Selahattin, 18 or 19-years old, kept a diary during
the closing months of his last year of high school
in Sivas (1933), his time at home in Tokat and
his first year at Istanbul University's medical
school (1934).
The diary contains fascinating glimpses of life
in central Anatolia and Istanbul at that time.
Selahattin's train ride to Istanbul and his return
on a Black Sea ferry are both equally interesting
and exciting, especially for a first-time traveler
like Selahattin.
The main theme of the diary, though, is the young
man's unrequited love for a beautiful girl named
Cemile, whom he pursues relentlessly but never
actually talks to. (!)
Herewith, TNT presents Selahattin's Diary, as
translated to English from the original Ottoman.//
----------------------------------------------------------------
Selahattin's diary
The Diary of Selahattin of Tokat (1933-1934)
Wednesday, 1 March 1933
Nothing of importance.
Thursday, 2 March 1933
I went to the bath in the morning. We stayed at the coffee
house until noon. Şemsi, Namık and I played ‘bum’.
After lunch we went to the movies: Monte Carlo was under
a bomb attack. The film was quite good but since we don’t
know French we couldn’t understand anything. I wrote
letters to my father and Hamdi.
Friday, 4 March 1933
The weather was cloudy in the morning, with a very cold
wind blowing. With great difficulty, we made it to the
coffee house. For the first time, we turned a ?göl?. In the
afternoon we went to the cinema but we couldn’t find any
empty seats. We had to stand on the side. She was next to
the heater. Although I kept looking at her she only looked
at me twice.
Saturday, 5 March 1933
I went to Ziraat Bank to get some money and then we
played ‘bum’ at the coffee house until evening.
Sunday, 5 March 1933
I got permission to go out in the afternoon for a shave,
together with Namık. We played games at the coffee house
until evening. The Principal, Fuad Bey, Hazım Bey and an
intern came for a second inspection in the evening. They
put us all off to one side and searched our drawers. They
only found a ‘joker’ in Şemsettin’s drawer. We were very
glad to have dodged a major bullet. Nevertheless, since
we haven’t fully escaped the administration’s scrutiny
we’re still pretty worried.
They didn’t notice during the second inspection that Kemal,
Fuad and Şemsi had just come from the coffee house.
Monday, 6 March 1933
Despite yesterday’s scare, we went back to the coffee house
this afternoon. We played ‘bum’ and I won at poker. I was
quite unnerved when we ran into our physics teacher on the
way back to school in the evening.
Tuesday, 7 March 1933
For the first time in a week, we got in trouble. In the
morning we asked for permission to go to the bath but
because Selim had gone to the bath without permission
yesterday we were refused. I started to read ‘Calıkkuşu’
for the second time and I really like it.
Wednesday, 8 March 1933
I finished ‘Çalıkkuşu’. I got a letter from my father but the
contents were quite unnerving so to avoid any further
distress I ripped it up. Today the mathematics teacher
didn’t show up for two classes. In the first one attendance
wasn’t taken and the other one was canceled. After the
last class, we played ‘harab’ at the coffee house. I won.
When we went back to school attendance was taken. In
order to have our names erased, I went to see Fuad Bey
with Namık. After having a laugh at our expense, Fuad
Bey scolded us for coming without a shave and he
wondered whether we had a good excuse for coming late
or were we just reverting to our old bad habits. We were
really quite upset by this.
Thursday, 9 March 1933
We got permission in the morning to go to the bath. After
playing ‘bum’ at the coffee house for a while, we got a
shave. In the evening we went to the movies and saw
‘High Time’. I liked the girl singer a lot.
Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), seated center, and
delegates of the Congress of Sivas in early
September 1919. The building pictured is
Selahattin's high school, where the congress
was held.
Friday, 10 March 1933
The weather was quite nice today. We strolled around a bit
after lunch. Namık told Şemsi to come to the Girls
Teachers High School, where his older sister is. A girl lost
her balance and laughed as I saw her coming toward me.
There was lots of laughing at Namık’s hijinks but we were
all quite shy with the girls. After quite a bit of laughing we
went to the movies. My girl, her sister and a friend were
sitting by the heater. The usher let us sit by them. With
great excitement, I looked at her lovely face, and looked
again. When her treacherous eyes that have captured me
so met mine, I had to grab Namık’s arm for support. After
this incident, I got the idea to pursue her again. I swore to
Namık in class that from now on I would take advantage
of the good weather.
Saturday, 11 March 1933
The weather was cloudy. After the last class, we went for
a stroll toward Bezirci. Going and coming I saw her next
to the flower pot at her house, looking toward the street.
Sunday, 12 March 1933
The weather was terrible. We went to the coffee house in
the afternoon. With difficulty, we came back to school.
Monday, 13 March 1933
The weather was bad again. In the afternoon we went
to the coffee house.
Tuesday, 14 March 1933
The snow at night continued till morning. Since I wasn’t
able to sleep during the night I didn’t want to get up in the
morning. Namık and I didn’t get up all day. During his
rounds in the dormitory, the geography teacher at first
didn’t notice Namık hiding in his bed. But then he did. I
intervened to say that Namık might be going to ‘Mülkiye’
(Istanbul University school for civil servants) and Namık
said they were eager to have him come. I said some more
nice things and we had a good laugh. I read ‘?Akipiniye?’.
Wednesday, 15 March 1933
Again we couldn’t get up in the morning. We were
disappointed that there was snow everywhere. İbrahim
was sick in the dormitory. When the doctor came to
examine him Namık and I ducked out so the doctor
wouldn’t see us.
I wrote a letter to my father about my dire situation. Let’s
see if I get a response. I also asked for money. We got
dressed in the afternoon and got permission to go to the
coffee house.
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder