John Freely ( 1926-2017)
John Freely was an Irish American professor of physics and lover of humanities who wrote many books on Istanbul and Turkish history. What makes him special is that he had been a professor at Bogazici University where I studied. But as a social science student, it is such a shame I have never heard of him during my studies. He had been a professor at Bogazici during 1971-1976 when it was still an American College and right before it was turned into a government university. Then he was invited again during 1993-2005 right after I had graduated so I never had a chance to ‘come across’ him.
Bogazici University which used to be Robert College established
as the first American University on non-American soil
I discovered him by chance when I saw a book called ‘Strolling through Istanbul’ in a book store in Pera. The writer was a man called ‘John Freely’. I started to make researches on the writer. Then I discovered that he was a theoretical physicist, a professor and a beloved teacher at Bogazici University as well as a lover of humanities and a traveler. He had travelled extensively in Istanbul and in Strolling through Istanbul, one can sense how he had known the city by heart and he had walked through the city time and again.
Within time, I discovered another book called ‘Ghosts of Istanbul’ by the writer. When I read the book I was shocked to see how different his Istanbul of the 1970s was in comparison to the city i grew up in. His Istanbul was full of vibrant people and bohemian intellectuals who were experiencing life and Istanbul as a big party. The hedonism of the 1970s was already replaced by the conservatism and growing oppression of the 1980s when I was growing up. By the time I was at University, the zeitgeist had shifted to a post military coup ‘mood’: bleak and conservative. So the Istanbul he talks about in his ‘Ghosts of Istanbul’ is so alien to me.
Freely also traveled extensively in Turkey and his inspiration was Homer and Odyssey, He became fascinated with the history of Eastern Mediterranean and the history of Turks which is reflected in his other works such as Istanbul, The Imperial City (1998), The Grand Turk (2009), Storm on Horseback (2008) and Jem Sultan (2004),
Freely passed away in 2017 and we owe him a deep gratitude for all the books that widen our perspective on who we are and who we were as Turks.
So if you want to read about Istanbul and Turkish history, read the invaluable books of John Freely who was a Turkophile at heart.
