Zeki Gürel

Keywords: Turkish prensence in Bulgaria, Bulgarian Turkish literature, representation of Bulgarian-Turkish literature in Turkey, life, art and works of Islam Beytullah Erdi

Abstract

Bulgaria is an independent state which is neighbour to Turkey. Turkish presence in Bulgaria, goes back to 700 B.C., and yet, the term Bulgarian Turkish literature, comprises the period between the Ottoman time to present. İslam Beytullah Erdi, who was born in 1940 in Bulgaria and died in 2014 in Turkey, is an author of modern Turkish literature, though he used the name Islam Beytullov during his literary life in Bulgaria. However, he is known as Islam Beytullah Erdi among Turkic World and Turkey. He stood up against human rights infraction, against Turks in Bulgaria, during Jurkiv period and thence, detained. Subsequently, he immigrated to Turkey and got citizenship, when he was deported from Bulgaria in 1989. He became one of the leading authors in Bulgarian modern Turkish literature, not only with his journalist author identity but also with his novels, stories and travel writings. At this work, we emphasize on Turkish presence in Bulgaria and the life, art and works of Islam Beytullah Erdi, who is a presenter of Bulgarian Turkish literature.