Yaşar Hayrettin Dahik

Yaşar Hayrettin Dahik (1920–2005) was an Istanbul city ​​original and the last flying newspaper crier of the evening edition of Istanbul's Turkish newspapers.

youth

He was born in Dikilitaş in Beşiktaş in Istanbul in 1920 . His father was Bilal Ağa, a black Egyptian who worked as a lathe operator in the Sultan's palace workshops in the Yıldız district . Sultan Abdülhamid II sent him to Germany specifically for training as a mechanical engineer. His mother was an Arab from Medina . Yaşar Hayrettin Dahik was the youngest of seven siblings, five of whom died in childhood. Dahik's father died when Yasar was three days old. The mother brought the family through as a laundress for wealthy families. Dahik attended the primary school "Saint Georges Baptist" ( Sen Jorj Baptist ) and learned English and French there. Thanks to a scholarship, he was able to go to school in Vienna for four years at the age of 15. Dahik enrolled in mechanical engineering, but returned to Istanbul after the outbreak of World War II and attended the Austrian St. Georgs College . After finishing school, Dahik wanted to become a teacher, but did not pass the exam at the Çapa Öğretmen Okulu vocational school .

jobs

With the help of Ali Fuat Cebesoy , Dahik initially got a job in a railway company. Then Dahik was a ticket seller for a ferry. He did his military service as a second lieutenant in Babaeski. Other simple activities followed. The mother died in 1940 and the sister in 1948. Dahik later worked in the restaurant business in İskenderun , but got into a physical argument with a guest when he molested a German girl for whom Dahik was interpreting. At the police station he received the bastinado and then spent two and a half months in prison. Dahik later worked as a guard at a weaving factory in Adana. He also worked as a construction worker on major projects such as dams, roads, bridges, tunnels and power plants. His language skills often suited him. He worked at Incirlik Air Base , building the port in Mersin, as a waiter, washer and clerk. He has also been involved in public health campaigns such as the fight against trachoma and malaria.

Istanbul

At the age of 40, Dahik returned to Istanbul. He worked as a magazine seller or as an accountant for the film company Halk Film. After he had given up this job, Dahik became a flying newspaper crawler ( müvezzi ) with the help of his bicycle, which came from his time in Vienna , but hardly earned enough to live on. The sister's house had meanwhile burned down. For a while Dahik lived in a tent on the property, but was evicted from there. In particular, the Austrian St. George community now campaigned for him. They paid him long-term hotel accommodation in Karaköy and two meals a day in St. George's canteen. In the evening Dahik continued to call out the evening editions of Turkish newspapers. Ümit Bayazoğlu described him in the following words:

Up until the end of the 1980s, there was always a black newspaper crier in Cağaloğlu towards the evening. He was tall and thin and quite old. […] A cigarette burnt up to the filter between the lips, ash on the collar and a wad of newspapers under the armchair.

In the last years of Dahik's life, the Order of the Lazarists took over the costs of the old people's home and also paid for the hospital. Dahik was most recently in treatment at the French Lape Hospital in Şişli ( Özel Fransız Lape Hastanesi ). He died there on June 10, 2005 after a serious illness. He was buried on June 13, 2005 in the Feriköy Catholic Cemetery.

Trivia

• The surname Dahik is of Arabic origin and means "the smiling one" or "the laughing one".
• Dahik was portrayed in oil by Gerald Kurdoğlu Nitsche .
• Dahik was a passionate chess player.
• Ümit Bayazoğlu wrote a detailed biography of Dahik.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ümit Bayazoğlu: Uzun, İnce Yolcular. 42 portre. Istanbul 2014, p. 15
2. ↑ Ümit Bayazoğlu: Uzun, İnce Yolcular. 42 portre. Istanbul 2014, p. 14
3. ↑ sg.org.tr ( Memento of the original from December 31, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

literature

• Ümit Bayazoğlu: Uzun, İnce Yolcular . 42 portre. Istanbul 2014, pp. 14-21

Web links

• Memorial page