I was born in a village that feels like the whole world is a steppe. This village, whose name is Süruç, is a central village 80 km away from Konya. Surrounded by the villages of Aksaray, this small village is famous for its sinkholes as well as its plain. My birth date on paper is early 1978. Perhaps this date is fictional, as with all peasant children. Because farmer fathers get their children’s official identity documents when they need it. I was 3-4 years old.
The details of my birth date, according to my mother’s climatic “child calendar”, coincide with the year my late father went on pilgrimage, when the almond flakes hardened and became inedible. With a rough calculation, the first week of May 1975…
When asked what it was like to be the last child of a family of nine siblings, I always said, “Well!..”. in the past. My father’s story began at the age of 14. He was married to his aunt, who was widowed in a Levirate type marriage. He had four children from this first wife. When his first wife died at a young age, my mother, who lived in a neighboring village and was 18 at the time, got married. My mother embraces and raises these four children, and during this time she gives birth to six children. One night, when his first child, Ömer, was very young, he suddenly flew away from his bosom and went to infinity.
I started primary school in the village when I was 5 years old, just because of enthusiasm. A year later, I had to continue in Konya, but I started Mahmut Şevket Paşa Primary School from the 1st grade again.
I completed secondary and high school at Karatay Secondary School/High School in the famous Saman Pazarı district, next to the now demolished Military Barracks. The school trip I took from Mevlana district to Saman Bazaar for 6 years, mostly passing through Üçler Cemetery, holds many memories in my mind.
I took the university entrance exam in 1993 “just so”. Because my late father had serious promises. He was going to open a grocery store for me in the village… His sons from my mother were educated and their relations with the village were cut off, while my other brothers were busy with their own business. The only thing left was me, the vineyard, to take care of the gardening.
In July 1993, while digging through a haystack, I learned that I had passed the exam. I was going to study at Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Turkish Language and Literature.
After an adventurous university life of four years, I graduated in 1997. A few months later, I started to work as a research assistant at Balıkesir University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Turkish Language and Literature. I continued this duty until 2003. Meanwhile, I completed my master’s degree. In 2003, I transferred to the Ministry of National Education through inter-institutional transfer “on the need I see.” I worked as a Turkish teacher for 6 months at 14 Eylül Primary School in Karacabey district of Bursa. In 2004, I started to work as a Turkish Language and Literature Teacher at İvrindi High School in Balıkesir’s İvrindi district. At the end of 2005, I started to work at Zühtü Özkardaşlar High School in the center of Balıkesir. About 15 days later, I started to work as a lecturer in the Turkish Language and Literature Department of the Black Sea Technical University Giresun Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
After continuing this duty for 7 years, I started to work as an Instructor in the Department of Turkish Language and Literature at Karadeniz Technical University in May 2013.
I completed my doctoral thesis titled “The Occupational Folklore of Fishermen in Giresun and Trabzon Provinces” at the Social Sciences Institute Turkish Language and Literature Department of the same university.
I was the General Coordinator of the Black Sea International Journal of Social Sciences, which was published independently for 5 years. I was the founding director of Giresun University Turkish and Foreign Language Application and Research Center (TOMER). Afterwards, I worked as a manager at Karadeniz Technical University Continuing Education Center for 4 years.
For 13 years, I did comparative research mainly on Eastern Black Sea folklore and ethnography. Apart from completing two scientific research projects with the support of TUBITAK on the axis of regional culture, I wrote books and articles. In addition, in 2018, I started to carry out the duties of Motif Academy Journal of Folklore Editorial and Journal of Cultural Studies Board Member and Assistant Editor.
In March 2019, I ended my 13-year adventure in the Eastern Black Sea Region and started my new job at Izmir Democracy University. Shortly after, I got the title of Associate Professor. I continue my project-based academic studies in Izmir, one of the most beautiful cities in Turkey.