The Walls of Beşiktaş! - Life in Beşiktaş in the 1960s and 70s

Gülay Kutal's book, Beşiktaş'ın Surları! - Life in Beşiktaş in the 1960s and 70s, which describes Beşiktaş in the late 1960s and early 1970s through the eyes of a young girl, including its places, history, and cultural elements, was published by YEM Yayın.

Gülay Kutal, a child raised by a loving and somewhat pampering mother with few rules and boundaries, describes Beşiktaş in the book, published with the valuable contributions of GREEN Chemicals®, through the boundaries she set to feel safe, just like any child.

As a child of Istanbul who created a world for herself centered on Mecit Ali Street and surrounded it with imaginary walls, Kutal's imaginary walls of Beşiktaş consist of five parts: Karşı Sokak Walls, Yukarı Ihlamurdere Walls, Aşağı Ihlamurdere Walls, Esma Sultan Walls, and Balık Pazarı Walls.

"What makes cities cities, districts districts, and neighborhoods neighborhoods are their stories," says Gülay Kutal, describing her book, accompanied by Firuz Kutal's original illustrations, as follows: "This book is a story of Beşiktaş centered on 'Mecit Ali Street, No. 30'. The gates in the walls, the locations of the gates, most of what is told is real, but some might be imaginary! The fact that the main character, the little girl, is now sixty years old has greatly contributed to the 'reality' in the book. Both are equally responsible for the imaginary parts. Real or imaginary, what is important is how much all these stories are integrated with Beşiktaş, undoubtedly. ..... 'The walls Beşiktaş believed existed', even if they only existed for the girl described in the book between 1965 and 1975, I believe these walls and gates will not feel unfamiliar to many readers of her age. I am sure that these kinds of walls, which existed in many districts of Istanbul – or whose existence is not difficult to imagine – instilled in the children of Istanbul, a product of Byzantine-Ottoman-Republican heritage, a desire to create a safe, tolerant, and cosmopolitan future; moreover, they also endowed them with the effort and ability to contribute to such a future. And they will continue to do so... I hope this book, which tries to build a bridge between today's Beşiktaş and the Beşiktaş of a childhood experienced in the 60s, will be a source of inspiration for its readers."

Author Feridun Andaç, starting his narrative with "Beşiktaş'ın Surları! is a journey into the memory of a district," continues on the back cover: "At the core of the narrative, shaped by experiences and memories, lies the soul of a city, the past and present of Beşiktaş, which we can call an 'island-district' that created that soul. What brings all this together and conveys it to us are the deep traces of experiences ingrained in the narrator Gülay Kutal's memories. If you want to understand and get to know Istanbul, I recommend embarking on a journey with the touching narrative of Gülay Kutal, who was born and raised in Beşiktaş, and who built both her own story and the story of her district there. People, faces, streets come alive again in her narration. Kutal tells us the story of a district from past to present with a remembering, reminding gaze. Beşiktaş'ın Surları! is also a gift from a living, seeing, feeling, and conveying narrator to Istanbul and Beşiktaş."

WHO IS GÜLAY KUTAL?
I am from Beşiktaş, Istanbul. I was studying at Boğaziçi University during the oppressive years after the 1980 military coup. My interest in folklore was great in those years. At the Boğaziçi University Folklore Club, we would perform folk dances, sing folk songs, and publish a magazine. I also wrote poetry. The exhibition titled Efkar-ı Aşk Makamından Bir Mısra, which I prepared with Firuz Kutal, was the most beautiful step in my poetry journey.

After graduating from university as an industrial engineer, I came to Norway to give a different direction to my future. I completed my master's degree in computer science at the University of Oslo. I currently live in Norway. For the past 40 years, in addition to working as a cleaner, teacher, and computer administrator in Oslo, I have also worked as a writer and translator. Besides the compilation Biz Duvar Yazısıyız, I have made translations, including the book Sophie's World by Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder. Two more of my books have been published: Democracy Through Labor in Turkey and Socialist World Cafes in Norway.

As Cemil Meriç said: "To the right falls custodianship, that is, the guardianship of eternal values. The left is liberty, progress, equality." As an active member of the Norwegian Socialist Party for the last quarter century, I have served on party committees and, as a representative of the people, served three terms in the Oslo County Council, because I believe that society can only progress in the most equal, free, and democratic way through leftist policies.

Currently, I work as a product manager for software needed to use disease information in scientific research at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and in my remaining time, I read and write, and continue to represent the public in the Municipal Council of the district where I live in Oslo.

I enjoy singing and gardening.

I am married. I have a wonderful husband and a wonderful daughter.