Famous writers have cities they passionately belong to, sometimes despise, sometimes wish to escape from but can’t, yet leave their footprints on every street, cities that have touched their lives… Our part is to follow these traces…
Dostoyevsky’s Fairytale City, St. Petersburg
“Better to go wrong in one’s own way than to go right in someone else’s.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the Russian author who gifted world literature with masterpieces like Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and Notes from Underground, lived in the beautiful city of St. Petersburg for many years. The author’s first encounter with the city came after his mother’s death in 1837. Primarily homeschooled, the author embarked on a new chapter in St. Petersburg at a school for military engineers after suffering a great loss.
Settling in St. Petersburg, the author wrote works like The Insulted and Humiliated and The House of the Dead here. The author’s last residence in the city has been turned into a museum, located at Kuznechny Per. 5/2. Moving into this house in 1878, Dostoyevsky lived there until his death on January 28, 1881. It is known that he wrote The Brothers Karamazov in this house at the age of 59.
Since 2010, ‘Dostoyevsky Day’ has been celebrated in the city with various art events in honor of the author. The city, which served as the capital of Imperial Russia for 200 years, is Russia’s second-largest city. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, St. Petersburg is architecturally and artistically enriching with its canals and bridges.
Places to Visit
St. Isaac’s Cathedral, The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, Griboyedov Canal, The Hermitage Museum (home to 3 million art pieces), Peterhof Palace and Gardens, Peter and Paul Fortress, Dostoyevsky Museum.
Did You Know?
From mid-May to the end of July, the city experiences over 18 hours of daylight, a period known as the ‘White Nights’.
Kafka’s Love and Hatred for Prague
“I am willing to be nonexistent; provided I do not have to be present.”
Franz Kafka, the unique writer of the modern era known especially for his books The Metamorphosis and The Trial, was born and raised in Prague. Kafka belonged to the German-speaking Jewish minority in Prague. Perhaps due to this sense of exclusion, he had a love-hate relationship with the city. If you’re a reader of Kafka, every step in Prague brings a story to life in your memory. For instance, while crossing Charles Bridge, you might imagine Joseph K. walking to his doom beside you. “This must be ‘that place,'” you think.
Even years after his death, Kafka continues to contribute to Prague’s touristic and commercial life. If you want to embark on a Kafka discovery in Prague, your first stop could be the Kafka Museum, where the writer’s diaries and photographs are exhibited and his life story is told on the walls. In addition to the museum, there’s also a ‘Kafka House.’ The writer’s best works were penned at his residence on Golden Lane, No. 22, which is open for visits. You could sip your coffee at Cafe Louvre, where he held philosophical discussions in the early 1900s, perhaps reading one of his stories. Kafka’s grave is located in the Olsany Cemetery. Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, feels like a medieval city as you walk its streets, and it is beautiful in every season.
Places to Visit
Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Wenceslas Square, St. Vitus Cathedral, Kafka Museum, Astronomical Clock and Old Town Hall, Dancing House (Tancici Dum), the Jewish Quarter known as Josefov.
James Joyce and His Beloved Dublin
“Mistakes are the portals of discovery”
James Joyce, one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, opened his eyes in Dublin in 1882. His statement about Ulysses, “I want to give a picture of Dublin so complete that if the city suddenly disappeared from the earth it could be reconstructed out of my book,” vividly explains Joyce’s relationship with Dublin. Joyce constructs his political views and perception of art through the lens of Dublin city. Despite a period when he left the city due to societal pressures, he never removed Dublin from his writings. Today, Dublin is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Ireland. Joyce frequently mentions Dublin, the city where he was born and raised, in many of his works. Not just as a setting, but he also portrays the people of the city in his books. Dubliners is an example of this…
Dublin pays tribute to this loyal writer by organizing the Bloomsday Festival annually from June 10-16 in his memory. The festival is named after Leopold Bloom, a character from Joyce’s classic work Ulysses, which takes place in Dublin on June 16, 1904, the day Joyce fell in love. Designated a UNESCO City of Literature, Dublin offers a chance to trace James Joyce’s footsteps. Your first stop could be Martello Tower, where he lived for a while, now serving as the James Joyce Museum. This house, also the setting for the opening of Ulysses, displays notes Joyce took for the book.
Places to Visit
Dublin National Library, Dublin Writers Museum, National Museum of Ireland, James Joyce Museum, Newgrange, St. Stephen’s Green Park, Trinity College, St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Did You Know?
Dublin, with its young population, has half of its residents under the age of 25!
Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar’s Istanbul
“People are like wells; you can spoil in them”
One of Turkey’s treasures, poet, short story, and novelist Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, describes Istanbul, the city where he was born and raised, with an incredible power of observation and description in his books.
In his famous work, Huzur (A Mind at Peace), two lovers (Mümtaz and Nuran) wander the streets of Istanbul from KocamustafapaÅŸa to the historically Ottoman-inherited structures of Ãœsküdar. We witness Tanpınar’s belief in the parallelism of city identity and cultural transmission through Nuran’s words: “We cannot find ourselves until we know Istanbul.”
Tanpınar, who often emphasized the importance of the city’s memory, dedicates a section of his book ‘Five Cities’ to Istanbul. In Five Cities, Tanpınar says: “The Bosphorus itself is artistically, even musically inclined. Amiel says, ‘a landscape is a state of mind.’ But some landscapes do not leave us as free as Amiel claims. They inherently direct our dreams and thoughts…” Tanpınar also openly expresses his discomfort with the architecture of the era in his books. He has a tremendous sensitivity against the destruction of historical structures and cultural fabric. Born in 1901, Tanpınar passed away in 1962. His birthplace is located between today’s Fatih and Åžehzadebaşı, but nothing remains of this house as a cultural heritage today. For those wanting to explore Tanpınar’s Istanbul, Narmanlı Han was a good address for many years, where he wrote his works and held conversations. Although its footprints may have been erased due to forced restoration, Tanpınar’s memories are indelible in every corner of Istanbul…
Places to Visit
Maiden’s Tower, Hagia Sophia Museum, Topkapi Palace, Sultanahmet Mosque, Galata Tower, Istiklal Avenue, Gülhane Park, Grand Bazaar, Rumeli Lighthouse, Ortaköy, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar Literature Museum Library
Did You Know?
In Istanbul, every structure representing the state was called a ‘Kapı’ (Gate). Today’s government office equivalent was ‘Kapı’. Bab-i Ali, for instance, meant ‘The High Gate’.
