“We are not obliged to revive the past, but to draw strength from it.”
However, Süheyl Ünver’s rich and diverse archive is currently scattered across several locations. We know that there are around two thousand notebooks at the Süleymaniye Manuscript Library. There are also a considerable number of notebooks, paintings, and documents at the Turkish Historical Society and Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty. Likewise, some are in your personal archive… Have you ever considered or attempted to bring Süheyl Ünver’s archive together? Is today’s Turkey aware of the value of this legacy?
It’s true — during his lifetime, my father Süheyl Ünver donated parts of his handwritten manuscripts and archive to various institutions, by his own decision. As a result, his collection is now fragmented. He entrusted his personal collection to me, with the belief that “what is taken from the nation must be returned to the nation.” However, bringing this scattered archive back together no longer seems possible. Therefore, I haven’t undertaken any initiative in that direction. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that some institutions in today’s Turkey are not aware of this treasure's true worth.
To explain the distribution of the Ünver archive: In the 1970s, my father donated a significant number of handwritten works and archive files to the Turkish Historical Society. His reason for this decision was his desire to share his work with art enthusiasts in Ankara, which he considered a culturally barren place. As a result, during his transfer from Istanbul University to Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, hundreds of his watercolor paintings, manuscripts, and files were sent to Ankara.
Another part of the archive — thousands of notebooks and files — was donated to the Süleymaniye Library, a place he loved dearly and visited regularly. After his passing, we prepared a dedicated room in his name there, as per his will, and enriched it further with additional donations.
However, I do have one regret. When my father left Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, hundreds of his watercolor paintings were transferred to the Turkish Historical Society. This creates a challenge for researchers. For example, if you wanted to compile all his works on Istanbul, Bursa, or Edirne, some of them are with me, but a larger portion is at the Historical Society. This becomes a major hurdle for everyone. If you want to use these works for, say, preparing a book, you can only get permission after a committee review. So there are some bureaucratic obstacles — but this was his decision.
As you mentioned, another portion was donated to the Süleymaniye Library. After his death, we set up a special room in his name there. I personally enriched that room with additional notebooks and files. Of course, I don’t know what will happen to the archive in the future. But one thing is certain: if Süheyl Ünver had been American or European — and I don’t say this just because he was my father — a “Süheyl Ünver Institute” would have already been established, and his archive would never have been so fragmented.
How many city notebooks are there?
Among the two thousand notebooks, there are probably thirty or forty city-specific notebooks — possibly even more. For example, let’s say Edirne — there’s not just one Edirne notebook, but several. These pertain to his various visits… He loved Edirne deeply and visited it often. He would take the same notebook with him each time, and once it was full, he’d start a new one. There are notebooks on library research in Edirne, the history of a particular mosque there. For example, Muradiye — that also falls under Edirne. His own drawings, samples he collected…
He did extensive research on the Edirne Palace — a palace that no longer exists today. Both the structure and its tiles are lost to history. In addition, there’s a Central Anatolia notebook. Some of these were published as articles from time to time. I also have a very valuable Bursa notebook. Naturally, there are notebooks on Bursa, Edirne, Konya, and about seven or eight on America. His journey to Iran filled two notebooks. In short, there are quite a few city-specific notebooks.
