Edirne’s Burial Stones book, supported by UZMAR with a sense of social responsibility, meets the readers.
The burial stones of Edirne were made into a book for the first time. A press conference was held for the book titled Edirne’s Burial Stones, written by Cem Altınel and designed by Devrim Yaman. UZMAR Honorary President Captain Ş. Kaan Altuğ, UZMAR CEO Engineer A. Noyan Altuğ also attended the meeting, Edirne Provincial and Culture and Tourism Director Kemal Soytürk, ITU Maritime Faculty Graduates Social Aid Foundation Chairman Eng. İlker Meşe and TMMOB Chamber of Ship Machinery Management Engineers Chairman of the Board, Engineer Feramuz Aşkın also attended. The book will take its place on the shelves as of March 25, 2022.
The contributors to the book said,
Author Cem Altınel: “Photos of my childhood brought this book”
“My childhood was spent in thousands of black and white photographs of Edirne. These photographs, which I could not understand at the time, came to me as the inspiration for this book years later. In the book, 500 burial stones, all found in Edirne, were divided into groups and analyzed methodologically under 20 headings. No stone’s image has been used twice. In the semi-documentary study, which includes interpretations as well as general information, the mysterious aesthetics and image sequence in the burial stones were discussed from an unusual perspective. The reader can read the book in more than one way. If he/she wishes, he/she can go back to the beginning and examine the richness of images after reading the evolution of the tombstone tradition along with the architecture over the centuries. If he wishes, he can look at the stones of professional groups or read the life stories of famous people buried in Edirne on the tombstones. I would like to emphasize once again the importance of Edirne in terms of the diversity of male and female burials. Although they belong to different periods, I think that after Ahlat, Turkey’s most important burial stone cultural wealth is in Edirne.”
Designer Devrim Yaman: “We make foggy peaks visible”
“Many firsts in the history of humanity in geography, science, art, and culture were made in our country. These days these peaks are shrouded in fog, surrounded by clouds, many of them out of sight. Our mission is to make these peaks visible again, to reveal once again new and striking landmarks of the world through the concerted teamwork of distinguished research writers.
UZMAR Maritime Honorary President Captain Ş. Kaan Altuğ: “We do not forget the cultural heritage either”
“We have traditionally contributed to the education of the maritime industry, which we belong to, as a family and as a company, for many years. Now, we believed in and support the cultural heritage of our country and realize the dream of Mr. Devrim. The result was truly excellent. We enjoyed reading it. I hope it will contribute to Turkey’s cultural heritage, be useful and remain a permanent work.
UZMAR Shipping CEO Engineer A Noyan Altuğ: “Stones show that you are alive”
“My father said to me 6 years ago, ‘go to your grandfather’s graveyard in Izmir, visit my brother’s graveyard’. I went to the cemetery. It was a holiday, but no one was there. I wandered among the stones and barely found it. Many stones were destroyed. I need to find someone to teach Yasin. In the past, teachers used to come and read in cemeteries. Neither were they. I asked the imam of the mosque, ‘the children of those who slept here also died. They don’t come anymore,” he said. At the end of the job, you live, do many things, and eventually pass away. It’s a stone that indicates you’re alive. Your date of birth, date of death, name, Fatiha is written on his soul. After you, they write this on the marble so that it stays as long as possible. Of course, people, families, lose their fathers and families. We also lost our father. He was 97 years old. When we look at his life, it was a great life, a great adventure. What has been happening to us as the world in the last two or three years? What is happening to them? They lived through the second world war, they experienced immigration. They suffered from poverty due to the war.
This is our culture
The advice my father gave us lives in us. In that living advice, give to the sea what you get from the sea, protect your culture, protect your profession. Make schools, especially for maritime education and ITU. The buildings are very old. In other words, they should have buildings worthy of their dignity so that we can develop our culture, science, and profession there. Devrim Bey brought this project to us. I talked to my brother. Without hesitation, he said, “Let’s do it”. Many thanks to everyone who contributed. I would like to thank you dear art and culture lovers. We just had the occasion. Do not forget. These are not just stones, they are lives.”
