Dervish: The invention of modern Turkey

by tim-kelsey

Unlike most writers, who give a European eye-view of a Turkey that mourns all that is lost, and consider it in the light of a holiday resort, this book explores a Turkey which is seeking out its own identity and which is beginning to realise it s not simply a bridge between East and West. The lowlife of tranvestite nightclubs, the problems of heritage, the theatre, the clash between Eastern and Western Turkey, tribes and the current civil war between Turkish military and Kurdish separatists, the booming heroin trade and cultural intolerance all form part of the book, bringing to light a Turkey which is not so much a country so much as a state of mind.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, History

321 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Richard McGeough · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally read Tim Kelsey’s ‘Dervish’ soon after it was published in the 90s, and not long after living in Turkey for four years. I re-read it in 2024 on returning to Turkey for the first time in many years.

The heart of this book is Kelsey’s venture into the troubled south-east of the country at the height of the war between the Turkish army and the PKK. In particular, he visits small, isolated Christian communities - communities that have in the years between then and now been forcibly abandoned due to a tragic combination of war and cultural intolerance. The tone of this second half of the book is tense, foreboding and relentlessly grim. This is by no means a criticism; Kelsey reports from a war zone, one where small communities are doing their best to live with dignity despite the constant threat of violence or worse.

Earlier chapters of the book find Kelsey in other Anatolian towns - away from the war zone - that few foreigners ever reach: Sivas, Tokat…hard scramble places that throw up surprising and engaging characters. Earlier still, Kelsey reports from the archaeological site of Troy, and meets a then-famous transsexual in Istanbul with plans to run for political office.

With the passing of 30 years, this book is a fascinating portrait of Turkey as it was in the 1990s. Shabby, poor, and at war with itself. I’ve docked it a star because some of the earlier chapters reporting from western Turkey perhaps lack focus. But once Kelsey strikes out east from Ankara, he finds his themes and uncovers a Turkey that is another world from the beach resorts of the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts.

[Mickey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting section on the Yazidis pages 304 -312