Şevket Akgün
I was born in Dalyan in 1928 so I’m 78 years old. My father came from Tavaş and my mother, who was Cretan, came here with the exchange of populations. I started school in Dalyan in 1935 and in those days we did 3 years. In my 3rd year, 1938, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk who led us against our enemies in the War of Independence, died. We put up flags all around the mosque and the square and there were great lamentations. After the ceremony the Dalyan public and the school children were all crying as they left. I’ll never forget that, it’s the strongest memory of my life.
After the 3 years at Dalyan school my parents decided that my education must continue and so I went to Köyceğiz Atatürk Primary School for my 4th and 5th years and stayed with relatives for those 2 years. The local education manager then was İzzet Akgül and he said to me, ‘’Şevket, you’re a hardworking student, I’m going to send you to the village institution’’ and I went in 1941 to Kızılçullu for 5 years, winter and summer to study. In the winters we studied, in the summers we learned trades like carpentry, construction, blacksmithing. I graduated in 1946 and in September at 15 years old, I started teaching at Okçular. However, there was no school then. I met with a friend of mine from our studying days, Hüseyin Yılmaz who worked at the coffee house and we discussed how to get a school building.
A year later Okçular and Kemaliye got together and started building a clinic and a school. That was 1947. I stayed as a teacher at this school until 1960.
I was appointed muhtar (village headman) of Kemaliye, so for 2 years I was both teacher and muhtar.
One moment I won’t forget is when Ali Nazlı Osman, deceased, was sent to Foça jail and a little later escaped and I heard he’d come back and so he didn’t get sent back I went to see the prosecutor. One evening while we were eating I said, ‘Look, tomorrow I’m going to hand you over to the prosecutor, I give you my word nothing bad will come to you’, and he agreed to my proposal, just as his punishment ended and he returned to the village.
In 1965 and 6 I taught at Beyobası and at that time Okçular’s muhtar, Ali Yazan, with a group of villagers requested the Vali (Provincial Governor), Şerif Tüten to ask me to come back to Okçular. So until 1973, September 15th, when I retired, I remained teaching at Okçular school. Now I’m an Okçular resident. Since 1990 when tourism started to accelerate in Dalyan I turned my house there into a pension and started that. 5 years later I closed the pension and opened the Ley Ley Stork Restaurant and since then have been in tourism.
I have ‘adopted’ a number of guides and boat captains and helped them. Doing these things I remain happy. At 78 years of age I am thankful that I have no complaints, and can read the paper and my books without glasses, I have 4 daughters and 2 sons.
I wish all our villagers peace of mind, health, a full life and much pleasure from small things.
© 2010 The Okçular Book Project
Şevket Akgün 1928-
Dear Şevket died on 17th December 2010
He is buried in his beloved Okçular. RIP
Şevket with his ‘friend’ Garip
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