Many Atsız biographies have been written so far… Last year, the works of Hayri Yıldırım and the late Altan Deliorman on this subject were published. In particular, Hayri Yıldırım’s work is important in terms of compiling and compiling what has been written so far… Although there are many works on this subject, it is difficult to find any information in these biographies about Atsız’s first wife, Mehpare, who had a part in her life. So much so that, let alone accessing information about the life of Mehpare Hanım after her marriage to Atsız; We don’t even know what his last name is. Unfortunately, this point, which should be included in a biography, has not been investigated.
In my article, I will try to convey what I know about this subject and thus open a way for those who want to direct their research in this direction.
Atsız (who was then called Hüseyin Nihâl Bey) married Mehpare Hanım, a Philosophy Trainee at Istanbul Girls’ High School, in 1931. Since there was no surname law at that time, he took the name “Mehpare Nihâl” after marriage. Two famous examples of using his wife’s name as a surname are the “Latife Kemal” of Mustafa Kemal Pasha’s wife, Latife Kemal, and Halide Hanım, who was once the wife of Salih Zeki Bey and who would later marry Adnan Adıvar and take the name Halide Edip Adıvar. Her use of the name “Halide Salih”.
Mehpare Nihâl’s articles are also published in Atsız Mecmua. We understand that they met Sabahattin Ali as well, from the fact that Atsız stated in a letter dated 1933 to Sabahattin Ali that “Mehpare has a greeting”1 and that Sabahattin Ali wrote a composition entitled “Mehpare”. The information about Mehpare Hanım by Sabahattin Ali, who wrote an addendum to Terkib-i Bend, is as follows:
“Mehpâre: It is in the Faculty of Philosophy of the Darülfünun and the Higher Teaching School. He graduated from Erenköy. She is a wonderfully good girl. It is not because he does not know the good, the bad; because he didn’t do it. His benevolence is endless. All his friends call him “our angel-i siyane”… Seeing my miserable state during the holiday, he said, “I will be your sister, and you will listen to my every word”. He gave me a lot of advice, but of course, since I don’t have the ability to be a man…” 2
One year after the surname law was enacted (1935), the couple Atsız decided to divorce. Atsız marries Bedriye Hanım a year later. It should also be noted that they had met Bedriye since the 1932 History Congress at the latest.
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Our information about Mehpare Nihal’s life after being Mehpare Atsız for a short time is full of little bits of information and rumors… There is a Mehpare Tevfik Taşduman… We can understand from many points that this name is Mehpare Hanım, Atsız Bey’s first wife. Since we do not have a photograph of Mehpare Hanım and Atsız Bey, we cannot speak clearly, but we can say that the information about Mehpare Tevfik Taşduman is more clear… The daughter of Fatma Sümbül Hanım and Tevfik Bey, who are among the notables of Konya; He has two known siblings named Meral and Mazlum. In the following sentence in a letter written by Pertev Naili Boratav to Sabahattin Ali on 11.09.1931, we also see that he was married at that time:
“Of course you have heard that I have been assigned to Konya. It is not known where Enver has been assigned yet. He transferred it to Mehpare Çapa. She greets with her husband.” 3
If we look at the announcements of radio programs in the newspapers, he gave radio conferences for a while. There is no information about his later life. The most important evidence we have that this name is Atsız Bey’s first wife is as follows; Mehpare Tevfik’s book titled “Family Life Evolution in Turkish History and Women in Bunda” was published in 1936. Looking at the title of the book, which is as thin as a magazine, and the series of articles by Mehpare Hanım in Atsız Magazine titled “The Evolution of the Family in Turks and the Woman in It”, it turns out that these two names are the same person. The book was written when Mehpare Tevfik was “Istanbul Girls’ High School Philosophy – Sociology – Domestic Studies Teacher”. From this, it is concluded that Mehpare Hanım continued her job where she was a trainee. Sümer Gürel, who was a student at that time, explains that he later worked at Vefa High School:
“If we start from the zero point, a Sorbonne graduate lady, my teacher, whom I remember with mercy, Mehpare Tevfik Taşduman, aspires to teach psychology at Vefa High School. I was in my sophomore year of high school at the time. This has been a great chance for us. He was indeed a very valuable person, and that’s what sparked my interest in psychology.” 4
We come across Mehpare Taşduman’s name in the declaration of condolence published for her brother Mazlum Taşduman, who died in 1987. The fact that her name is still mentioned here as Mehpare Taşduman can be interpreted that she was not married at that time.
That’s all the information about Ms. Mehpare… Maybe someone from the Taşduman family will read this article, and it can help us go beyond the information we’ve found. We may have access to a photograph of him and some details about his life. This is the reason why this article, which is an announcement, was written…
1) Sabahattin Ali – I Will Always Stay Young – YKY – p:224-225
2) Sabahattin Ali – All His Poems – YKY – p:142
3) Sabahattin Ali – I Will Always Stay Young – YKY – p:83
