2 July 1993 in Turkish Literature: representations of the Sivas Massacre

Abstract

On 2 July 1993 the fire set on Hotel Madimak in Sivas, Turkey by religious fanatics claimed the lives of 37 people. Such traumatic events need to be narrated to heal the wound they have opened in the public consciousness. Yet it is also true that they pose a serious challenge to the narrator as they lie beyond the reach of usual means of representation. This article examines the ways the massacre is represented in the two recent Turkish novels, Atesve Kugu (Fire and the Swan) by Burhan Gunel and Seytan Minareleri (Seashells) by Hidayet Karakus, with a view to examining the approaches these works offer to meet the challenge.