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Safiye Menger Imre (1927-2000)
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JensStoltenberg
May 19, 2000, 3:00:00 AM5/19/00
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> SAFIYE MENGER IMRE (1927-2000)
>
> It is with great sadness that I learned of the death of Mrs. Safiye
> Imre early in May. When I visited her in her Istanbul office last
> December, I had no inkling that she would pass away within 5 months.
> She spoke with determination about her plans for the Ahmet Veli Menger
> Foundation, which she had established in her father's name. Under
> her direction, the Foundation has sponsored a variety of publications
> relating to the Turkic world and aimed to promote cultural and
> linguistic exchange among the Turkic people.
>
> Safiye Imre was born in 1927 in Tientsin, China, to Ahmet Veli Menger
> and Ayshe Satilgan. Both of her parents traced their roots to Kazan,
> Tatarstan, although her father was born in Petropavlovsk, North
> Kazakhstan, and her mother near Ufa, Bashkiria. They were married
> in Manchuria, where Mr. Menger was involved in import and export
> of goods. Following the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, the Mengers
> left China in 1938. After a short stay in Germany, the family settled
> in Istanbul, where Mr. Menger eventually built a successful business,
> as a Mercedes-Benz dealer. Although not an activist, Mr. Menger
> maintained an interest in the Turkic world and read widely on the
> subject.
>
> In 1995, Safiye Imre established the Ahmet Veli Menger Foundation.
> To date, the Foundation has published about a dozen books. The list
> includes biographies of such Turkic leaders as Ismail Bey Gaspirali
> (in Turkish), Yusuf Akchura (in Turkish), Kissai Yusuf (in Tatar),
> and a classical work, Kazan and Bolgar Turks (in Tatar) by Rizaettin
> Fahrettin. The Turkish/Tatar and Tatar/Turkish Dictionary published in
> Kazan is certainly a valuable contribution. The Foundation also
> sponsored the publication of the book on Sefika Gaspirali and the
> Turkic Women's Movement in Russia by S. and N. Hablemitoglu, as well
> as the Turkic Congresses in Tzarist Russia by N. Hablemitoglu.
>
> Perhaps the most unusual book in the series of publications undertaken
> by the Menger Foundation is the facsimile edition of a hand-written
> work, "Oguzname" (or "Oguz Kagan Destani"), a Turkic legend about Oguz
> Khan and the origins of Oguz Turks. This variant of Oguzname, which
> dates from the early 18th century and is a part of the G. Ibrahimov
> Collection at the Kazan Academy of Sciences in Tatarstan, had remained
> unknown to scholars until its publication by the Menger Foundation. Mrs.
> Imre was very proud of this edition.
>
> In recent years, Safiye Imre took an active interest in Turkic studies
> by publishing reviews and translations, mostly in Kirim, a journal
> published in Turkish in Ankara. She brought to the attention of Turkish
> readers aspects of Tatar history and literature, which would have
> otherwise remained unknown because they were originally published in
> Tatar or Russian. A sampling of her publications reveals the extent of
> her interest in Tatar culture: "Kirim Dugunu" [Crimean Wedding, a
> translation of an excerpt from Aydar Halim's book, Ubit Imperia], Kirim
> 6 (23), 1998; "Rizaettin Fahrettin and Islamiyet" [Fahrettin, a
> 19th-century writer and reformer, and Islam], and "Volga-Ural
> Bolgesinde Devlet ve Kilisenin Islam Politikalari" [Policies of the
> State and the Church in the Volga-Ural Region in the 16th and 17th
> centuries, a translation of Iskendar Gilyazov's article], Kirim 7 (25),
> 1999; and "Han Kizi" [Daughter of the Khan, a folk epic popular among
> the Tatars of the Volga region and Siberia], Kirim 7(27), 1999.
>
> Had Safiye Menger Imre lived longer, how much richer our understanding
> of Tatar culture and history would become. May she rest in peace.
>
> Inci Bowman
> Washington, DC
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> CRIMEA-L: A Discussion List on Crimea and Crimean Tatars
> Sponsored by International Committee for Crimea (ICC) and Teklan Internet
> ICC Web Site: http://members.xoom.com/iccrimea/
> Home of Crimean Tatars: http://www.euronet.nl/users/sota/krimtatar.html
>
> It is with great sadness that I learned of the death of Mrs. Safiye
> Imre early in May. When I visited her in her Istanbul office last
> December, I had no inkling that she would pass away within 5 months.
> She spoke with determination about her plans for the Ahmet Veli Menger
> Foundation, which she had established in her father's name. Under
> her direction, the Foundation has sponsored a variety of publications
> relating to the Turkic world and aimed to promote cultural and
> linguistic exchange among the Turkic people.
>
> Safiye Imre was born in 1927 in Tientsin, China, to Ahmet Veli Menger
> and Ayshe Satilgan. Both of her parents traced their roots to Kazan,
> Tatarstan, although her father was born in Petropavlovsk, North
> Kazakhstan, and her mother near Ufa, Bashkiria. They were married
> in Manchuria, where Mr. Menger was involved in import and export
> of goods. Following the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, the Mengers
> left China in 1938. After a short stay in Germany, the family settled
> in Istanbul, where Mr. Menger eventually built a successful business,
> as a Mercedes-Benz dealer. Although not an activist, Mr. Menger
> maintained an interest in the Turkic world and read widely on the
> subject.
>
> In 1995, Safiye Imre established the Ahmet Veli Menger Foundation.
> To date, the Foundation has published about a dozen books. The list
> includes biographies of such Turkic leaders as Ismail Bey Gaspirali
> (in Turkish), Yusuf Akchura (in Turkish), Kissai Yusuf (in Tatar),
> and a classical work, Kazan and Bolgar Turks (in Tatar) by Rizaettin
> Fahrettin. The Turkish/Tatar and Tatar/Turkish Dictionary published in
> Kazan is certainly a valuable contribution. The Foundation also
> sponsored the publication of the book on Sefika Gaspirali and the
> Turkic Women's Movement in Russia by S. and N. Hablemitoglu, as well
> as the Turkic Congresses in Tzarist Russia by N. Hablemitoglu.
>
> Perhaps the most unusual book in the series of publications undertaken
> by the Menger Foundation is the facsimile edition of a hand-written
> work, "Oguzname" (or "Oguz Kagan Destani"), a Turkic legend about Oguz
> Khan and the origins of Oguz Turks. This variant of Oguzname, which
> dates from the early 18th century and is a part of the G. Ibrahimov
> Collection at the Kazan Academy of Sciences in Tatarstan, had remained
> unknown to scholars until its publication by the Menger Foundation. Mrs.
> Imre was very proud of this edition.
>
> In recent years, Safiye Imre took an active interest in Turkic studies
> by publishing reviews and translations, mostly in Kirim, a journal
> published in Turkish in Ankara. She brought to the attention of Turkish
> readers aspects of Tatar history and literature, which would have
> otherwise remained unknown because they were originally published in
> Tatar or Russian. A sampling of her publications reveals the extent of
> her interest in Tatar culture: "Kirim Dugunu" [Crimean Wedding, a
> translation of an excerpt from Aydar Halim's book, Ubit Imperia], Kirim
> 6 (23), 1998; "Rizaettin Fahrettin and Islamiyet" [Fahrettin, a
> 19th-century writer and reformer, and Islam], and "Volga-Ural
> Bolgesinde Devlet ve Kilisenin Islam Politikalari" [Policies of the
> State and the Church in the Volga-Ural Region in the 16th and 17th
> centuries, a translation of Iskendar Gilyazov's article], Kirim 7 (25),
> 1999; and "Han Kizi" [Daughter of the Khan, a folk epic popular among
> the Tatars of the Volga region and Siberia], Kirim 7(27), 1999.
>
> Had Safiye Menger Imre lived longer, how much richer our understanding
> of Tatar culture and history would become. May she rest in peace.
>
> Inci Bowman
> Washington, DC
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
> CRIMEA-L: A Discussion List on Crimea and Crimean Tatars
> Sponsored by International Committee for Crimea (ICC) and Teklan Internet
> ICC Web Site: http://members.xoom.com/iccrimea/
> Home of Crimean Tatars: http://www.euronet.nl/users/sota/krimtatar.html
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