Republic period geographic studies and the First Turkish Geographic Congress 1923-1941

The modern structuring of geography emerged with the establishment of the Istanbul Darülfun in 1915. Although the transition process to modern geography was started in the Ottoman Empire from the time of Kâtip Çelebi, the steps taken to catch up with the West in real terms accelerated since 1915, albeit late. The study of geography in the Ottoman Empire, using mostly secondary and tertiary sources, to see and describe geography as a memorized activity shows that the country's geography missed the developments in Europe. An important step was taken thanks to the geography department opened in the modern university in 1915 and the arrival of foreign academics. Despite various social, political and economic difficulties in the period up to the 1933 university reform, modern structuring continued. 1933 university reform is the development of modern geography in Turkey. As a matter of fact, an important step was taken thanks to the First Turkish Geography Congress to be held in 1941 and the Turkish Geography Institute and Turkish Geography Magazine. Geography has been on the rise since 1941, after the modern reconstruction process from 1915 to 1941. In this study, the development process of geography from 1915 to 1941 and the First Turkish Geography Congress were discussed.