Aspects of culture in the classical Turkish literature period present in Elif Şafak`s novels with the main focus on Pinhan and Mahrem

In this study, we aim to identify the cultural aspects of Classical Turkish Literature present in Elif Safak?s novels with the main focus on Pinhan and Mahrem and determine the ways in which these aspects are employed.We argue that Pinhan is both formally and thematically built on Sufism. We assert that Sufist themes such as four principles, recurrence, opposition, love, spiritual journey, balance, love of humanity and names along with other themes such as hermaphrodism, street life of old Istanbul and superstitions have been worked into the narrative as fantasy themes. We claim that the formal organization of the novel is carried out according to the four principles while the narrative follows the concept of cycle.We argue that in Mahrem, the author constructs a historical background regarding the questions of ?to see? and ?to be seen? as the concept of intimacy is problematized within the framework of intertextuality through mythology, religious texts, legends, Shamanism and the Quran. We identify the achievement of poetic style in both novels through the frequent use of techniques of Classical Turkish such as allusion, personification, metaphor, prosaic rhyme, alliteration and repetition. We also point out the individual and social themes present in the novels Sehrin Aynalari, The Flea Palace, The Bastard of Istanbul, The Saint of Incipient Insanities, Siyah Sut and The Forty Rules of Love. We demonstrate the frequent occurrence of individual themes such as solitude, isolation, alienation, fear and anxiety, rootlessness, thoughts of suicide and death, being in-between, love, existential angst, the sense of belonging, childhood suffering and psychological problems of the members of dysfunctional families. We also indicate the presence of social themes such as the past, Sufism, religious conflict and tolerence, minority issues, traditional street life, superstitions, issues of women, complications of modernity, destiny, time and the divide between the East and the West. In conclusion, we argue that the Classical Turkish Literature has a significant impact on Elif Safak?s novels in terms of themes and narration.Keywords: Hermaphrodism, the circle, the secret, name, reunion, the past, Westernization, Sufism.