AHISKA EXILE IN TURKISH LITERATURE: THE EXAMPLE OF THE DUT AGACI (MULBERRY TREE) NOVEL

Abstract

The literature contains both aesthetic and artistic elements, as it aims to satisfy the reader. A writer does not ignore these elements, no matter what the subject of his work is. However, some books contain both artistic and social concerns, and the various figures of speech, ornate, and closed expressions are less preferred by the author here. Literature on social themes can be satirical works created for a society to gain the desired behavior, as well as works that are related to events such as the war, migration, disaster that society has experienced. It is possible to find many works created by both concerns in Turkish Literature. The Dut Ağacı [Mulberry Tree] is a realist novel that describes the social traces of the exile of the Ahiska Turks from their hometown and their life afterward. From the perspective of Sahbender and his family, the difficulties and suffering of Ahiska Turks (Meskhetian Turks) in the 1944 Ahiska Exile are portrayed in this novel. The book is not only about the exile in 1944 but also the events that took place after it. The Fergana Massacre which is the other accidents that forced Ahiska Turks to migrate to other geographies is also narrated in thıs novel. It can be saıd that Tayfun Atmaca’s «Mulberry Tree: What ıs left of Ahıska?» conveys to Turkish Literature about exile and immigration of Ahiska Turks. In this research, Dut Agacı [Mulberry Tree] Novel is studied in the context of Ahiska exile. The document analysis method as one of the forms of qualitative research is used in this study