marascol.adm21@gmail.com The Power of Representation and the Writing of History
In Maraş, nestled in Southern Türkiye, literature lives not only on the pages of books but in the very streets of the city and the character of its people. One cannot write the history of a city through figures alone; history is truly written by those influential figures who breathe the local air and weave the “spirit of the age” into their poetry. Just like Homer or Yesevi, whose lives may be shrouded in mist but whose works illuminate centuries, the poets of Maraş carry the thousand-year heritage of an entire geography upon their shoulders. To understand a Rumi or a Yunus Emre is, in essence, to decode the vast memory of the Seljuk and Ottoman eras. Maraş literature is a treasure fed by these robust roots, holding its own key within itself.
Artistic Interaction: A Bridge from Khat to Poetry
When tracing the poets of Maraş during the Ottoman period, we encounter the reality that art was a collective movement. Hayrettin Maraşî, known as the “Master of Masters” (Üstâd-ı Esâtize) in khat (calligraphy) during the 16th century, was the figure who laid this aesthetic foundation. As the teacher of Sheikh Hamdullah, Hayrettin Maraşî initiated a brand-new school in khat. The fact that his grandson, Halili Maraşî, was a Mevlevi poet from an artistic family is a direct result of this cultural continuity. Poetry, music, khat, and illumination nourish one another; one cannot expect music to remain weak while poetry is at its peak. Hidden within Halili Maraşî’s hymns are the moral codes, Sufi perceptions, and aesthetic knowledge of the Seljuk era.
A 19th Century Cultural Heir: Hâmî Abdulgaffar Baba
The traditional line drawn from Rumi to Halili Maraşî within Maraş literature continued in the 19th century with Hâmî Abdulgaffar Baba. Abdulgaffar Baba was also a Mevlevi and taught the Masnavi at the Maraş Mevlevihane. His Divan (collection of poems) is directly linked to the cultural and philosophical connections of the Masnavi. However, limiting Gaffar Baba to Mevlevi culture alone would be insufficient; his work combines traces of the Bektashi tradition, the rindane (carefree) lyricism of Nef’î, the ghazals of Nedim, and the wisdom of Fuzulî. In this regard, Abdulgaffar Baba stands as the heir and representative of the preceding millennium, much like Sheikh Galib did in the 18th century.
The Sultan of Poets: Sünbülzâde Vehbî and the İstanbul Tradition
One of the most prominent figures in Maraş literature is Sünbülzâde Vehbî, an 18th-century poet. Achieving the title of “Sultânu’ş-Şuarâ” (Sultan of Poets) during the era of figures like Sheikh Galib is a testament to his success. Possessing a linguistic mastery profound enough to write a Persian dictionary, Vehbî used the Turkish language with great sensitivity and commanded literary arts with mastery. Another significant tradition beginning with Vehbî is that of poets receiving their initial education in Maraş before moving to İstanbul.
İstanbul has always been the ultimate centre where poets wished to compete with the masters of the word. Every literary figure born in Maraş who later gravitated towards cultural centres like İstanbul or Ankara is considered a follower of the tradition initiated by Vehbî—a “grandchild of Vehbî.”
Two Main Channels: The Lines of Rumi and Yunus Emre
The lines of Rumi and Yunus Emre, which have flowed through Turkish literature since the Seljuk era, create a perfect synthesis in the poets of Maraş. The “Palace Literature” line, stretching from Rumi to Halili Maraşî, Vehbî, and Gaffar Baba, carries a high-level, complex language and intellectual depth. On the other hand, the line reaching from Yunus Emre to Karacaoğlan and Maraşizâde Ahmet Kuddûsî utilises the simplest and most local possibilities of Turkish. Kuddûsî Baba draws inspiration from Yunus Emre while also nourishing his work with the regional expressions unique to Maraş writers. Interestingly, figures like Kuddûsî and Gaffar Baba united the traditions of Rumi and Yunus Emre within the concept of “Wahdat al-Wujud” (Unity of Being).
Defining the Boundaries of Folk Poetry: Karacaoğlan
Karacaoğlan, the most influential figure of the 17th century, defined the structure, aesthetics, and lyricism of âşık (minstrel) literature. His poems bear the traces of a collective social activity rather than a solitary one; they reached their most perfect form by circulating in the language of the people. Karacaoğlan placed the geography of Maraş—mountains like Ahır, Berit, Başkonuş, and the Ceyhan River—at the centre of his poetry. Minstrels of Maraş learned love and nature from Karacaoğlan, and the spirit of struggle and defiance against authority from Dadaloğlu. These two veins (love and struggle) found new life in modern figures such as Abdurrahim Karakoç and Âşık Mahzunî Şerif, who carried folk poetry to a point of national representation.
The Sultan of the Modern Era: Necip Fazıl Kısakürek
Another “Sultânu’ş-Şuarâ” from Maraş, Necip Fazıl Kısakürek, took syllabic metre to its zenith. However, he chose the inquisitive and metaphysical path of Yunus Emre over the pastoral path of Karacaoğlan. His poems such as “Çile” (Anguish), “Kaldırımlar” (Pavements), and “Otel Odaları” (Hotel Rooms) are considered the first truly Western-style poems in Turkish literature. His greatest impact was the self-confidence he instilled in Anatolian poets. His magazine, “Büyük Doğu,” was not merely a publication but a movement of thought. The cultural foundation of his childhood in Maraş is summarised by the local saying: “In Maraş, two out of every three doors open to a poet.”
The Maraş School and the Seven Beautiful Men
This great movement initiated by Necip Fazıl brought forth new formations. Movements such as “Diriliş” (Resurrection) by Sezai Karakoç, “Edebiyat” (Literature) by Nuri Pakdil, and “Mavera” (Beyond), led by Rasim Özdenören, Akif İnan, Erdem Bayazıt, and Cahit Zarifoğlu, were nourished by this source. These figures, all hailing from Kahramanmaraş, established the artistic formation known in Turkish literature as the “Maraş School.” This school has influenced hundreds of poets, storytellers, and essayists from the 1930s to the present day.
Transition from Tradition to Free Verse
In the Ottoman period, poetry was a tool for prayer, advice, and commanding righteousness. From Halili Maraşî to Kuddûsî, the love of God and moral codes were paramount. With the 19th century, themes of homeland, martyrdom, and veteranhood gained weight. The occupation of Maraş in 1920 particularly compelled poets to voice loud patriotic verses with social responsibility. While the modernisation process brought a transition from traditional forms to free verse, the vein of love from Karacaoğlan and the foundation of faith from Yunus Emre have always been preserved by Maraş poets.
A UNESCO-Certified Way of Life
The ultimate success of literature in Maraş is its transformation of the legend that “every other door opens to a poet” into a living reality. Here, literature is not a discipline confined to libraries; it is the air breathed in the streets, a greeting shared during festivals, and an unshakable armour worn against hardships. The power of the city to “rise from its ashes” after every disaster is the work of this thousand-year literary and spiritual continuity. This city, where words are carved like marble and poetry is held as sacred as bread, has offered this ancient accumulation to the common heritage of the world by joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the field of Literature. Kahramanmaraş remains the eternal capital of a geography where one’s word is one’s honour and poetry is life itself.
