Bosna and Bosnians in Turkish novel (1970-2010)

Entering Turkish literature with Westernization, the novel has started with works of the Tanzimat Period and has reached the level of the European contemporaries with "Servet-i Fünûn." During "The Period of National Literature" and following years after declaration of the Republic in 1923, successful examples of the novel have continued to be written. In this thesis, focusing on the works between 1970 and 2010, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bosnians' place in the Turkish novel is examined. In this thesis -which has two main parts except the introduction- topics of; history of Bosnia, the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia, administration of Bosnia under the Ottomans, Austria, and Yugoslavia, Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, migration and the immigrants, Russian and Austrian policies towards Bosnia, the Bosnian War, the geography of Bosnia, Bosnians' relations with other ethnic and religious groups, the emergence of Bosnian identity, Bosnian heroes, Bosnians' language, religion, and culture are examined through the works of the Turkish novel between 1970-2010. In other words, this work aims to evaluate reflections of Bosnia and Herzegovina's political, religious, economic, and cultural life on Turkish novels. Generally, the works covering Bosnia in the Turkish novel highlight the themes of "lost homeland" and "migration". For Turkish novelists, Bosnia means the lost territories of the homeland and the Muslims that were migrated due to the pressure/oppression of Serbians and Croatians in the region in addition to Austria and Russia. While Bosnia is being covered in these works, withdrawal of the Ottomans from the region, destruction of the order and peace in the region by the imperialist powers and nationalism, as well as Komitadji movements and Panslavism are mentioned. In the novels; information about Bosnian history, geography, origins, culture and lifestyle are also provided. The topics that are covered under titles/subtitles of the thesis are categorized and examined regarding Bosnians' social, cultural and political life and perspectives of the authors. Relevance of what was written in the novels to the facts and ideological backgrounds of the works are tried to be explained. Thus, reflections of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bosnians' on this chapter of the Turkish novel are aimed to be presented.