Mr. Naki Turan Tekinsav says the following in Gösteri Magazine:
"We collect books and materials mostly about the artistic side of our cinema. My specialty is that I collect magazines, pictures, brochures that everyone has thrown away, discarded, uncollected and most of them closed down, old books that are very hard to find, that is, mostly materials related to the parts that do not interest anyone. No one else has this much material except me. But my biggest enemies are people who buy material about me just for the sake of it, even though they do not understand it or have no interest in it. Unfortunately, there are also such perverted people."
"Onun kitaplarına hala sahaflarda rastlıyorum. Tüm kitaplarının kapak içlerinde, onun yaşamı boyunca düşleyip de hiç bir zaman sahip olmadığı tek bir şey yazıyordu: Naki Turan Tekinsav Kitaplığı..."
"I still come across his books in second-hand bookstores. On the inside covers of all his books, there was written the one thing he had dreamed of throughout his life but never had: Naki Turan Tekinsav Library..." Burçak Evren
Mavi Boncuk |
I knew Naki by when he lived in Kadikoy. He was in his 40s. His collection was more orderly during those years. He showed his signed artist photos stored in suitcases.
I had by then a lot of books and yet no where near his addiction level. I was truly jelaous. However my unbridled youth made me ask him.
- Naki Bey what happens to all this when you die.
He later complained about this to Sami Sekeroglu the founder of DGSA Turkish Film Archive and it was an ongoing joke about me. I am sorry I said that then knowing about the sad end of his passion collection. A lesson learned.
E. Akman
Naki Turan Tekinsav was born in Jan 1st, 1927 in Istanbul, Turkey. He was a major collector on cinema materials and sometimes an actor. He died December 24, 1995
Maki Turan Tekinsav Filmography
Actor · 8 credits1995 Everything Unsaid About Love · as Cast 1993 The Shadow Play · as Customer In The Pavilion 1990 The Unforgettable Director of Love Movies · as Cast 1990 Abdullah from Minye · as Cast 1989 Arabesque · as Old Man 1987 Uzayli Zekiye (TV Series) · as Cast 1987 Billionaire · as Tayyar Amca 1984 Atla Gel Saban · as kokan adam
Note:He also collected books on Istanbul (E Akman)
Maki Turan Tekinsav Filmography
Naki Bey entered the Faculty of Language, History and Geography, where he studied philosophy and literature but dropped out, and turned to librarianship courses because they interested him. In addition, his second passion was cinema. This continued until he moved to Istanbul in 1954. He was a regular at the dark movie theaters of Kayseri and Ankara. He would often go to the cinema and watch 3-4 movies a day. “Those were the days… The cinema was dark. I had a pen and paper in my hand. The actors, the person who shot the film, how many meters the film was, what the subject was… I would write all of these down, scribble and scribble… And then I would copy and paste them at home.” His real interest in cinema dates back to the 1960s. He would constantly go on and off sets and meet the directors and actors of the period. He bought an 8 mm camera from İzzet Günay. “I would constantly go to the sets with this camera. There was an assistant on one of the sets, a slightly cocky guy. When I would come to the sets, he would say, ‘You can’t shoot.’ I would say, ‘You can’t interfere, I’ll shoot.’ And I would shoot… Shooting time, rehearsal time, rest time… I would always shoot. In fact, when they wanted to show sections from Türkan’s old films during the TRT period, they called me. Again, I had shot the baby version of Hülya Koçyiğit’s daughter Gülşah, which even her mother didn’t have.’ Collecting things, saving, hiding things… All these are the factors that put Naki Bey’s life on an irreversible path. They are the factors that not only drew his life but also transformed it into a basic drive that gave direction. His favorites were cinema books and magazines regardless of the period… Then newspaper clippings, books about Istanbul, theater, art history, and also Atatürk books in the last period of his life… And “artist pictures…” And with their signed versions…
He writes letters constantly to Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Natalie Wood, Brigitte Bardot, Frank Sinatra… Most of the letters he writes do not come back empty-handed. Some even write letters. As a result, he manages to collect 1500 “artist” pictures. Once, David Jansenn, who played Dr. Kimble in the TV series “The Fugitive” of the period, came to Istanbul. When Naki Bey learned that this actor, who had previously sent him a photo and a letter, had come to Istanbul, he grabbed the letter and the photo and rushed to Dr. Kimble. In the 1960s, Naki Turan Tekinsav began to be talked about a lot. Another turning point in his life was when he participated in a quiz show hosted by Orhan Boran on the radio and became the first person to answer all eleven questions about cinema. He was awarded and sent to England for a week. When asked what he saw in England on his return, he said he didn’t see any place, I watched movies from 9 in the morning to 12 at night. He didn’t let go of first place for weeks, and won an award worth around 20 thousand liras at the time. Many people including Atilla Dorsay interviewed him about this. In an interview with Ses Magazine, he actually says that he has a very weak memory. He gave the phone number he was asked by looking in his phone book. Then, he answered questions about old movies by listing all the names from the leading roles to the most insignificant roles. “When you are very curious about a subject, your memory exceeds its own power. Moreover, I write down every single movie I see, their actors and directors down to the smallest detail. I memorize them while writing. There were times when I watched 250 movies in a year. If I had always lived in Istanbul until today, I could have seen many more movies. I spent tens of thousands of liras to watch movies and bring signed photos of the artists. They congratulate me because I won money in the competition. However, what is important is not money, but knowledge. "My knowledge of cinema brought in money for the first time."
In the meantime, his books and magazines that did not fit in the house, as well as the money he earned from quiz shows, began to attract attention. Newspapers and magazines were insufficient sources of information and photographs about films. The only address they could turn to was live archives like Naki Turan and Agah Özgüç. Naki Turan became the chief staff of the 7 Gün on TV magazine published by Hürriyet newspaper. “Every week, I would rummage through my unnumbered, poorly archived documents to find pictures and articles related to the subject. The magazines and books were getting messy, but eventually I found what I was looking for.” Naki Turan also caught the attention of Uğur Dündar with his live archive. “In 1980, Uğur Dündar interviewed me because of my love and knowledge of cinema. I was living in a nicer house at the time. The people around me were saying to each other, ‘Uğur Dündar has arrived.’ They went inside. Uğur Dündar went all the way up the hill. ‘Disaster, disaster!...’ he said when he saw the books… I said, ‘After a while you’ll start calling them scandals.’ In that interview I said, ‘A book enthusiast is called a bibliophile, a book addict is called a bibliomaniac. As for me, I collect everything that is printed, beyond collecting books. That’s why I’m called a celluloseman.’”
For Naki Turan, who could not organize his life or his books, everything became so chaotic that he could no longer find what he was looking for. After years of librarianship courses, working as a clerk at the Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine Library did not help. He attributes the reason he could never collect books with the logic of a librarian to his constant changing of homes due to his financial situation. He states that he never had a regular library. One day, he took his books, which were piled up in his house until the door could not be opened, to a warehouse. Instead of moving with all the books, he followed this path so that they would be kept in one place permanently. However, that warehouse also caused trouble for Naki Bey. The VAT and tax of the warehouse, which used to be a shop, was charged to Naki Bey. The tax office requested a fine of 10 million liras. When his “cellulose”, as he put it, started to become a “trouble” for him, he asked for help from various places. All he wanted was to provide a place for him and his books until he died. In return, he guaranteed that he would donate his books to the person who helped him when he died. Naki Turan says that he could not get married and establish a regular life because of this occupation. According to him, marriage and books are incompatible… “Most book collectors and enthusiasts – for example, Ibnulemin Mahmud Kemal, Hakkı Tarık Us, Çelik Gülersoy and myself – have one thing in common: Never having been married. Because if the woman you marry is not very cultured and is like a housewife – she sees books as her rivals and is jealous of them. Çelik Gülersoy writes something in one of his articles called ‘What Happened to Books’. A scientist lives in a mansion with his wife and books. When the man dies, the woman says, ‘Whatever happened to my husband happened because of books’ and throws all the books into the sea. Serious books sank, while the others floated on the sea. Maybe it is this situation that scares people like us.”
He complains that he cannot do a professional job related to books or cinema. We have actually seen Naki Turan in various productions. In Yavuz Turgul's "Aşk Filmlerinin Unutulmaz Yonetmeni", as one of the actors who has completed his era and asked Haşmet Asilkan for a role. Along with Sami Hazinses, Nubar Terziyan and Cevat Kurtuluş. The last representatives of an era... They are the last faces of Yeşilçam seen on the screen... Four people who have now become symbols...
He also appeared before us as the man playing the clarinet in a coffee shop in "Muhsin Bey." He says that he was dragged into acting by the offer of advertisers who liked his appearance while he was going to Radar Reklam to visit a friend. He is also sought after in historical and religious films because of his long white beard that complements his appearance. In addition, he also played the character of Uncle Saffet in the TV series "Süper Baba". He also took part in the productions of "Milyarder","Yunus Emre", "Kuruluş", "Yaprak Dökümü", "Arabesk", "Minyeli Abdullah" and "Zeyrek Yokuşu." They are all movies and TV series from the nineties, and unfortunately, Naki Bey's window of life is about to close.
The year is 1993. Naki Turan is 66 years old. His passions, to which he gave everything, are now starting to betray him. With the loss of his mother, with whom he had lived for 65 years, he is now all alone with his cellulose. His body is on the verge of collapse. Before his death, he was taken care of by SİNE-SEN for two and a half years. SİNE-SEN meets Naki Bey while he has been dreaming of establishing a large documentation center for many years. The SİNE-SEN officials, who provided support to Naki Bey during his prostate surgery in those days and went to his house when he recovered, are horrified. The officials describe the books, one on top of the other like a pile of tiles, floating in a swamp. They go back with an offer 1-2 months after this terrible home visit. However, Naki Bey is hesitant, afraid that they will cut off contact with him after the books. He consults Münir Özkul, Selda Akor and Arzu Film. Then he trusts and approves. SİNE-SEN officials state that they had not had any difficulties up to this point, but they will have difficulties from now on. The possibility of Naki Bey having an heir, reports from the mental hospital, notaries, a lot of paperwork… Then Naki Turan is placed in the Oriental Hotel.
A cat lover, a regular at Simurg Bookstore in Beyoğlu. A beautiful man who never let his cat Mestan talk, who was in love with cinema and Türkan Şoray, Naki Turan Tekinsav was hospitalized on November 20, 1995. He said goodbye to this world on November 29, 1995 in Şişli Eftal. In his own words, we remembered a “cellulose man” in this way thanks to his beloved cellulose.
Film Writer Burçak Evren talks aboutNaki Turan Tekinsav:
His cinema life, collecting everything related to cinema was like his profession. I went to the house he lived as a tenant in Erenköy (He was always a tenant throughout his life). It was a fairly large basement of an old mansion. He had difficulty opening the outer door. Because even the back of it was full of stacks of books that prevented the door from opening properly. There was no library in the house, but each stack of books was placed on top of each other in a system that he could easily find. The corridors, rooms, kitchen, bedroom, even the toilet had shelves built; books were lined up on them so that there was no space left. It was not a junk house, it had its own order, but even this order had an appearance that was disturbing. Even in this appearance, he easily knew where each book was, but he never let anyone else touch them.
His only friends were the books he collected as an obsession, and his elderly mother, who never left him alone even during his military service. His only concern was to find a place to rent, which he had to constantly search for because of his books. He had many books, but he did not have much money to pay rent. He asked me to talk to the History Foundation, of which I was a member, about this matter. His only request was to donate all his books there in return for a rent fee. But this request was not received very warmly either. After he passed away, I came across the books he had patiently put together in many places. The first of these was a warehouse where books that had been ruined by floods were piled up with the municipality's excavator. I think a second-hand bookseller had bought them and wanted to sell them to me. But there wasn't a single book among them that could be touched and wasn't ruined. I was sad...
After he passed away, I came across the books he had patiently put together in many places. The first of these was a warehouse where books that had been ruined by floods were piled up with the municipality's excavator. I think a second-hand bookseller had bought it and wanted to sell it to me. But there was not a single book among them that could be touched and was not ruined. I was sad... Another place I saw his books after he died was the library of a union for cinema. The condition of the books here was close to the first one, if not as good as it was. All the books were put in a newly built library for them, but they were all taped together with duct tape so that no one would steal or read them. In other words, you couldn't take any book off the shelves, and even if you wanted to, you had to tear that book. Then these books went somewhere. I still come across his books in second-hand booksellers. On the inside covers of all his books, there was written the one thing he had dreamed of throughout his life but never had: Naki Turan Tekinsav Library...
Source:
"Bana babam anlattı Naki Turan Tekinsav'ı.....Ben de dayanamadım kendisine sordum elbette... "Neden ömrünü sinema kitaplarına harcadın Naki abi" Yüzüme baktı uzun uzun "Zengin olmak için" dedi.... Gençliğimin cehaleti ile "E olamamışsın ama" dedim Güldü "Sana öyle geliyo" dedi sadece...."
Ferdi Eğilmez
Ertem Eğilmez's son Ferdi Eğilmez then wrote a tribute. Those who know him know him... His name is Naki Turan Tekinsav... He collected books with an indescribable, incorrigible and incurable obsession. On the day he passed away, 50,000 books were found in his house. Moreover, all of them were books about cinema... He collected, collected, collected throughout his life with his limited budget. He lived with his mother, who was more than necessary fond of him, and his books throughout his life. His mother did not leave Naki Bey even during his military service. She rented a house across from the barracks where he did his military service. Mother and son served together for two years. One day, he participated in a quiz show hosted by another master Orhan Boran on the radio. Since he answered 11 questions about cinema correctly, he was invited back the following week. He guessed it again. He guessed it again. He guessed it again. When he guessed the more difficult questions in the 7th week, he was rewarded by the program and sent to England. When asked what he did and where he saw in England on his return, he replied, "I didn't see any places, I only watched 45 movies."
Unfortunately, there is very little information about this cinema phenomenon lover, as he was someone who spoke and explained little. I always remember him coming to Arzu Film from time to time and sitting quietly in a corner because of his love for Ertem Eğilmez. I remember that he loved listening to scripts being worked on. While listening to the script, he would sometimes get sad, cry, and sometimes laugh with his little laugh. He would nod his head in approval of the script, hug only Ertem Bey and leave the company. My father told me about Naki Turan Tekinsav. I couldn't resist, so of course I asked him. "Why did you spend your life on cinema books, Naki Abi?" He looked at my face for a long time. "To get rich," he said... With the ignorance of my youth, I said, "Well, you couldn't." He laughed and said, "That's how it seems to you."
Today, I remember this silent, white-bearded brother, my father's friend, with mercy and love, and on this occasion I both apologize to him and pray for his mercy....
I have come to the end of my article and my quotes. I also came across Naki Bey, who did not talk much to anyone, was quiet, calm, suspicious, and hesitant, in the Gecedeste book. Rest in peace cellulozman...
münir özkul’u evlendirdik umman’la
onbeş ocak çarşamba
fakir münir ağbinin şahidi
umman’ın şahidi naki bey
ne davetiye ne çelenk çiçek
hiç kimsenin haberi yok
beyoğlu evlendirme dairesinde küçük bir arka oda
başka hiç kimse yok nikahta
çıktık beyoğlu’na
bir pastanede profiterol ısmarladı bize damat
naki bey hüngür hüngür ağladı
profiterolü sel aldı
(Ferhan Şensoy book "Gecedeste" 2019 / Ortaoyuncular Yayınları)
Source in Turkish
Cumhuriyet Kitap Supplement
“Naki Turan Tekinsav has been collecting books since he was 6 years old. His library contains 50 thousand books, all about Istanbul and cinema. Maybe we can find a formula that will keep Naki Bey, his mother and his books alive without separating them, what do you think? Turan Tekinsav is a ‘cellulose maniac’ who has been collecting books since he was six (he says so himself, not us). Since he is 63 years old today, that means he has been after books for 57 years, only books. He has no other hobbies, no other characteristics. In fact, he is a cold-blooded bitch. He doesn’t talk to anyone. Even if he did, you wouldn’t understand him, and he wouldn’t listen to you anyway. You can’t keep him in one place or on one subject for five minutes. In short, Naki Bey is a mess of delusions from head to toe, who gets cranky as he gets older. But this man has been collecting books for 57 years, only books.
Recently, Naki Bey was going to the second-hand booksellers in Beyazıd, (He has been going for 35 years. It doesn't matter if it's snow, winter or the apocalypse. Moreover, he doesn't get on the bus if it's a minibus. He is always a foot soldier in big Istanbul.) Around Cağaloğlu Hill, Naki Bey suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, his head spun, his chest tightened, and he stood there for 15-20 minutes.
From that day on, his health started to check Naki Bey frequently. He was grumbling in his stomach and lungs, but he definitely didn't think a heart attack was becoming him. In the meantime, he melted like a candle. Those who know him will bear witness, in 10 days, old Naki Bey turned into a needle and thread. It turned out that he was checking his heart, but he didn't know it. Until he needed a walking stick. When his friends saw him with a walking stick in Çınaraltı one day, they were surprised as if they had seen an alien. Naki Bey and a walking stick are something that can't be! Finally, he was convinced and went to Beyoğlu Municipality Hospital. It really was a heart attack. They forcefully put him in.
However, on the night of the third day, Naki Bey grabbed the hat and ran away from the hospital. He had to run away. Because other than his books, he had an 85-year-old bedridden mother and no one else to look after her while she was in the hospital. His father left when Naki Bey was only six. The woman never remarried and never left her son alone since that day. Even in the army! She took him by the hand and delivered him to the branch, rented a room right across from the barracks and served with her son for two years. During this time, she also took on the task of collecting books according to the lists Naki Bey prepared. Mother and son were separated only once in their lives. That was during Naki Bey's 85-day trip to England. (During this time, Naki Bey watched a total of 105 films, 45 of which were at the London cinema.) Naki Bey, his mother and his books!
Now one of the three has a heart attack, another cannot walk, and the books are going crazy. Everything that has happened to Naki Bey up until now happened because of his books (*). He could not hold down a job because of his books. He never got married because of his books (just like famous collectors Ibnulemin Mahmud Kemal and Hakki Tarik Us).
He was never interested in any woman. Because according to him, ‘the biggest enemy of books is women’. As if all this were not enough, Naki Bey could not find a house because of his books. He was evicted from seven houses between 1970 and 1990. The reason is always the same: Books pose a fire hazard, the house will collapse because of books, and even books cause fleas! Naki Bey is currently looking for a house again, but he cannot find one, and he will not find one. Because he has no income, he is penniless. He cannot even pay the rent of the house he is about to throw out. On the other hand, his heart is beating badly, but he cannot get treatment because there is no one to look after his mother. And of course the ‘hyenas’ who hear this are beating down his door to get their books cheaply. Sir, this is the situation of Naki Bey. We disturbed him in the hope that you could find a formula that would “keep him alive” without separating him, his mother and his books. Best regards.
(*) There are approximately 50 thousand books in the “Naki Bey Library”. And all of these books are only about “Istanbul” and “cinema.”</p>
Source: Cumhuriyet Kitap Supplement, August 31, 1990, Issue 28, P.10.
THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO NAKİ BEY’S BOOKS COULD BECOME A NOVEL
I used to see Naki Turan Tekinsav, one of the people mentioned in ‘What I Saw and Heard in the Second-Hand Book Market’,[*] almost every day in his later years at Simurg İbrahim’s shop on Hasnun Galip Street. He would hardly talk to anyone, and would sit quietly in a corner. If I remember correctly, it had not been long since he had lost his mother, a retired teacher, with whom he had lived for many years. I don’t know how and what he did after his mother.
Everyone remembered him from the small roles he played in a couple of movies, but in fact he was one of our last ‘walking libraries’. In those days when Şinasi Tekin, Erol Şadi Erdinç, Cüneyt Kut and Murat Bardakçı would get into heated arguments and Sipahi Çataltepe would devour fried chicken, Naki Bey would watch them without making a sound. I knew that when Sipahi Bey disappeared, he would ‘stop by’ Gürhan Öztürk’s next door and take some fried chicken there.
Many people describe Naki Bey as a librarian. However, I am sure they are wrong. He was much more ‘crazy’ than we were, because he was crazy about all kinds of paper, whether it was a book or not. He collected not only books and magazines, but everything made of paper. Unfortunately, what happened to the ones he donated to an institution before his death would be ‘novels’.
TANER AY Source: https://www.karar.com/kultur-sanat-haberleri/ucuncu-kusak-bir-sahhafin-carsida-gorup-isittikleri-1730796
[*] Turan M. Türkmenoğlu memory book ‘Sahaflar Çarşısı’nda Görüp İşittiklerim"
Ötüken Neşriyat. 633 pages | ISBN:9786254084867
Turan M. Türkmenoğlu is the third generation representative of a family that has been in the profession of second-hand bookseller for over 120 years... He shares what he has heard and witnessed in his book What I Saw and Heard in the Second-Hand Book Market. The book makes a remarkable contribution to the hidden aspects of our cultural history from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day; it brings many memories and anecdotes that have not been recorded before to its readers.
Posts
