100 YEARS OF TURKEY ON DISPLAY IN TOPHANE

Hurriyet
/n.php?n=100-years-of-turkey-on-display-in-tophane -2010-01-11
Jan 12 2010
Turkey

The owner of Bir Zamanlar Publishing House, Osman Köker, and one
of the founders of Anadolu Kultur, Osman Kavala, reveal the 100-year
adventure of ‘Jamanag’ (Time), the oldest newspaper in Turkish press
history. Köker and Kavala open an exhibition displaying historical
documents and photos at the Tutun Deposu in Istanbul’s Tophane district

(A photo from the exhibition shows two men working the paper’s old
printing press.)

A project to organize an exhibition about the Armenian daily "Jamanag"
(Time) newspaper has overcome stumbling blocks to celebrate the
century-long history of Turkey’s oldest press organization.

The 102-year-old paper has published all incidents in the history
of Turkey since the fall of the Ottoman Empire, World War I and the
founding of the Turkish Republic.

The owner of Bir Zamanlar Publishing House, Osman Köker, and one
of the founders of the civil-society organization Anadolu Kultur,
Osman Kavala, joined forces two years ago to carry out a project
related to the paper. As part of this, they decided to organize an
exhibition featuring the history of Jamanag.

But there was a bad surprise in store for the team: The newspaper’s
administration disposed of its archive in the early 1970s.

The archive was found at the State Library in Beyazıt, where a team
led by Köker has conducted research for two years, uncovering hundreds
of documents, photographs and other pieces of information.

All historical material found during the research process is now on
display as part of the exhibition "Turkiye’de Yuzyıllık Bir Ermenice
Gazete" (A 100-Year-Old Armenian Newspaper in Turkey), which opened
last Saturday at the Tutun Deposu in Istanbul’s Tophane district and
will run through Jan. 21.

"The paper may be an Armenian one, but it was not limited only to
Armenian society. It has an Ottoman philosophy; it appeals to all
sections of society," said Köker.

Many firsts

The newspaper initiated many things in Turkey’s press history,
including holding the title of the first newspaper to run promotions.

It was also the most preferred paper for advertisements within the
borders of the empire.

Speaking about the founders of the paper, the brothers Misak and Sarkis
Kocunyan, Köker said: "The newspaper was entrusted to Mr. Misak in
the field of reporting. Mr. Sarkis was responsible for promotion and
advertisements. He was a very experienced name in that field."

According to Köker, the newspaper was founded around the time of the
fall of Sultan Abdulhamid II’s oppressive regime. "With Abdulhamid
gone, there were many movements in the political field," he said. "The
number of publications increased during this period. Lots of newspapers
and magazines began to be published. Jamanag was one of them."

A part of Turkish press history

Even though Jamanag was published in Armenian, Köker called it a part
of Turkish press history, adding that anyone searching the paper’s
archive could see the truth of this statement. "In this exhibition,
we reveal the last 100 years of Turkey with 100 [pieces of] headline
news," he said. "There are many surprises waiting for visitors in
the exhibition."

K̦ker has compiled his research in three parts Рthe Ottoman period,
the early years of the Turkish Republic and the present day – examining
the newspaper in each era.

"In the first period, Armenian society was active in politics, like
all Ottoman people," he said. "This began to decrease in 1915 and
in the Republic period it fell behind politics. In the present time,
it follows a broadcasting policy regarding its own society."

Paper was punished for execution photos

Based on historical data in newspaper clippings, Köker said Jamanag
had a very active news policy during its first years. "Eight people
were sentenced to death in 1913 for political reasons. A notification
was sent to Istanbul’s Babıali district, where the heart of Turkish
press was beating, [telling journalists] not to publish execution
photos," he said. "None of the newspapers but Jamanag dared to
publish them."

According to Köker, Jamanag ceased publication following this brave
act, and changed its name to "Herazsayn" (Telephone). "But the new
paper’s edition number was the continuation of the previous one,"
he said. "They wrote ‘3,000th edition’ on the first page of the paper.

When the ban was lifted, it returned to its former name, Jamanag."

Alternative look at official history

For the last five years, Köker has been carrying out research on
the life of Armenians and Greeks in Turkey throughout history. He has
been publishing books and opening exhibitions that travel to various
metropolitan areas around the world.

"Turkey’s multicultural structure in the past is my area of interest,"
Köker said, explaining why he conducted such extensive research on
the Armenian and Greek communities. "Beyond the official history,
I want to present a different alternative to our people. They need
to know how people lived on this Earth in the past."