“Gallipoli Letters 1912-1915, My Soul, My Dear Husband!”

Letters of Captain Yusuf Kenan, who fall a martyr almost a century ago from now, on April 25^th 1915 in Gallipoli Peninsula and his wife Mrs. Zehra which reveal their love and the pains of war from the perspective of a real family are gathered in a book named “Gallipoli Letters 1912-1915, My Soul, My Dear Husband!”

The book, authored by Dr. Fikret Yılmaz, has been published by Bahçeşehir University Publications with the help of the "Bahçeşehir University Gallipoli 100th Year Researches Center". The book, based on 94 letters written between Captain Yusuf Kenan, a permanent defender of Gallipoli and Dardanelles between 1912-1915, his wife Zehra and their close relatives, provides a unique glimpse into the lives of those affected by war. The letters showcase how war impacted Captain Kenan's family and others on the front lines. The book offers readers a chance to understand the effects of war on individuals and their families, and how the war influenced the broader community.

WHO IS YUSUF KENAN?

Captain Yusuf Kenan was a defender of Gallipoli Peninsula and Dardanelles during the First World War, and spent the last three years of his life in this duty. However, this was not his first assignment in the Gallipoli front, as he had previously defended Dardanelles in the Turco-Italian War of 1911-1912 and fought in the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913. In the latter, he was stationed in Maydos (Eceabat), Bolayır, and Anafartalar for 11 months. He was sent back to Gallipoli in September 1914 for the First World War and martyred on 25 April 1915 while fighting against the forces that landed in İkiz Bay. He was 34 years old at the time of his death, leaving behind his 27-year-old wife Zehra and their two children, aged three and six months. His family learned of his death 15 days later.

The book "Gallipoli Letters 1912-1915, My Soul, My Dear Husband" was prepared for publication by the Bahçeşehir University Gallipoli 100th Year Research Center and provides readers with the opportunity to witness the effects of war on a family's lives and those outside the front through the correspondences between Captain Kenan, his wife Zehra, and their close relatives. Based on 94 letters, the book traces the war front and its impact on both soldiers and civilians.