Mort d'Altan | The Last Chevalier of Mainstream Laique Intelligentsia

Çetin Altan was taken to the Medicine Faculty's hospital of Fatih University at Maltepe, Istanbul in September 2015, where he was treated after diagnosis of multiple health problems such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (KOAH|COPD), respiratory failure, bronchiectasis, pneumonia, urinary tract infection and sepsis. On October 19, Altan was hospitalized again due to urinary tract infection. He died on October 22, 2015 at 11:05 hours local time at age 88 due to respiratory failure as a result of pneumonia and septic shock.

(pictured  Mehmet Altan, Ahmet Altan, and Zeynep Bakan with their mother Kerime Altan)

He was interred at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery on October 23, 2015 following a memorial ceremony before the building of Millyet newspaper and the consequent religious funeral service at Teşvikiye Mosque. He was survived by his sons Mehmet Altan, Ahmet Altan, daughter Zeynep Bakan and grand-daughter Sanem Altan. 

 His life story was portrayed in the novel İpek Böceği Cinayeti ("Murder of Silkworm") by his wife Solmaz Kamuran in 1998.


Mavi Boncuk| See also: (VIDEO) Bir Yudum İnsan Belgesel Serisi Çetin Altan

Çetin Altan (b May 22, 1927, İstanbul - October 22, 2015, İstanbul)was a Turkish writer, journalist, and a member of parliament. He was considered one of the finest writers in the modern Turkish language of the late 20th century.
Çetin Altan was born on June 22, 1927 to lawyer Halit and his wife Nurhayat, whose roots were from Crimea. Until age seven, he was called Altan. With the adoption of Surname Law in Turkey in 1934, the family chose the name Altan for surname, and the son was renamed Çetin. At age eight, he was schooled in the exclusive Galatasaray High School as a boarding pupil, where he experienced loneliness. After graduation from the high school, he received a degree from the Ankara University, Law School.He chose a writing career instead of pursuing a diplomatic career contrary to his father's will as he told once in an interview "to escape the loneliness".

Çetin Altan grew up in the family mansion at Göztepe, Istanbul. He married to Kerime, whom he met at Radio Ankara, where she worked as the director secretary of his father. She was brought to Ankara from Iraq by her sister's husband, an Ottoman officer, along with her mother and sister as she was only forty days old.

Kerime Altan gave birth to two sons, Ahmet in 1950, Mehmet in 1953 and a daughter Zeynep. She died in 1991. The Altan family was in the belief that Kerime was of Arab descent. Following her death, they learnt that she was a relative of Iraqi Kurdish politician Fuad Masum.

In 1996 at age 69, Çetin Altan made his second marriage with 41-year old Solmaz Kamuran, who also had a marriage before. They have been knowing each other since a long time. Solmaz Kamuran was a dentist before she began editing Çetin's writings. In the final months of Çetin Altan, the couple separated.

He published his poems and stories in the magazines such as Çınaraltı, Varlık, İstanbul and Kaynak. His first book Üçüncü Mevki was published in 1946. He entered journalism as a reporter in the newspaper Ulus. After writing columns in Hürses, Altan continued as a columnist in various newspapers including Halkçı, Tan, Akşam, Milliyet, Yeni Ortam, Hürriyet, Güneş and the magazine Çarşaf.[1]
In 1959, Altan accepted the offer of Abdi İpekçi (1929–1979) to write columns for the daily Milliyet replacing Peyami Safa (1899-1961). He was very much dismayed over the death of the university student Turan Emeksiz, who was killed by a police bullet during a student demonstration at the end April 1960 against the the ruling Democrat Party.

Altan entered politics after the 1960 Turkish coup d'état, and was elected to the parliament from the Workers Party of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye İşçi Partisi, TİP) following the 1965 general election. He served until 1969 as a deputy of Istanbul Province.

Literary Works

Novel
• Büyük Gözaltı (1972) - 1973 Orhan Kemal Roman Armağanı
• Bir Avuç Gökyüzü (1974)
• Viski (1975)
• Küçük Bahçe (1978)
• Rıza Bey'in Polisiye Öyküleri (1985)
• Aşk, Sanat ve Servet (1998)

Poetry
• Üçüncü Mevki (1946)
• Short Story
• Dünyada Bırakılmış Mektuplar (1997)
• Kalem Bahçelerinden Yedi Hayat (2009)

Play
• Beybaba (1960-61)
• Yedinci Köpek (1964)
• Çemberler (1964)
• Mor Defter (1965)
• Suçlular (1965)
• Dilekçe ve Tahtırevalli (1966)
• Komisyon (1969)
• Islıkçı (1977)
• Bütün Tiyatro Eserleri (2001)
• Memoir
• Ben Milletvekili İken (1971)
• Bir Yumak İnsan (1977)
• Kavak Yelleri ve Kasırgalar (1999)
• İyi ki Şu Köyceğiz Var (2001)

Travel
• Bir Uçtan Bir Uca (1965)
• Al İşte İstanbul (1981)

Essay
• Atatürk'ün Sosyal Görüşleri (1965)
• Öldürülmüş Şehzadeler ve Devrilmiş Padişahlar (1991)
• İdam Edilen 44 Vezir-i Azamın Dramı (1991)
• Şeytanın Gör Dediği (1997)
• Kadın, Işık ve Ateş (1998)
• Yeryüzü Tanrıçaları (2000)
• Kullar ve Sultanlar (2000)
• 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 (2001)
• Enseyi Karartmayın (2003)
• Uçuk (2004)

Humor
• Taş (1964)
• Sömürücülerle Savaşı (1965)
• Onlar Uyanırken (1967)
• Geçip Giderken (1968)
• Kopuk Kopuk (1970)
• Suçlanan Yazılar (1970)
• Kahrolsun Komünizm Diye Diye (1976)
• Nar Çekirdekleri (1976)
• Zurna’da Peşrev Olmaz (1978)
• Gölgelerin Gölgesi (1981)
• Şeytan Aynaları (1982)
• 2027 Yılının Anıları (1985)
• Sobe (1999)

Juvenalia
• Alfabe (2006)

Translation 
• Aptal Kız (1962)