With an increasingly busy schedule (May will be overwhelming) and CIV 7 playing, I could not find much time to unbox for a while. There is also the problem of storage. Where will I put the boxes? I am redesigning my office space and also our apartment. In the meantime, here are some findings:
1988
This is the first public media experiment I was involved with (in primary school, I created some publications I shared with nobody; I could not find them yet). Five students from Nişantaş Anadolu Lisesi published this fanzine. I do not remember why we named it Blue Diamond, but it may have something to do with the popular Blue Jean magazine. I was in charge of Heavy Metal content. The PC was a new phenomenon. One of the friends’ father’s PC was used to type the stuff.
is recognized as Turkey’s longest-running and most popular youth and music magazine. It was first published in 1987 and quickly established itself as a leading authority on music and youth culture in Turkey12. The magazine became a staple for generations of Turkish youth, offering in-depth coverage of music trends, artist interviews, pop culture, and lifestyle content.
Our high school classmates have been very active in our WhatsApp group lately, sharing old photos. Someone posted the picture above from a newspaper piece, and I recognized many familiar faces, though I’m not in this particular shot and would not be in many others. It reminded me of a moment from our English prep class years ago. While I was daydreaming, the teacher wrote ‘shy’ on the blackboard. When she asked for an example, a girl I had secretly fallen for immediately mentioned my name. I was mortified at the time, but at least I never forgot what ‘shy’ meant!”
Here is the translation of the text below the picture:
“TURKISH” PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Students of Nişantaş Anatolian High School who cannot participate in physical education classes due to lack of facilities begin their own games in the schoolyard. Some students perform “leapfrog” exercises over each other. Since physical education is still not included in some school curriculums, “Turkish physical education” has taken its place.
Well, the picture is right, but the Turkish press was, like now, in its misinformation mode. We had actually good facilities but we were also teenagers.
About that game (Uzun Eşek):
There isn’t a direct English equivalent for “uzun eşek,” but it’s usually described or translated as:
“Long Donkey” (literal translation)
“The Long Donkey Game”
Sometimes loosely compared to “leapfrog,” though they are different games.
In “uzun eşek,” one team bends over to form a “long donkey” shape, and the other team jumps onto them, trying to make them collapse.
It’s a rougher, team-based street game compared to leapfrog, which is more individual and jumping over backs without piling up.
2009
In the middle of the night, this note I found made me cry a little:
April 12, 2009, Sunday, 7:00 AM
I handed Erkan over to his friend’s car at the Ümraniye Carrefour parking lot for his trip to Kastamonu.
I emptied out the [Erkan’s] car and packed everything into this box.
My friend would take me to Kastamonu to join the mandatory military service! On my birthday, I would start an awful six-month period. Here are the posts from that time.
2004-2009?
Sometime in these years, I was honored to be a TA for Turkey’s one of the best Heidegger experts: Kaan Ökten.
We had a short-lived Heidegger reading group, and this is his Heidegger studies handbook he gave us.
1994-2001
With little money I had, I still tried to collect old books during my college years. Here is a copy of Mazhar Osman.
From the Publications of Istanbul University
Number: 140PSYCHIATRIC MEDICINE
(Tababet-i Ruhiye — an older Ottoman/Turkish phrasing)
Mazhar Osman Uzman
Professor and Director of the Psychiatry ClinicThird Edition
Booklet II
(Fasikül II)Istanbul
1947
Kader Printing House
Mazhar Osman (full name: Mazhar Osman Uzman, 1884–1951) was a pioneering Turkish psychiatrist and neurologist, best known for founding the first modern psychiatric hospital in Turkey and laying the foundations for contemporary psychiatric practice in the country135.
Born on May 5, 1884, in Sofulu (then part of the Ottoman Empire, now in Greece)157.
Graduated from the Military Medical School in 1904, starting his medical career as a doctor and assistant teacher at Gülhane Military Hospital’s Mental Health Service567.
Pursued further specialization in psychiatry and neurology in Germany, studying with renowned figures such as Alzheimer and Kraepelin in Munich, and Ziehen in Berlin356.
Became chief physician and director of the Mental Diseases Department at Haseki Hospital in 1914567.
Played a leading role in modernizing psychiatric care in Turkey, advocating for humane and scientific treatment of mental illnesses27.
In 1927, with the support of the Turkish Republic’s leadership, established the Bakırköy Mental and Nervous Diseases Hospital (Bakırköy Ruh ve Sinir Hastalıkları Hastanesi), which became the country’s first modern psychiatric hospital and a model for future institutions14579.
Appointed as Ordinary Professor at Istanbul University’s Psychiatry Clinic in 1933, becoming the only external ordinary professor at the Medical Faculty at the time235.
Founded several health associations, including the Turkish Society of Neuro-psychiatry and the Society for the Fight against Alcohol, and contributed to the creation of Turkey’s first serology, neuropathology, and experimental psychology laboratories267.
Mentored and inspired a generation of neuropsychiatrists, establishing a school of thought in Turkish psychiatry2.
Mazhar Osman’s work transformed the treatment of mental illness in Turkey, replacing traditional and often inhumane practices with modern, scientific approaches7.
The Bakırköy hospital was for a time popularly known as the “Mazhar Osman Hospital” in his honor37.
He was recognized internationally, becoming an honorary member of several prestigious medical societies67.
Mazhar Osman is remembered as a foundational figure in Turkish psychiatry, whose reforms and institutions continue to influence mental health care in Turkey today37.
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