Besim Atalay’ın “Maraş Tarihi ve Coğrafyası” Eserine Yönelik Tahlil ve Tenkit Yazıları
Analysis and Criticism Articles for Besim Atalay's "History and Geography of Maraş"

Summary/Abstract: Besim Atalay, who grew up in the last period of the Ottoman Empire, is one of the important intellectuals of the Republican era, which is known for his studies in language, history and theology. Besides his intellectual identity, he is an important educator and statesman. He worked as a teacher and manager in different parts of Anatolia as an educator, and served as the Director of Education in Maraş, Niğde and İçel (Silifke). Atalay, one of the most important supporters of the National Struggle, led the establishment of the Defense Societies by organizing the people in Silifke and Sivas. This article focuses on Atalay's life, struggles, civil services, studies and works. The Maras History and Geography book, which is the first work of Atalay, has a special place in terms of our cultural history compared to other works. In addition to being the first work of Atalay, this work examined the city of Maraş as multi-disciplinary. It is important to be one of the first works that illuminate the history of Maras and Anatolia by giving information about the history, geography, and socio-cultural characteristics of the region. The book attracted great attention immediately after its publication, and different editions were made on different dates. Although Besim Atalay was highly appreciated with this work, at the same time, some criticisms were written on both the author and the work. Mehmed Halid Bayri and Huseyin Namik Orkun were the leading intellectuals who wrote these writings. Our article includes criticisms made by them and evaluations are made for these criticisms.

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