Hemingway in Turkey: Historical Contexts and Cultural Intertexts

Abstract

As a young reporter, Ernest Hemingway visited İstanbul and the Thracian part of Turkey between 29 September and 18 October 1922. During his stay, he closely followed the military and political consequences of the Great Offensive, which was a major stage in the Turkish War of Independence, and also witnessed at first hand the Greek evacuation of eastern Thrace. His impressions of the İstanbul under occupation and also his observations of the events and developments at the time were included in the short stories which he wrote later on. In his fictions, he described and represented his observations fronı a point of view which was against Mustafa Kemal and Turkey, and, since he wrote in a mood supportive of the Allies and their invading forces, he failed to grasp the principles of righteousness and national independence, upon which the Turkish War of Independence was fought. This article is a study, within the context of the Turkish War of Independence, of Hemingway's anti-Turkish attitude crystallized in his desriptions and fıctions related to Turkey.