Microsoft Word 1 Arif thesis cover final doc

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
7 
During the long years of studying Turkish at SOAS at a mature age I was lucky to 
have two inspirational teachers, Dr Bengisu Rona and Dr Yorgo Dedes. Dr Dedes 
gave me the keys which open the fascinating and complex Old Turkic and Ottoman 
worlds and their relationship to the present world of Modern Turkey. Apart from the 
practical help he gave me during the research period and his help in deciphering the 
illegible parts from 
Dergâh, 
he introduced me to 
Yaban, 
the work which has become 
a focal point in my thesis.
Dr Bengisu Rona was the teacher who suggested and encouraged me to delve into 
the subject of the thesis. I owe my love of Turkish literature to her. In her literature 
classes, which were much anticipated by all participants, she provided us with a very 
great range of literary texts in the original language. Difficult prose and verse of the 
Tanzimat period were analysed with the clarity which her own name suggests. As we 
moved into the 20th century, the beauty and eloquence of the unadorned Turkish 
language was revealed to us as well. The extensive notes I took in her classes have 
never ceased to be a point of reference. In addition to this, I am grateful for all her 
good guidance throughout my research, for painstakingly reading the drafts of my 
thesis – even when these were presented to her at the eleventh hour – for her 
encouraging comments and for always making difficulties sound manageable. I am 
also indebted to her for all her suggestions and corrections in my translations from 
Turkish.
There are two people without whom the thesis would have been impossible to 
complete.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
8 
I am grateful to my friend, Zerrin Sayar, who helped me throughout with an 
unreserved and sisterly devotion. She untied knotty points in Turkish texts, checked 
long passages of translation, helped bypass the impassable difficulties of ordering 
Turkish books online from London and always made everything she did for me seem 
as if she enjoyed doing it. I quickly concluded that Turks and Greeks have more in 
common than I found their literatures have. Needless to say, our friendship was 
formed in Dr Rona’s literature class.
Last but definitely not least I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude 
to my husband, George, who very patiently has always been next to me, mercilessly 
challenging me, mercifully helping me and always remaining a source of inspiration. 
I owe him a great thank you for his practical help while writing my thesis and for 
making attempts to correct my English.
I know however that despite all the help I have received I am responsible for many 
shortcomings.

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