Mıgırdiç Margosyan (23 December 1938 – 2 April 2022) was a

Turkish-Armenian Armenians in Turkey (; or , ), one of the indigenous peoples of Turkey, have an estimated population of 40,000 to 50,000 today, down from a population of over 2 million Armenians between the years 1914 and 1921. Today, the overwhelming majority ...

writer.

Background

Margosyan was born on 23 December 1938 in the Hançepek district of

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

, Turkey. He received his primary education at the Süleyman Nazif Elementary School and the Ziya Gökalp Middle School in Diyarbakır, and continued his secondary education at the Armenian community schools in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, attending Bezciyan Middle School and

Getronagan Armenian High School Getronagan is an Armenian minority high school in the Karaköy district of Istanbul, Turkey, The school is attached to the Saint Gregory the Illuminator Church. Establishment With the sponsorship of Archbishop Nerses Varjabetyan, Getronagan H ...

. Margosyan received his college degree from the Philosophy Department of the Faculty of Letters at

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

. Between 1966 and 1972, Margosyan worked as the school director of the Surp Haç Tıbrevank Armenian High School and also taught philosophy, psychology, Armenian language, and literature. Later, he left teaching and started commercial activities.

Writing career

Margosyan published a number of short stories in

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

at the '' Marmara'' newspaper, some of which were later collected and published under the name ''Mer Ayt Goğmeri'' () (1984). In 1988 Margosyan received the Eliz Kavukcuyan Literature Award for authors writing in Armenian in Paris, France. Margosyan published ''Gavur Mahallesi'' (1992), ''Söyle Margos Nerelisen?'' (1995) and ''Biletimiz İstanbul'a Kesildi'' (1998) in

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

and in 1999 published his second book, ''Dikrisi Aperen'' in Armenian. His book ''Gavur Mahallesi'' was translated into

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

and published in 1999 with the title ''Li ba me, Li wan deran'' by Avesta Publishing in Istanbul. Margosyan's articles for the daily ''Evrensel'' were published under the name ''Çengelliiğne'' in 1999. Margosyan continued to write for ''Evrensel'' under the column ''Kirveme Mektuplar'', which was published in a 2006 book of the same name. His last book, an autobiographical novel called ''Tespih Taneleri'', was published in 2006.

Death

Margosyan died on 4 April 2022. On 7 April, he was interred at

Şişli Armenian Cemetery The Şişli Armenian Cemetery is an Armenian cemetery in the Şişli district of Istanbul, Turkey which is operated and served by the Armenian community of Turkey. Notable burials * Hovhannes Arsharouni – Armenian Patriarch of Constantin ...

References

1938 births 2022 deaths Turkish people of Armenian descent 20th-century Turkish writers 20th-century Turkish male writers 21st-century Turkish writers Turkish novelists Istanbul University alumni Writers from Istanbul Armenian-language writers Burials at Şişli Armenian Cemetery {{Turkey-writer-stub