A part of

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...

Vişnezade Park is oriented under the name "Şairler Sofası". ''Şairler Sofası'' is the 1998 sculpture by

Gürdal Duyar Gürdal Duyar (20 August 1935 – 18 April 2004) was a Turkish people, Turkish sculptor, known especially for his monuments to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Atatürk and Bust (sculpture), busts of famous people. His art is characterized by a Modern scul ...

whos name the park goes by. The depicted characters in the sculpture as well as the figures depicted in the other sculptures in the greater park are 19th and 20th century poets who have mostly lived in and around Beşiktaş. In the sculpture ''Şairler Sofası'', Duyar has composed it such that the poets are "hand in hand" and "shoulder to shoulder". It includes the poets

Behçet Necatigil Behçet Necatigil (16 April 1916 – 13 December 1979) was a leading Turkish author, poet and translator. Biography Behçet was born in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire, in 1916. He graduated from the Teachers' High School ( tr, İstanbul Yüksek ...

Sabahattin Kudret Aksal Sabahattin is a Turkish given name for males. Variant forms of the name such as Sabahudin are also found in the former Ottoman Empire. Notable people with the name include: * Prens Sabahaddin (1877–1948), Ottoman sociologist * Sabahattin Ali (190 ...

, Cahit Sıtkı Tarancı, Oktay Rıfat,

Orhan Veli Orhan Ghazi ( ota, اورخان غازی; tr, Orhan Gazi, also spelled Orkhan, 1281 – March 1362) was the second bey of the Ottoman Beylik from 1323/4 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, as the son of Osman I. In the early stages of his re ...

Neyzen Tevfik Tevfik Kolaylı (March 24, 1879 – January 28, 1953), better known by his pen name Neyzen Tevfik, was a Turkish poet, satirist, and ''neyzen'' (a " ney performer" in Turkish). He was born in Bodrum and died in Istanbul. His name is occasio ...

and Nigâr Hanım together in one composition. The Architectural design of the park was done by Erhan İşözen. The park was opened in 1998 together with the first sculptures. at the inauguration of the park the mayor of Beşiktaş, Ayfer Atay, said that the park will be a place where books will be signed and poems will be read. The park has become a place where more poets and other members of Turkish soceity were honored with monuments over the years.

The Sculptures

On the inauguration of the park in 1998, the park featured sculptures by

, Yunus Tonkuş and

Namık Denizhan Namik or Namık is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Namig Abdullayev (born 1971), Azerbaijani wrestler * Namik Dokle (born 1946), Albanian politician * Namık Gedik (1911–1960), Turkish physician and politician * ...

. Later on over the years new sculptures by them, and other sculptors, have been added to the park. Following the death of

Necati Cumalı Necati Cumalı (13 January 1921 – 10 January 2001) was a Turkish writer of novels, short-stories, essays and poetry. He was born in Florina, Greece to a Turkish family and his family had settled in Urla near İzmir in the framework of the 1 ...

in 2001 a sculpture of Cumalı by

was added to the park in 2002. Since the initial opening of the park the sculptures of the poets

Süleyman Seba Süleyman Seba (; 5 April 1926 – 13 August 2014) was a Turkish football player of Abkhazian origin and was the longest presiding Chairman of the Istanbul based multisports club Beşiktaş J.K. He was also an intelligence officer for National I ...

Neslihan Pala Neslihan is a Turkish feminine given name that means 'noble'. Notable people with the name include: * Neslihan Atagül (born 1992), Turkish actress * Neslihan Demir Darnel (born 1983), Turkish volleyball player * Neslihan Kavas (born 1987), Turkis ...

has also been added. On 13 April 2016 the sculpture of

Ataol Behramoğlu Ataol Behramoğlu (born April 13, 1942) is a prominent Turkish poet, author, and Russian-into-Turkish literary translator. Life Ataol Behramoğlu was born on April 13, 1942 in Istanbul. He wrote poems in honour of his father Hikmet Bahramoglu ...

was inaugurated. It was sculpted by

Ali Yaldır ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

Zafer Dağdeviren Zafer, Dhafer or Dhaffer ( ar, ظافر ''ẓāfir'') is an Arabic masculine given name meaning "victorious, Conqueror, Triumphant or Victor". It is used in Arabic-speaking countries, Turkey, the Balkans, and many countries that have come into conta ...

and

Derya Ersoy Derya is a Turkish and Kurdish unisex given name. The word is derived from the Persian دریا ("Daryā"), meaning ''sea''. In Old Persian it was pronounced 𐎭𐎼𐎹drayah-. In Turkish it is pronounced DER-Yaa and is used for both female and ...

. In 2017 the sculpture of Alâeddin Yavaşça was erected. At some point a sculpture of Cahit Külebi has also been added.

Photos

Sources

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Şairler Sofası Parks in Istanbul 1998 sculptures 2002 sculptures 2016 sculptures Outdoor sculptures in Turkey Monuments and memorials in Istanbul Sculptures of women in Turkey Sculptures of men in Turkey Istanbul-related lists Events in Istanbul Sculptures in Turkey 1998 in Turkey Sculptures by Gürdal Duyar