berlin (1878) since they claim that it must be given
more lands to theirself struggle again to progress towards the northern side.
Anyway, so many episodes in Gönüllü
novel is envisaged to tell this war.
According to the treaty of Berlin signed in 1897, Ottoman empire leaves Epir
(Ipiros) and some part of Teselya to the Greeks. This treaty shapes the new Otoman-Greece’s border. There are two
important reasons of war exploding in 1897. As a result of Greece’s
encouragement of Girit rebellion and not
obeying the border of Alasonya (Ellasona) and Yanya (Ionnina), another war explodes
again. The hero of novel is from
Yenişehir. However, Recep Köso who is forced to migrate here settles in the
northern lands. Recep Köso and his family settle in Manastır (Bilota). There is
always a migration phenomenon from the lands captured by the Greeks to the
lands of Ottoman in the novel. Especially, people remaining on the Greeks’ side leave their
lands and migrate to the Ottoman lands. The sadness of leaving from the lands
inhabited for centuries is great.
During
dinner an important tradition that belonged to Albanians by the teller
revealed. This tradition is, the Gentleman’s nicely peeling and cleaning of the
lambs blade bone after the stuffed lamb being eaten. This blade bone will be
given to somebody by the Gentleman. But the person who will get this will be
the most elite and intellectual of the community. So during every knife
cleaning it
becomes a matter of interest that who will get the blade bone. On the other
hand giving the blade bone to somebody is a kind of fortune telling. Because
according to the information that the teller gives us in the Gönüllü novel, by looking the signs and
spots on the blade bone, an estimate will be made about the future. Again the
teller stresses that this tradition isn’t found in Islam and Christianity, it
continues to live as a habit from the time of polytheist religions. The teller
says that the tradition being talked may be from the era of the Scander Beu
(Gjergji Kastrioti), the ancestor of Albanians. Ahmet Mithat Efendi stresses in
Gönüllü novel that the blade bone is
very important in fortune telling for Albanians and the things that is said
must be believed. Ahmet Mithat Efendi who adds an event that he experienced
before, described an experience that he faced the danger of condemnation for
not to believe in an exaggerated example in a community. In Gönüllü novel, Bego gives the blade bone
to an old traveler, Ömer Neşo. The old man looks at blade bone and declares a
Turk-Greek war in the near future.
2.ARNAVUTLAR-SOLYOTLAR
(1888)
The
region of events passed in Ahmet Mithat Efendi’s novel called Arnavutlar-Solyotlar is
Albania. So many social, political and historical features of Albania is reflected to this novel. In the
novel, it is expressed that the people called “ağa” or “bey” live in Albania as
a feudal and don’t obey the politic authoriry much. It is mentioned in the
novel that whatever extent the governer has this “beys” obeyed, to that degree
the governor has power. Otherwise, the governor does not have certain respect.
The
struggle undertaken by Tepedelenli Ali
Paşa (1744-1822) against people living in Soli called Soliot is told in Ahmet
Mithat Efendi’s Arnavutlar-Solyotlar novel.
The epic struggle performed by Soliots against Tepedelenli Ali Paşa and his
army is the main topic of the novel.
Tepedelenli Ali Paşa who is the governor of Yanya (Ionnina) and has the Ottoman
government accepted this governorship unwillingly desires people living in his region to be in his domination. He
forces the Christian Albanians from Soli living in high mountains between Yanya
and Parga to relocation. Tepedelenli Ali Paşa who is reflected in the novel as
a cruel governor almost makes genocide
to that Christian people. Therefore, most cities between today’s northernwest
Greece and southern Albania are mentioned
in the novel. The leading people in Berat, Delvino (Delvinaki),
Paramitya (Pramithia) and Konispolis (Konispol) swears allegiance to
Tepedelenli Ali Paşa unwillingly only to protect their community from cruelty.
Parga is the region where the Christian Albanians living in Soli keep in touch
commercially and socially. When people from Soli have controversy, the leading
ones like Boçaris and Fotos come and setle in Parga. Ohri is another region mentioned
and it remains in the frontier of today’s Macedonia.
Soliots
who live in the frontier of Greece and between the strong hills of Yanya
preserve their customs and traditions since they live in a geography not
exposed to external effects. The folk dance of Soliots is played between two
people. There is no importance of the gender of pair. The folk dances mentioned
in the novel of Arnavutlar ve Solyotlar
is similar to the Greek folk dances.
“Grasping is organized by hand to hand or belt to belt or handling the ends of
handkerchief. Sometimes, performers don’t align like circle, they constitute a
curved line. Then, no matter male or female, the most adept performer stands
ahead of everyone shaking the handkerchief in his or her hand and saying
couplets. After then, everyone repeats the chorus of these couplets.” (Ahmet
Mithat Efendi, 2002: 60)
The main
topic of the Albanians-Soliots novel
is the name of the nation. Many ethnic, religious and cultural features of Soliots
are sprinkled in the novel. The warrior and cruel personality of Tepedelenli
Ali Pascha created internal chaos and could hardly beat Soliots which is reflected
as a hero nation. Soliots are Albanians that the teller sees as from “Soli”.
Soli, which is a region among the sharp rocks in the northwest of Greece, is
depicted by the novelist in this way (Ahmet Mithat 2002: 29) Consisting
of 4 villages including 560 houses Soliots live among mountains hard to reach.
The language of Soliots, who are Albanians, is Albanian. Since they are
Christian, they know the Greek language because of they religion. So according
to the sayings of Ahmet Mithat Efendi in Arnavutlar-Solyotlar,
Soliot nation is Christian Albanians.
In Ahmet Mithat Efendi’s Arnavutlar-Solyotlar
novel, an important place is taken for Newroz and Hıdırellez (Spring Festival).
Since newroz is more suitable for Iran’s climate and the effect of winter
continues in the geography in northwest (İstanbul and the Balkans), Hıdırellez
festival, which is held in the early May, is more common. The importance of
Hıdırellez in Albania and in the Balkans described in the novel in this way (Ahmet Mithat Efendi,
2002: 71). Eating lamb meat is seemed equal to sin before Hıdırellez. The meat
diet which is continuing for a few months is finished and on that day some
elite people cook lamb meat and offer to people. During Hıdırellez festival
bagpipe, drum and clarion is used as instruments.
Everything
like rings, jewellaries and gem stones belonging to girls are put in an
earthenware one day before
Hıdırellez. The next day while taking things from the earthenware beside the
young rosewood, various poems are read. The poem is seemed as the fate of the
girl who owns the thing that is taken from the earthenware.
Easter
holiday is celebrated other than Hıdırellez festivals among Soliots. About
Easter, which is a part of Christian culture, it is said that only festival is
celebrated and everybody danced “hora”( round dance) as couples(Ahmet Mithat
Efendi, 2002: 67). People living in Soli never harm people they have danced.
3.TURFANDA MI YOKSA TURFA MI?
(1892)
At last of part of Mizancı Murat‘s novel called Turfanda mı Yoksa Turfa mı?, Şıpka
struggles occurred during the war of 93 are mentioned. A war breaks out between
Turkish and Russian army to have Şıpka passage situated in the middle of
today’s Bulgaria. Mansur, working as a doctor in the army, writes the events
experienced by him to Zehra Hanım. He tells the Şıpka passage war in his letter
like that: “The strait way which takes hours to reach from one end to the other
end is like a mud mixed with people’s meat and cloth” (Mizancı Murat 2008:
317). On this occation, İsveti Nikola Hill, Gabrova, Tiraya Strait, Aline,
Plevne, Servi Plain and Kızanlık in Bulgaria is mentioned in the novel.
4.YERYÜZÜNDE BİR MELEK (1879)
A
significant part is allocated to the Balkan lands in the novels written by
Ahmet Mithat Efendi in Tanzimat period novels. The biography of Ahmet Mithat
Efendi is influential in this without a doubt. Because, Ahmet MithatEfendi who
misses his father spends his first adolescence years in the Balkans. He has
been Vidin, Niş and Sofya. In the novel
called Yeryüzünde Bir Melek, Şefik is
a doctor. He is sent to prison in Vidin as a result of neighbours
who see Şefik and Raziye in a house together. It is reached to Vidin by using
the overland route of Edirne and Filibe. He reaches to Vidin in three and a
half months (Ahmet Mithat Efendi 2000b: 212). It is pointed out that Danube of Vidin
is constructed and because of the overflow of Danube, the malaria disease turns
to epidemic. It is also pointed out Paspanoğlu Palace attracting attention in the city. The prison
that Şefik stays is so bad that it is not different than toilet. Şefik turns to
İstanbul after he completes his sentence. The novelist also gives information
about the return route: The return route of Şefik from Vidin is told to readers
with this sayings: “ If staying and rest in Niğbolu, Plevne, Tırnova and Filibe
is taken into account, twenty-seventh
day of his exit from Vidin when he reached to Edirne…”
(Ahmet Mithat Efendi 2000b: 245). Then, Ahmet Mithat Efendi transfers the
Balkan geography to his novel in Yeryüzünde
Bir Melek.
5.CONCLUSION
The
Balkan cities and culture mentioned in Tanzimat period novels are not only
trapped to the regions separated by today’s borders. All of the Greeks,
Albanians, Bulgarians, Gipsies and Turks lives in the whole Balkans together. Administrative
organisations doesn’t exactly reflect the society anytime. How much the borders
determined in ancient Rome is closed to the reality, today’s borders of the
Balkans reflect the reality at the same extent. In Tanzimat period novelty, the
most mentioned Balkan geographies are a big triangle constituted by today’s border of Albania, Macedonia and
Greece. The culture and life of people living in this triangle is especially
mentioned in Ahmet Mithat Efendi’s Gönüllü
and Arnavutlar ve Solyotlar novels.
Ahmet Mithat Efendi who doesn’t neglect any society living in the Ottoman
geography gives comprehensive information mostly about the way of life of the
Greek and Albanian people in his novels. The Balkan geography is mentioned in Mizancı Murat’s Turfanda mı Yoksa Turfa mı and
Ahmet Mithat Efendi’s Yeryüzünde
Bir Melek novels, too.
The
Balkan region is narrated in realist depictions and information about social,
political and economic ways of life of people is given in these novels. The knife cleaning
ceramonies, superstitions, bravery; geographic, economic, social and politic
life are expressed in the atmosphere of 19th century. The most important
subject attracting attention in the novel is that the reason of bitter existing
in the Balkans is attributed to external powers that interfere in the way of life of people. It is mentioned
Greece, Albania an Bulgaria cities in Tanzimat period novels, especially. Mostly,
town life is narrated in the novels. The characteristic feature of the novels is
that the rural life depends on livestock. It has been found that selected
regions as living area are usually sheltered and high. The Greeks and Russians,
the Turks and Albanians battle with each other in the Balkan geography
mentioned in 19th century Turkish novels. Therefore, Christian- Muslim conflict
is dominant in this lands in 19th
century. Great sorrow is usually experienced in these mentioned wars, the
societies come to the point of extinction. It is revealed that the politic
struggles are exterminated elements of nature and people. Particularly,
experiencing extensive relocation and migration events because of changing
frontiers is a characteristic feature exsisting in Tanzimat period novels.
6.REFERRENCES
Ahmet Mithat
Efendi, (2000a), Cinli Han, Taaffüf, Gönüllü,
Pre. Necat Birinci, Ali Şükrü Çoruk, Erol Ülgen, Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları,
Ankara
Ahmet Mithat
Efendi (2000b), Yeryüzünde Bir Melek,
Pre. Nuri Sağlam, Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları, Ankara
Ahmet Mithat
Efendi (2002), Arnavutlar Solyotlar,
Demir Bey Yahut İnkişâf-ı Esrâr, Fennî Bir Roman Yahut Amerika Doktorları,
Pre. Nuri Sağlam-M.Fatih Andı, Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları, Ankara
BELGE (2009),
Murat, PARLA, Jale, Balkan Literatures in
the Era of Nationalism, İstanbul Bilgi University Press, İstanbul.
DEMİR
(2009), Ayhan, “Kılıçla alındı, Kalemle Verildi”, Milli Gazete, 17 Temmuz 2009.
KORKMAZ,
Ferhat (2010), “Ahmet Mithat Efendi’nin Romanları ve Romancılığı (1874-1884)”,
Yayımlanmamış Doktora Tezi, Dicle Üniversitesi: Diyarbakır
MARUSHİAKOVA(2006),Elena-POPOV,
Vasselin, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nda
Çingeneler, çev.Bahar Tırnakcı, Homer Kitabevi, İstanbul.
MİZANCI MURAD
(2008), Turfanda mı Yoksa Turfa mı?,
Özgür Yayınları, İstanbul.
ÖLMEZ (2009),
Adem, “1897 Osmanlı-Yunan Savaşı’nda Epir Cephesinin Savaşın Sonucuna
Etkileri”, Şarkiyat İlmi Araştırmalar Dergisi, S.1, ss.81-88.
ŞİROKORAD
(2009), A. B., Rusların Gözünden 240 Yıl
Kıran Kırana Osmanlı-Rus Savaşları, Kırım-Balkanlar-93 Harbi ve Sarıkamış,
Çev. D. Ahsen Batur, Selenge Yayınları,
İstanbul.
TİMUR (2004),
Kemal, “Ahmet Midhat Efendi’nin “Arnavutlar Solyotlar” Adlı Romanında
Hızır-İlyas Günleri ve Nevruz Bayramı”, İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat
Fakültesi Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı Dergisi, XXXI, 337-343
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