A TOUR WITH BESIR AYVAZOGLU
"How can stone buildings and wooden mansions feel grief?" you might ask. In his new book, 'Divanyolu', writer and cultural historian Besir Ayvazoglu makes history speak. In the book, in which Ayvazoglu relates the avenue's almost 2000-year history in his own original style, 'the stones come to life' and tell their own story. Amplified by old photographs and engravings, the book is a virtual biography of the Divanyolu. Ayvazoglu, who combines the traditionalism of Yahya Kemal, the modernism of Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar and the conservatism of Tarik Bugra in his writerly personality, opens the door onto the mysterious history of the Divanyolu, which is just waiting to be discovered. Stepping through this door, we set out one weekend with Besir Ayvazoglu on a brief journey back in time. Thanks to the writer, avenues and streets we had walked countless times before were suddenly permeated with enchantment. Ignoring the present-day condition of the buildings, we retreated with Ayvazoglu into the past, back to their periods of splendor. A far cry from 'dry history', the writer, using his imagination when necessary, took us on an engaging