Taha Toros Arşivi, Dosya Adı: Taha Torosİstanbul Kalkınma Ajansı (TR10/14/YEN/0033) İstanbul Development Agency (TR10/14/YEN/0033

Toros, Harmonie

Istanbul Sehir University Repository

Turks rediscover Ottoman entertainment during Ramadan
'The revival of Muslim and 
Ottoman traditions comes 
as Turks are feeling more 
secure with their secular, 
Western republic'
Harmonie Toros
Istanbul - The Associa ted Press
D uring the Ottoman Empire, Turks would gather to watch the characters of the 
Karagöz shadow puppet theater act 
out their often cheeky comedies, 
particularly after the sunset meal 
that marks the end of the fasting 
day during the holy month of 
Ramadan.
Now the tradition is back - after 
decades during which the puppet 
theater lost many of its spectators 
to television.
The puppets, which appear 
as silhouettes behind a screen, 
have followed a familiar formula 
that has amused Turks for cen­
turies, with a sharp-tongued illiter­
ate, an outwitted fool, and a 
drunk.
The renewal of puppeteering is part 
o f a revival of interest in Turkey’s 
Ottoman heritage. It comes amid the 
sharp growth this decade of nationalist 
and Islamic movements, which advo­
cate a return to Turkey’s Muslim and 
Ottoman roots.
After modern Turkey wras estab­
lished by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 
1923, Turks were urged to reject their 
Ottoman roots, which were seen as 
obstacles to the development of a 
modern westward-looking republic.
“They kept on pointing at the 
American model,” said Mustafa Yaşar, 
a spectator at the puppet show. “I 
have nothing against that, but we are 
a Muslim, Turkish family and we are 
happy that these traditions are coming 
back."
Günhan Danışman, a professor of 
Ottoman architectural history at 
Istanbul’s Bosphorus University, 
noted that the revival comes as Turks 
are feeling more secure with their 
secular, western republic.
"The latest generation in Turkey 
feels more comfortable with the 
republic and do not think it is in 
danger, so they don’t need to cut off 
their past,” said Danışman.
Thousands of people gather 
each day during Ramadan to 
watch the puppet shows in 
the Feshane, a former textile 
factory that once produced 
uniforms for the Ottoman
Young Karagöz apprentices display shadow puppets in Istanbul. AP Photos
army. The holy fasting month ended 
on Friday.
The Feshane also offers Ottoman 
music, acrobatic shows, and traditional 
handmade Turkish products such as 
ceramics, calligraphy and hand-woven 
carpets.
“All of our art comes from the 
Ottoman times,” said Şeyda Mutlu, 
a spokesman for the private 
company that restored and runs the 
19th century building. “And people 
love it.”
The face of 7-year-old Rüzgar
Ardivar lit up as a brightly colored 
puppet appeared behind a white 
screen, announcing “a little space 
for fun.”
Little Rüzgar is not the only one 
to see the traditional entertain­
ment for the first time. His moth­
er, Nüket, admits that she has 
never seen a live show of the tra­
ditional puppets.
During the show, puppeteers 
manipulate elaborate figures 
behind a screen. Spectators see 
the puppets’ shadows projected 
on the screen by a strong light.
Karagöz - similar to shadow 
theater tradition in Java, India, 
and Greece - is said to date back 
to before the Ottoman conquest of 
Istanbul in 1453. One legend says 
the show originated with two real 
life characters, Karagöz and 
Hacivad, who lived during the 
reign of Sultan Orhan in the 14th 
century.
The sultan ordered them exe­
cuted, angry that the two con­
struction workers had distracted 
their fellow workers with their 
humorous arguments, slowing 
down the construction of a 
mosque in the then Ottoman capi­
tal of Bursa.
The men were so sorely missed that 
inhabitants of the city made puppets 
of them from animal skin and played 
out their arguments.
The revival of the art is a relief for 
Mehmet Özden, one of three or four 
Karagöz masters still alive.
“This is popular theater. We 
need this,” said Özden, who now
has three young apprentices.
“It won’t die.”
Turkish musicians perform in a traditional Ottoman show in Istanbul. During the Ottoman Empire, Turks would gather to watch the characters of the Karagöz shadow 
puppet theater act out their often cheeky comedies, particularly after the sunset meal that marks end of the fasting day during the holy month of Ramadan Thousands of 
people gather each day during Ramadan to watch the puppet shows, acrobats and musical performances in the Feshane, a former Ottoman textile factory.
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Turks rediscover Ottoman entertainment during Ramadan

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