UNIQUE COLLECTION PUTS TURKISH HISTORY ON THE AGENDA

Today’s Zaman
Nov 19 2009
Turkey

Gönel and Muhsinzade explain that they managed to find all the
diaries on display by contacting known collectors and visiting
second-hand bookshops.

A collection of Turkish diaries from over the last 100 years is
currently on display at the original location of the Ece Ajandaları
company in Asmalı Meydan, a site that has witnessed many of the most
important changes in the Turkish diary and printing industry. The
collection offers a unique glimpse into many important moments from
Turkey’s history.

Founded at Asmalı Meydan in 1909 by Mehmet Sadık Efendi, Ece
Ajandaları’s agendas have been used by a wide range of people,
including some of the country’s most important historical figures,
many of whose diaries are featured in the current show.

At the time, there were Greek-Ottoman Turkish and Armenian-Ottoman
Turkish diaries, but no completely Ottoman Turkish ones, says
Seydali Gönel, an administrator at Ece Ajandaları, in an interview
with Today’s Zaman. As the first Turkish and Muslim diary company,
coupled with the fact that its diaries were published in both the
Ottoman-Arabic alphabet and the Turkish-Latin alphabet, Ece Ajandaları
stood apart from other diaries and caught the attention of collectors,
he emphasizes. Their diaries were used by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk,
İsmet İnönu, Adnan Menderes and many other pivotal politicians
from Turkey’s history, in addition to many prominent Turkish artists.

Prepared by the third generation of the family that founded the
company, the show features 40 diaries from various periods, mainly
focusing on the early years of Ece Ajandaları’s history: the
1910s, 1920s and 1930s. Former Turkish Prime Minister Nihat Erim,
deputy Mithat Aydın, Muhiddin Arif Mardin Bey and Rubabe Ar used
Ece Ajandaları at the time, and their diaries are currently being
displayed in the show. The exhibition also includes two diaries
belonging to Nihat Erim, written in his own handwriting.

"Unfortunately we could not locate the oldest diary, published in
1910. The oldest one in the show is a black one from 1917, published in
Ottoman Turkish, and the newest is our latest design that we started
to produce this year, named ‘Avrasya,’ which brings together all our
classic qualities," says Ali Muhsinzade, an administrator at Ece
Ajandaları. Asked how they managed to find all of these diaries,
Gönel and Ali Muhsinzade explain that they contacted the known
collectors and visited many second-hand bookshops, where they found
many Ece diaries.

"Each page of these diaries tells the story of a different world. We
really hope that one day we can found a publishing house as well
and publish books based on the emotions and thoughts written on the
pages of Ece diaries," Gönen says, adding that while preparing the
show they wanted it to reflect their century-old vision. "We intended
it to reflect our humble, elegant, simple and traditional quality —
our authenticity. For this reason we did not choose a regular form of
exhibition hall. We wanted to celebrate the birthday of Ece Ajandaları
in the place where it was born 100 years ago," explains Muhsinzade.

Ece Ajandaları is now producing special collections for students,
people in the business world and even tourists visiting Ä°stanbul. The
show, titled "Gun Uzar 100 Yıl Olur" (A Day Becomes a Century),
will run until Dec. 12 at Asmalı Meydan.