The struggle over Turkish Village coffeehouses (1923-45)

Middle Eastern Studies

Volumn 44, Issue 3, 2008, Pages 435-454

  Ozturk, Serdar ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

OTTOMAN EMPIRE; RURAL HISTORY; TWENTIETH CENTURY; VILLAGE;

EURASIA; TURKEY;

EID: 46749154274     PISSN: 00263206     EISSN: 17437881     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/00263200802021590     Document Type: Article

References (151)

1. D. Quataert, Osmanli ̇ Imparatorluǧu 1700-1922, Trans. A. Berktay (̇ Istanbul: ̇ letişim, 2003), p.233
2. S. Türkoglu, 'The Traditional Turkish Coffee', Skylife (October 1996), pp.8-12.
3. E. Işin, 'A Social History of Coffee and Coffeehouse', in S. Özpalabiyiklar (ed.), Coffee, Pleasures Hidden in A Bean (̇Istanbul: Yapi Kredi, 2001), p.25.
4. Historians have given much attention to the role of co.eehouses in English political life during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. See for example J. Barrell, 'Coffee-House Politicians', Journal of British Studies, Vol.34, No.2 (2004), pp.206-32
5. H. Berry, 'An Early Coffee House Periodical and Its Readers: The Athenian Mercury, 1691-1697', London Journal, Vol.25, No.1 (2000), pp.14-33
6. S.B. Dobranski, "Where Men of Differing Judgements Croud": Milton and the Culture of the Coffee Houses', Seventeenth Century, Vol.9, No.1 (1994), pp.35-56
7. M. Ellis, The Coffee House: A Cultural History (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004)
8. and J. Money, 'Taverns, Coffee Houses and Clubs', Historical Journal Vol.14, No.1 (1971), pp.15-47. Coffeehouses had played a major role during the French Revolution, for example.
9. See, e.g., H. Cunow, 'Pariser Kaffeehausleben während der grossen Französischen Revolution', Die Neue Zeit, Vol.41-I (1923), pp.413-18
10. and W.S. Haine, The World of the Paris Café. Sociability among the French Working Class, 1789-1914 (Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University, 1996).
11. C. Kirli, 'The Struggle Over the Space: Co.eehouses of Ottoman Istanbul, 1780-1845' (Ph.D., Binghamton University, 2000), p.7.
12. Topics in chapbooks included romance, acts of heroism and rebellions against landlords. Folk stories in chapbooks were also sometimes told by a minstrel, who sang or told the story accompanied by a stringed musical instrument called a saz. Folk story telling has always been one of the favourite entertaintments of Anatolian coffeehouses both during the Ottoman Empire and early Republic. For a detailed study of chapbooks see P.N. Boratav, Halk Hikayeleri ve Halk Hikayeciliǧi (Ankara: Milli Eǧitim Basimevi, 1946)
13. O. Spies, Türk Halk Kitaplari, Trans. B. Gönül (Istanbul: Eminönü Halkevi Neşriyati, 1946)
14. I. Başg_fdoz, 'Turkish Folk Stories about the Lives of Minstrels', The Journal of American Folklore, No.258 (1952), pp.331-9.
15. Some comparative observations on the gendered geography of private and public spheres in the Mediterranean and the Near East can be found in E.R. Wolf, 'Society and Symbols in Latin Europe and in the Islamic Near East', Anthropological Quarterly, Vol.42, No.3 (1969), pp.287-301
16. and in R.R. Reiter, 'Men and Women in the South of France: Public and Private Domains', in R.R. Reiter (ed.), Toward an Anthropology of Women (New York and London: Monthly Review Press, 1975), pp.252-82.
17. B.W. Beeley 'The Turkish Village Co.eehouse as a Social Institution', Geographical Review (October 1970), p.476.
18. Ibid., p.482.
19. H. Avni, 'Köy Bakkallari ve Kahveleri', Yurt ve Dünya, Vol.13 (1941), p.11.
20. M.E. Meeker, Nation of Empire: The Ottoman Legacy of Turkish Modernity (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002), p.352.
21. K.H. Karpat, The Gecekondu: Rural Migration and Urbanization (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976), p.132.
22. I.H. Tonguç, Canlandirilacak Köy (̇ Istanbul: Remzi Kitabevi, 1939), p.69.
23. 'Köy Kahveleri', Köye Doǧru, Vol.17 (1941), p.3.
24. Neighbourhood co.eehouses are mentioned when useful, but the focus is upon village coffeehouses as a discussion of neighbourhood and literary co.eehouse uses is too large and complex to include here. There is very little information about any type of coffeehouse during the early Republic of Turkey (1923-45) but more recent work by François Georgeon ('Osmanli ̇ Imparatorluǧu'nun Son Döneminde ̇ Istanbul Kahvehaneleri', in H. Desmet-Gregoire and F. Georgeon (eds.), Doǧu'da Kahve ve Kahvehaneler (Ankara: Yapi Kredi, 1999), p.80)
25. and Uǧur Kömeçoǧlu ('Historical and Sociological Approach to Public Space: The Case of Muslim/Islamic Coffeehouses in Turkey' (Ph.D., Boǧazici University, 2001)) has touched upon the subject and Serdar Öztürk ('Cumhuriyetin ̇ Ilk Yillarinda Asri Kahvehaneler', Toplumsal Tarih, No.126 (2004), pp.84-9) has investigated aspects of it. These studies, however, are neither about village co.eehouses nor detailed examinations of other types. Although Georgeon's study does not deal with village coffeehouses, it does speculate that during the first part of the Republic coffeehouses declined, suggesting that they lost their importance and popularity with the public. According to him when the capital was moved from ̇ Istanbul to Ankara in 1923 there occurred a decrease in ̇ Istanbul's importance as well as a decline in the importance of neighbourhood co.eehouses. It was in ̇ Istanbul's neighbourhood co.eehouses that such traditional activities as Turkish shadow theatre (karagöz) and the art of storytelling and mimicry called meddah had been performed.When the capital was moved, however, these Ottoman traditions began to disappear.
26. Republic of Turkey General Directorate of Prime Ministry State Archives-Office of Republican Archives (hereafter PRA), Catalogue No: 030..10.1.0./8.46..24., 30 December 1926.
27. There are two opposing views of the rebellion in 1925. One view claims that the rebellion, which is known the 'Sheikh Said Rebellion', had both nationalist and religious components. Martin van Bruinessen was the first scholar to address this view (M. van Bruinessen, Agha, Shaikh and State: On the Social and Political Organization of Kurdistan. Published Ph.D. Dissertation (Utrecht: Ryksuniversiteit, 1978). Some Turkish writers also favour this view. According to them, religious factors may have predominated over the nationalist one.
28. See U. Mumcu, Kurt-Islam Ayaklanmasi, 1919-1925 (Ankara: Tekin Yayinevi, 1992)
29. Y. Kalafat, Şark Meselesi Işiǧinda Şeyh Sait Olayi, Karakteri, Dönemindeki ̇ Iç ve Diş Olaylar (̇ Istanbul: Boǧaziçi Yayinlari). Others take the opposite view. According to them, nationalist motivations were more important than religious ones.
30. See R. Olson, The Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism and the Sheikh Said Rebellion: 1880-1925 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1989)
31. E. Aybars, ̇ Istiklal Mahkemeleri (̇ Izmir: ̇ Ileri, 1994)
32. M. Tunçay, Türkiye Cumhuriyetínde Tek Parti Yönetiminin Kurulmasi (Ankara: Yurt Yayinlari, 1981)
33. M. Bayrak, Kürtler ve Ulusal Demokratik Mücadeleleri (Ankara: Özge, 1993).
34. F. Ahmad, The Making of Modern Turkey (London: Routledge, 1994), p.58.
35. See also Ş.S. Aydemir, Tek Adam: Mustafa Kemal-3 (Istanbul: Remzi Kitabevi, 1966), pp.237 and 497
36. M. Sadiq, The Turkish Revolution and the Indian Freedom Movement (New Delhi,Macmillan India, 1997), pp.128-9.
37. Ahmad, The Making of Modern Turkey, pp.79-80.
38. 'Küllük Beyannamesi', Küllük, Vol.1 (1940), p.1.
39. Başbakanlik Istatistik Genel Müdürlüǧü [The Premiership Statistics General Directorate, hereafter PSGD], Köyler Istatistiǧi 1945 Anket (Ankara: Sakarya Basimevi, 1948), p.476.
40. Ibid., pp.122-3.
41. E. Akçetin, 'Anatolian Peasants in the Great Depression 1929-1933', New Perspectives on Turkey, Vol.23 (2000), pp.84-5.
42. B. Williamson, Education and Social Change in Egypt and Turkey (London: The Macmillan Company, 1987), p.95.
43. Ibid., p. 118.
44. Regarding education in Turkey, also see: S.J. Shaw and E.K. Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire, 2 vols (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1985), Vol.II, pp.385-8.
45. B. Lewis, Modern Türkiye'nin Doǧuşu (Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1998), p.277.
46. 'Giresun Panoramasi, Yeşil Giresun, 10 January 1929, p.1.
47. N. Ahmet, 'Kurslara Dair', Yeşil Giresun, 27 September 1928, p.1.
48. I. Başgdosz and H. Wilson, Türkiye Cumhuriyetinde Milli Eǧitim ve Atatürk (Ankara: Ajans Tr̈k Matbaacilik, 1968), p.118.
49. Williamson, Education and Social Change, p. 97.
50. 'Okuma Odalari Talimatnamesi', Akşam, 17 January 1930, p.3.
51. Türk Ocaklari, Türk Ocaklari Merkez, Murakabe, Ilim ve Sanat Heyetlerinin 1931 Fevkalade Kurultayina Arzedilen Raporlar ve Bilançolar (Ankara, 1931), p.4.
52. 'Okuma Odalari, Hakimiyet-i Milliye, 15 January 1932, p.2.
53. In 1935 the literacy rate in Turkish cities was about 40 per cent. In small villages this rate was about 10 per cent. Of the total population 81 per cent lived in rural areas in 1935. See TBMM Zabit Cerideleri [Turkish Grand National Assembly Report] Period: 6, Meeting: 1, Vol.10 (Ankara, 1940), p.98.
54. Literacy improved slowly, but steadily. Nevertheless disparities in literacy between urban and rural dwellers and between men and women continued. See Shaw and Shaw, History of the Ottoman, p.387.
55. A general study regarding the development of radio in modern Turkey can be found in U. Kocabaşoǧlu, TRT Öncesi Dönemde Radyonun Tarihsel Gelişimi ve Türk Siyasal Hayati Iç indeki Yeri (Ph.D., Ankara, 1978).
56. A survey about radio and television can also be found in M.T. Öngö ren, 'Radio and Television in Turkey', in R. Günsel and M. Kortepeter (eds.), The Transformation of Turkish Culture (Princeton: Kingston Press, 1986), pp.179-96.
57. CHP, 1935 Halkevleri, 103 Halkevi Geçen Yillarda Nasil Çalişti (Ankara: Ulus Basimevi, 1935), p.125.
58. CHF, Halkevleri Teşkilati, Idare ve Mesai Talimatnamesi (Ankara: Ulus Basimevi, 1932), p.19.
59. Adana Halkevi, Adana Halkevi (Adana: Ulus Basimevi, 1938), p.19. The Adana People's House is the only People's House for which documentation was found about educational activities in neighbourhood co.eehouses between 1933 and 1935.
60. Ibid., pp.19-20.
61. 'Köylerde Toplantilar Yapilacak', Son Posta, 24 December 1933, p.3.
62. Ankara Halkevi, Ankara Halkevi Bir Yil Içinde 300.000 Yurttaşi Çatisi Altinda Topladi (Ankara: Ulus Basimevi, 1935-36), p.41.
63. 'Köy Odalarinda Kütüphane Olacak', Babalik, 29 September 1938, p.1.
64. Village rooms were similar to co.eehouses, but whereas co.eehouses were commercial, village rooms were not. There were two kinds of village rooms. The first type was basically a goverment meeting room where the village council met to discuss village issues. This type of village room was set up as a requirement of the National Village Law of 1924. The second type was sponsored by notable persons in a village. By establishing a village room a person increased his prestige and in.uence over villagers and also enjoyed being recognized by them as generous. Villagers behaved respectfully toward persons who established village rooms. A person who opened a village room determined the rules of the room such as when to speak, where to sit, who was to read a chapbook or newspaper. As in village co.eehouses only men were allowed to participate. Villagers could not play cards in village rooms. Young people (usually over 15) had to listen carefully while older persons were talking or reading.
65. For detailed studies see: Beeley, 'The Turkish Village Co.eehouse as a Social Institution', pp.475-93
66. P. Stirling, Turkish Village (London: Weiden.eld and Nicolson, 1965)
67. Mediha Esenal, Geç Kalmiş Kitap: 1940'li Yillarda Anadolu Köylerinden Araş tirmalar ve Yaşadiǧim Çvreden Izlenimler (Istanbul: Sistem Yayincilik, 1999).
68. 'Çok Mükemmel Bir Hareket: Ankara Kahvehanelerine Kütüphane Konuluyor', Türk Sözü, 26 October 1938, p.1.
69. 'Ankara Halkevi Köylere Ecza Dolaplari Daǧitiyor', Ulus, 6 December 1938, p.1.
70. 'Antalya Halkevi'nin Yeniköy Gezisi', Türk Akdeniz, Vol.14 (1939), pp.11-13.
71. PRA, Catalogue No: 490 01/832 285 2., 2 March 1940.
72. Ankara Halkevi, Ankara Halkevine Bir Yil Içinde 635.501 Yurddaş Gelmiştir (Ankara: Ulus Basimevi, 1941), p.47.
73. CHP, Halkevleri ve Halkodalarinin 1942 Çalişmalari (Ankara: Ulus Basimevi, 1942), p.10
74. S. Öztürk, Cumhuriyet Türkiyesinde Kahvehane ve Iktidar (Istanbul: Kirmizi, 2006), p.226.
75. Öztürk, Cumhuriyet Türkiyesinde, pp.208-34.
76. R.N. Güntekin, Anadolu Notlari (Istanbul: Inkilap Yayinevi, no date), pp.150-51.
77. 'Köy Kahveleri', Yeşil Giresun, 15 December 1932, p.3.
78. 'Doǧru Lafa Kizmayin!', Yeni Köroǧlu, 27 January 1934, p.1.
79. For general discussions on coffeehouses see: H. Öney, Köy Ülküsü (Balikesir, 1936), p.2
80. 'Kahve ve Klüp', Son Posta, 3 March 1931, p.3
81. 'Kahvehaneler', Son Posta, 21 February 1934, p.3
82. 'Asri Kahvehaneler', Akşam, 27 March 1935, p.3
83. 'Kahvehaneler', Ulus, 24 February 1935, p.3.
84. For specific discussions on Giresun and Giresun village coffeehouses see: 'Köy Kahveleri', Yeşil Giresun, 15 December 1932, p.1
85. 'Kumar Illeti', Yeşil Giresun, 8 February 1936, p.3
86. 'Iki Dert', Yeşil Giresun, 6 June 1936, p.3
87. Süreyya Işgör, 'Giresun Görelihisar Köyü', Ülkü, No.71 (1938), pp.145-51
88. R. Korkut, 'Giresun Köyleri', Aksu, Vol.16 (1940), pp.32-6.
89. N. Ahmet, 'Hükümet Neyi Yaparsa Eyi Yapar', Yeşil Giresun 9 February 1933, p.2.
90. Ö. Türkmen, 'Trabzon Köyleri', Ülkü, Vol.19 (1934), pp.158-60.
91. Güntekin, Anadolu Notlari, p.150.
92. PRA, Catalog No: 030..10.1.0./145.36.M.14., 3 February 1936.
93. Information about the closing of village co.eehouses of the province of Giresun is based on research done in national and local newspapers and PRA. The research uncovered references to closings to only a few other provinces, but this does not mean that such closings did not occur elsewhere or that information about them does not exist either in other documents or newspapers, or in collections of local newspapers of the time.
94. Kirli, The Struggle Over the Space, p.24.
95. PSGD, pp.122-3.
96. For a detailed discussion of the modern coffeehouse project see Öztürk, Cumhuriyet Türkiyesinde, pp.109-271
97. Öztürk, 'Cumhuriyetin Ilk Yillarinda', pp.88-9.
98. S. Öztürk, 'Cumhuriyetin Ilk Yillarinda Asri Kahvehaneler', Toplumsal Tarih, 126 (2004), pp.88-9.
99. Williamson, Education and Social Change, p.96.
100. See: K. Boratav, Türkiye Iktisat Tarihi (1908-1985) (Istanbul: Gerçek, 1998)
101. Türkiye'de Devletçilik (Ankara, 1982)
102. Ç. Keyder, The Definition of Peripheral Economy: Turkey 1923-1929 (Cambridge and London: Cambridge University Press, 1981).
103. S. Yerasimos, Az Gelişmişlik Sürecinde Türkiye, Trans. B. Kuzucu, 3 vols. (Istanbul: Murat Yayincilik, 1976), p.1308.
104. Ibid., p.1287
105. 'Findik ve Giresun', Yeşil Giresun, 30 June 1932, p.3.
106. 'Findiklarimizi da Deǧerlendireceǧiz', Ulus, 27 September 1935, p.1.
107. 'Findik Kongresi', Ulus, 10 October 1935, p.2.
108. 'Türk Findiǧi Dünyanin En _Iyi Findiǧi Olacak', Ulus, 17 October 1935, p.5.
109. M.I.Z. 'Findiǧin ve Sen', Yeşil Giresun, 31 July 1930, p.2.
110. Avcuoǧlu, 'Is Yokluǧu, Para Darliǧi', Yeşil Giresun, 20 November 1932, p.2.
111. N. Ahmet, "Hükümet Neyi Yaparsa Eyi Yapar", Yeşil Giresun 9 February 1933, p.2.
112. 'Alinyoma'da Işik Spor Kulübü', Yeşil Giresun, 8 February 1936, p.1
113. 'Onyedi Mayis Pazar Günü Köy Spor Kulüpleri Geliyor', Yeşil Giresun, 9 May 1936, p.2
114. 'U̧ç Köyde Spor Kulübü', Yeşil Giresun, 22 May 1936, p.3.
115. Yiǧit Akin, "Not Just A Game: Sports and Physical Education in Early Republican Turkey (1923- 51)' (Masters Thesis, Boǧaziçi University, 2003), p.178.
116. H.i Çinar, 'Köy Spor Kulüpleri', Yeşil Giresun, 18 April 1936, p.3.
117. S. Sirri, Köy Mekteplerinde Beden Terbiyesi (Istanbul, 1933), p.5.
118. 'Giresun Panoramasi', Yeşil Giresun, 22 February 1936, p.1.
119. 'Büyük Spor Şenlikleri', Yeşil Giresun, 4 April 1936, p.1.
120. A. Özden, 'Köy Spor Kulüpleri', Yeşil Giresun, 18 April 1936, p.2.
121. M. Tunçay, 'Kumarla Mücadele', Yeşil Giresun, 10 October 1936, p.2.
122. 'Kaǧit Oyunlari Yasak Edildi', Yeşil Giresun, 11 July 1936, p.1.
123. 'Kaǧit Oyunlari Yasak Edildi', Yeşil Giresun, 19 September 1936, p.3.
124. 'Köylerdeki Kahvehaneleri Kapatmak Lazimdir!', Tan, 25 November 1935, p.2.
125. 'Tarsus'tan Aldpǧimiz Mektubu Aynen Yaziyoruz', Yeni Mersin, 13 June 1935, p.3.
126. 'Ceyhanda Köy Kanununun Temin Ettiǧi Iyilikler', Türk Sözü, 25 March 1936, p.3.
127. Mehmet Selçuk, 'Ceyhan Köylerinde Kumar Artiyor', Yeni Mersin 7 May 1943, p.3
128. 'Ceyhan Haberleri', Türk Sözü 4 April 1937, p.2.
129. Korkut, 'Giresun Köyleri', pp.32-6.
130. 'Adapazari Köylerinin Kahveleri Okuma Odasi Haline Konuluyor', Son Posta, 24 July 1937, p.3.
131. CHP, 1939'da Halkevleri (Ankara, 1939), p.26.
132. 'Köylerde Kahvehane Yasak!', Tan, 20 March 1939, p.1.
133. V. Nureddin, 'Köy Kahveleri', Akşam, 21 February 1940, p.3.
134. 'Mersin'de Içki Yasak Edildi', Tasviri Efkar, 17 October 1943, p.3.
135. 'Köy Kalkinma Hamlesi', Son Posta, 29 April 1944, p.3.
136. 'Sindirgi' da Fazla Kahve Açiliyor', Son Posta, 4 April 1944, p.2.
137. 'Bursa Köylerinde Kalkinma', Köye Doǧru, Vol.29 (1941), p.9.
138. 'Mersin'de Içki Yasak', Tasviri Evkar, 26 June 1943, p.2
139. 'Mersin'de Içki ve Iskambil Yasak', Son Posta, 26 June 1943, p.3.
140. 'Dikkatler', Yeni Mersin, 20 June 1944, p.2.
141. PSGD, p.136.
142. 'Köy Odalari', Türk Sözü, 28 January 1941, p.2.
143. Selçuk, 'Ceyhan Köylerinde Kumar Artiyor', p.3.
144. M. Selçuk, 'Ceyhan Köylerinde Okuma Odalari Açiliyor', Yeni Mersin, 9 May 1943, p.3.
145. B. Boran, 'Halk Okuma Odalari', Yurt ve Dünya, Vol.10 (1941), p.10.
146. M. Mann, The Sources of Social Power, 2 vols. (London: Cambridge University, 1998), Vol.II, p.59.
147. Ibid., p.9
148. J.C. Scott, 'Everyday Forms of Resistance', in F.D. Colburn (ed.), Everday Forms of Peasant Resistance (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1989), pp.3-33.
149. J.C. Scott, 'Resistance Without Protest and Without Organization: Peasant Opposition to the Islamic Zakat and the Christian Tithe', Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol.29, No.3 (1987), p.419.
150. M. Metinsoy, 'Wars Outside the War: The Social Impact of the Second World War on Turkey' (Master's Thesis, Boǧaziçi University, 2004), p.23.
151. Ibid., p.138.