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VINTAGE POSTCARDS TELL ABOUT CULTURE
Vercıhan Zıflıoğlu
Turkish Daily News
April 17 2008
A historical study of vintage postcards by researcher Osman Koker
sheds light on the daily lives of Armenians who lived in Anatolia
a century ago. Old postcards showing Armenian orphanages, schools,
monasteries and churches, constitute unique primary sources on the
history of Turkey's Armenian community
Postcards have been an important means of communication since the
early 20th century. They have carried evidence of different cultures
and lifestyles from one corner of the world to another. Today vintage
postcards constitute a unique source of information about life in
the past for art collectors and researchers.
Researcher Osman Koker decided in the late 1990s to conduct a study
of Armenians in Anatolia during the Ottoman Empire. Speaking to
the Turkish Daily News, Koker explained his desire to study such a
historical topic, "My daughter was given a text about the history of
Tokat, a province in northern Turkey, as homework. All the sources we
scanned said that Tokat had always been a Turkish province throughout
history. But how could that be? We Turks entered Anatolia in 1071."
What Koker aimed to do was to break the rigidities the official
Turkish history taught to students in all state schools and many
of private ones. Koker began his study with a 4,000-piece private
postcard collection owned by collector Orlando Carlo Calumeno. During
his examinations of Calumeno's huge archive, Koker discovered a total
of 700 postcards reflecting the social life of Armenians living in
Anatolia from 1895-1914.
After paying Calumeno copyright fees for the postcards, Koker
gathered all his sources, complied, edited them and decided to have
them published as a book. However, things did not go as he hoped. He
faced problems in publishing his study and so, with his own financial
resources, founded Birzamanlar Publications in 2005 and published
his book, titled "100 Yıl Once Turkiye'de Ermeniler," or Armenians
in Turkey 100 Years Ago." A second edition was published last week
Book in three languages
Koker's book has been published in Turkish, English and German. The
postcards used in the book were exhibited in Turkey, Germany and
France in recent years and they will be moved to Europe for display
in fall 2008. The exhibition will also travel to Armenia.
"My aim is not only to write history. This is a kind of cultural
activity," said Koker. "I have been writing about Armenians in various
newspapers and journals for many years. Therefore, the topic is one
of my special areas of interest." Koker said, and pointed out the
significance of such a study for Turkey, "Turkey spends large amounts
of money for lobbying activities against the Armenian Diaspora. But
my study shows that we, here in Turkey, can speak freely on all
issues. This book is a source of prestige for Turkey."
"100 years ago was the golden age of Armenians in Anatolia. They
were at the highest level they could reach socially, culturally and
economically. And besides, we used to have a more peaceful atmosphere
a century ago. That is the reason I chose to study that era," he said.
Koker's study began with one question: In what parts of the Ottoman
Empire did Armenians live at the beginning of the 20th century?
A province-by-province and even village-by-village documentation of
the areas where Armenians lived in the Empire formed the second phase
of his project. With the help of Calumeno's postcard archive, Koker
also identified, one by one, the Armenian neighborhoods, churches,
monasteries and orphanages that existed in Anatolia at the beginning of
the 20th century. Koker even learned the Armenian language in order to
read primary and secondary sources in Armenian. All in all, his study
took four years and resulted in a qualified documentation of Armenians'
way of life at the time, from economics to the social sphere.
During his research, Koker found some 50 postcards among the postcard
collection that were sent by the same person. These dispatches outlined
an itinerant's journey, step by step. He also found several panoramic
photos of Anatolia in Calumeno's collection.
About 7,000 people have visited Koker's exhibitions since 2005.
During exhibitions held in Turkey, interesting coincidences have
taken place. "No matter whether Armenian or Turk, many people have
encountered old pictures of their hometowns during those exhibitions,"
he said. The only negative reaction to Koker's work came from a visitor
at the Tuyap Book Fair in 2005. "A visitor from Bafra, a district in
the Samsun province of Turkey, said that we filled everywhere with
Armenians. I did not reply to him and just took him to see the board
with photos and postcards showing Bafra at the time. He was shocked
by what he saw. A century-old Armenian school in one of the postcards
was the school he had attended. That person had absolutely no idea
about the history of the school where he himself had been a student
once upon a time."
-----------
Copyright 2007, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of Groong readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact Turkish Daily News Online at
http://www.TurkishDailyNews.com for details.
-----------
VINTAGE POSTCARDS TELL ABOUT CULTURE
Vercıhan Zıflıoğlu
Turkish Daily News
April 17 2008
A historical study of vintage postcards by researcher Osman Koker
sheds light on the daily lives of Armenians who lived in Anatolia
a century ago. Old postcards showing Armenian orphanages, schools,
monasteries and churches, constitute unique primary sources on the
history of Turkey's Armenian community
Postcards have been an important means of communication since the
early 20th century. They have carried evidence of different cultures
and lifestyles from one corner of the world to another. Today vintage
postcards constitute a unique source of information about life in
the past for art collectors and researchers.
Researcher Osman Koker decided in the late 1990s to conduct a study
of Armenians in Anatolia during the Ottoman Empire. Speaking to
the Turkish Daily News, Koker explained his desire to study such a
historical topic, "My daughter was given a text about the history of
Tokat, a province in northern Turkey, as homework. All the sources we
scanned said that Tokat had always been a Turkish province throughout
history. But how could that be? We Turks entered Anatolia in 1071."
What Koker aimed to do was to break the rigidities the official
Turkish history taught to students in all state schools and many
of private ones. Koker began his study with a 4,000-piece private
postcard collection owned by collector Orlando Carlo Calumeno. During
his examinations of Calumeno's huge archive, Koker discovered a total
of 700 postcards reflecting the social life of Armenians living in
Anatolia from 1895-1914.
After paying Calumeno copyright fees for the postcards, Koker
gathered all his sources, complied, edited them and decided to have
them published as a book. However, things did not go as he hoped. He
faced problems in publishing his study and so, with his own financial
resources, founded Birzamanlar Publications in 2005 and published
his book, titled "100 Yıl Once Turkiye'de Ermeniler," or Armenians
in Turkey 100 Years Ago." A second edition was published last week
Book in three languages
Koker's book has been published in Turkish, English and German. The
postcards used in the book were exhibited in Turkey, Germany and
France in recent years and they will be moved to Europe for display
in fall 2008. The exhibition will also travel to Armenia.
"My aim is not only to write history. This is a kind of cultural
activity," said Koker. "I have been writing about Armenians in various
newspapers and journals for many years. Therefore, the topic is one
of my special areas of interest." Koker said, and pointed out the
significance of such a study for Turkey, "Turkey spends large amounts
of money for lobbying activities against the Armenian Diaspora. But
my study shows that we, here in Turkey, can speak freely on all
issues. This book is a source of prestige for Turkey."
"100 years ago was the golden age of Armenians in Anatolia. They
were at the highest level they could reach socially, culturally and
economically. And besides, we used to have a more peaceful atmosphere
a century ago. That is the reason I chose to study that era," he said.
Koker's study began with one question: In what parts of the Ottoman
Empire did Armenians live at the beginning of the 20th century?
A province-by-province and even village-by-village documentation of
the areas where Armenians lived in the Empire formed the second phase
of his project. With the help of Calumeno's postcard archive, Koker
also identified, one by one, the Armenian neighborhoods, churches,
monasteries and orphanages that existed in Anatolia at the beginning of
the 20th century. Koker even learned the Armenian language in order to
read primary and secondary sources in Armenian. All in all, his study
took four years and resulted in a qualified documentation of Armenians'
way of life at the time, from economics to the social sphere.
During his research, Koker found some 50 postcards among the postcard
collection that were sent by the same person. These dispatches outlined
an itinerant's journey, step by step. He also found several panoramic
photos of Anatolia in Calumeno's collection.
About 7,000 people have visited Koker's exhibitions since 2005.
During exhibitions held in Turkey, interesting coincidences have
taken place. "No matter whether Armenian or Turk, many people have
encountered old pictures of their hometowns during those exhibitions,"
he said. The only negative reaction to Koker's work came from a visitor
at the Tuyap Book Fair in 2005. "A visitor from Bafra, a district in
the Samsun province of Turkey, said that we filled everywhere with
Armenians. I did not reply to him and just took him to see the board
with photos and postcards showing Bafra at the time. He was shocked
by what he saw. A century-old Armenian school in one of the postcards
was the school he had attended. That person had absolutely no idea
about the history of the school where he himself had been a student
once upon a time."
-----------
Copyright 2007, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of Groong readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact Turkish Daily News Online at
http://www.TurkishDailyNews.com for details.
-----------