Baharlı Neighborhood Family Genealogies and Pictures: (PART FOUR)

Dear readers,

In this section, I will not only present you with some family genealogies and old photographs. In fact, on these pages, I will try to bring together the human memory, family ties, and shared past of Baharlı Neighborhood, passed down from generation to generation. Because the history of a neighborhood is not merely composed of its streets, houses, and official records. The true history is hidden in the stories of the people who grew up on those streets, in the extended branches of families, and in the names on the back of an old photograph that are on the verge of being forgotten.

In this comprehensive and quite arduous work, I feel it is my duty to thank our former headman, Necdet Karatepe, in front of all of you, for never leaving me alone, and for his great efforts in bringing this work to fruition with his knowledge, patience, and continuous support.

To love a neighborhood is not merely to carry its headman's seal. To truly love a neighborhood is to know its people, to understand its past, to share its sorrows and joys, and to embrace everyone with the same sincerity, without any discrimination. Necdet Karatepe, with his interest, helpfulness, and self-sacrifice, is today one of the finest representatives of this understanding and the spirit of Baharlı Neighborhood.

The formation of Baharlı Neighborhood's population structure in the Republican era began in the 1920s. The first community to settle in the neighborhood were the Terekemes. In this sense, they can be considered the first founding families of today's Baharlı Neighborhood in the Republican era.

Terekeme families were sometimes referred to by the names of the tribes they belonged to, and sometimes by the names of the villages they came from. One of the first and most important branches of the neighborhood was the community known as "Çığın Karakoyunlu." In later years, Saraçlı (Pırçoy), Hacıağa, and other family groups also took their places in the neighborhood.

Over time, marriages took place between these families; kinship ties multiplied, and a strong social integration occurred in a short period. Despite coming from the same root or closely related family circles, the fact that these families adopted different surnames after the 1934 Surname Law led to people from the same root being seen under different family names today. For this reason, it is often not possible to understand family ties merely by looking at surnames. This is precisely where the importance of genealogies emerges.

The second significant change in the social structure of Baharlı Neighborhood occurred in the autumn of 1930. Following the suppression of the Mount Ararat Rebellion in September 1930, some Kurdish villages around Mount Ararat—such as Adetli, Karahacılı, Kolukent, Karagüney, and other surrounding settlements—were included in the Prohibited Zone, leading some Kurdish families living there to seek new settlements.

During this process, Ahmed Şemo and Ali Mirze Bey settled in Baharlı Neighborhood with their families in the autumn of 1930. Other Kurdish families followed them. In later years, with the settlement of Azerbaijani Turkish families in the neighborhood, Baharlı gained a colorful neighborhood identity where people from different origins shared the same streets, the same neighborhoods, the same joys, and the same sorrows.

However, Terekeme families have a decisive place in the formation of Baharlı Neighborhood's historical fabric and cultural character. Families who settled in the neighborhood later also became a natural part of this cultural environment over time; lives intertwined through neighborly relations, friendships, and marriages. Today, it is no longer possible to separate this past with clear lines. The true story of Baharlı is precisely the story of these intertwined lives.

For this reason, in this study, I first included the Terekeme families, who were the first settled families of the neighborhood, their genealogies, and photographs. Then, I included the Kurdish and Azerbaijani Turkish families who settled in the neighborhood in later years, with the same understanding. My aim is not to prioritize any family over another; rather, it is to meticulously record the collective memory of Baharlı Neighborhood as completely as possible.

One of the most challenging aspects of this work was to find old photographs, correctly identify the people in them, and construct family genealogies as accurately as possible across generations. Sometimes it was necessary to speak with many people to identify a name in a photograph, and sometimes to compare different pieces of information about the same family. Therefore, the resulting work is based not on the memory of a single person, but on the contributions and collective remembrance of many people.

Despite this, it is certainly possible for errors to exist in the genealogies, names, or photo captions. If such an error exists, the responsibility for it primarily lies with me. I specifically ask that no one attribute any malicious intent to this. Any corrections brought to my attention will be carefully evaluated, and the necessary changes will be made without delay.

Similarly, my friends from Baharlı Neighborhood who believe that their family's genealogy or photographs have not been included in this work can also provide me with their information and documents. Because this work is not a closed file, but the living memory of Baharlı Neighborhood. It will continue to grow with new information, new photographs, and new testimonies.

And what a beautiful coincidence it is that, just as I was preparing this work, Mecit Taşan, a valuable elder and one of the esteemed children of our neighborhood, sent me a poem.

When I read the poem, I thought that it not only expressed the feelings of one person but also spoke of friends from the past, our elders whom we have lost, old weddings, neighborhood conversations, and an era that is gradually fading away. It was as if it summarized in a few lines why this genealogical work was being done.

Because people pass away, houses change, the appearance of streets changes; but if names are recorded, faces are preserved in photographs, and memories are put into writing, the past is not entirely lost.

Therefore, before I begin to tell the stories of Baharlı Neighborhood's families, faces, and memories, I would like to give the floor to Mecit Taşan.

FORGOTTEN HEART

O foolish heart, far from sight,
How quickly it forgot its friends, its kin.
This state brings pain to a loving heart,
How quickly it forgot its friends, its kin.

Once you roamed the peaks,
With handkerchief in hand, you danced at weddings.
You played your saz, spoke your words, sometimes wrote poetry,
How quickly it forgot its friends, its kin.

Those who knew value have passed away,
Father, mother, uncle, one by one.
Remembered, revealed to you by the Creator,
How quickly it forgot its friends, its kin.

My age is seventy, my work is done, you say?
May troubles and sorrows not surround me.
May the wheel of time not reach its destination,
How quickly it forgot its friends, its kin.

Mecit, you too were born in Baharlı,
Sometimes emotional, sometimes exuberant.
You looked back at your youth,
How quickly it forgot its friends, its kin.

Mecit Taşan
October 15, 2023 — Bursa

TEREKEME POPULATION FAMILY GENEALOGIES AND PICTURES

NECDET KARATEPE NARRATES

I was born in Baharlı Neighborhood, Iğdır, in 1963, meaning I have carried the spirit of this city and neighborhood within me for 63 years. My father's name is Bayram, and my mother's is Cevahir. I belong to a family of six siblings. My siblings are Cevdet, Nermin, Şirvan, Enver, and Hakan. I am married to Ms. Serpil. I am the father of two children named Tolga and Bayram.

I served as the headman of Baharlı Neighborhood for 15 years. Among the names who served as headmen in Baharlı Neighborhood, to my knowledge, are Nesir Taşan, Rüstem Gülbaşaran, Topal Kadir, Zorba Coşar, Ali Bilen, Alahan Bey, and Hanım Başaran.

After returning from military service, my father worked as a manager at the club run by Mecit Hun. Bureaucrats and well-known figures from the district frequented this place. Thus, my father had a wide circle of acquaintances. I believe the club closed in 1968. My father became a civil servant as an office boy at the courthouse, with Mecit Hun's reference. Later, he worked at the land registry office and the tax office. My mother is a housewife.

The Terekemes in Baharlı Neighborhood took names among themselves according to the name of the place they came from. However, all Terekeme families in Baharlı Neighborhood today came from Yerevan and Vedibasar. In Vedibasar, they lived in a village known as Çığın Karakoyunlu. I believe there were other Terekeme villages named Baharlı around Vedibasar and Zengezur. During the "Kaça-Kaç" (flight and escape) period, they stayed in the Merend region of Western Azerbaijan for a few years. From 1920 onwards, they gradually came to Iğdır. Our large family, known as Çığın Karakoyunlusu, settled entirely in Baharlı Neighborhood. Later, those from Saraçlı (Pırço) and Hacıağa also settled in this neighborhood. Some families went to Mengeser village in the Ağrı region due to malaria. Some of them returned, and some remained there. Close ties were established between families through marriage.

ÇETİN İDEN NARRATES

I was born in Baharlı Neighborhood, Iğdır, in 1962. My father's name is Bilal, and my mother's is Nazlı. I belong to a family of eight siblings. My siblings are Saniye, Altay, Hanlar, Beyler, Nazmiye, Gülsen, Senem, and Çetin. I am married to Ms. Fatma. I am the father of three children: Teoman, Tülay, and Kadir.

My father had a brother named Mehmet (whose wife was Kudret Hanım). My grandfather's name was Mustafa, and his wife's name was Senem. The Terekemes in Baharlı Neighborhood are known in branches. We belong to the Saraçlı group.

WHO IS ÇETİN İDEN?

Serving in a city for many years is not the same as earning the trust of its people. The former is possible with time, the latter with the relationships built with people. Çetin İden is an administrator who has combined approximately forty years of public service with close ties to the people of Iğdır, and is known as much for his conciliatory personality as for his experience.

Born in Iğdır in 1962, İden belongs to one of the city's established families. After completing his primary and secondary education in Iğdır, he graduated from the School of Social Sciences. Combining the values he inherited from his family with the responsibility and discipline required by state service, he embarked on a long career in public administration.

Iğdır becoming a province in 1992 was a significant turning point in his career. In the same year, he started his duty as the Provincial Director of Local Administrations. Throughout his service, which extends from the years when the province's new administrative structure was formed to the present, he worked with different governors. His current position, now known as the Directorate of Administration and Inspection, has made him one of the names intimately familiar with Iğdır's administrative history and local issues.

The certificates of outstanding achievement he received throughout his professional life demonstrate that his work was appreciated by his superiors. However, İden's standing in Iğdır is not limited to official documents alone. The close relationships he built with citizens, his conciliatory approach in disputes, and his constructive personality are important foundations of the respect he commands. Maintaining his connection with people while adhering to the rules of public service is one of the distinctive features of his administrative philosophy.

His candidacy for the mayoralty of Iğdır in 2019 was also a step in his service life extending into politics. Thus, he sought to undertake a different responsibility in the administration of the city where he was born and raised.

What makes Çetin İden stand out among Iğdır's experienced administrators is not merely the number of years he has served. It is his familiarity with his city, his preserved connection with its people, and his ability to combine the experience gained in public service with this closeness. His service life is also a part of Iğdır's story, stretching from its becoming a province to the present day.

WHO IS MEHMET EFENDİ?

(Note: This information was provided by Metin Taşan) This picture was taken in the garden of Hıdır Şeren's son's wedding. In the middle, sitting with his fedora hat, cane, and all his seriousness, is Mehmet Efendi. From left to right are Cemil Bektaş, Metin Taşan (with curly hair and a tie), and Ayhan Kölan.

Mehmet Efendi, with his attire and demeanor, was one of the most respected figures in our neighborhood. He was never without his fedora hat. His posture and confident walk showed that he was a man of society. He was the president of the Farmers' Protection Association. He spent most of his day with his friends in the city center and was an indispensable figure at conversation tables. Mehmet Efendi lived in a two-story house in Ali Eşref Başaran's garden. It had a specially embroidered and ornate balcony on its front facade. He had one daughter. In later years, he married his daughter to Şeref Şen's son.

An important characteristic of Mehmet Efendi was his role as a "toy babası" (wedding father). At weddings, after the meal, money, known as "nemer" among the people, was collected for the new couple. Mehmet Efendi would announce the names of those who gave money, saying, "So-and-so gave this much money. May it be for his son and daughter!" thus both enlivening and managing the wedding atmosphere.

HACI MUHARREM'S SON MEHMET ARSLAN NARRATES

I was born in Baharlı Neighborhood, Iğdır, in 1944. My father's name was Hacı Muharrem. I had two mothers: my mother Efruz and my mother Ziver. My mother Efruz passed away when I was only three or four months old. My father later married Ziver Hanım. Ten children were born from this marriage.

Our family roots extend to Hacıağa village. Both my father and grandfather were born there. During the "Kaça-Kaç" (flight and escape) period, the villagers took refuge in villages like Mengeser, Yoncalı, and Gılesor in the Ağrı region. Later, some of these families returned to Hacıağa, and some came and settled in Baharlı Neighborhood.

All the families in Baharlı bearing the surnames Arslan, Akaslan, and Akarkan were cousins who once lived in Hacıağa. With the Surname Law, each took a different surname. Although our surnames are different, our family root is one.

My grandfather, İskender Bey, was a folk poet who played the saz. That's why he was known as Âşık İskender. His brother, Ateş Arslan, was married to Hanım, Ali Eşref Başaran's sister.

My father, Hacı Muharrem, was born in 1908. In his youth, he was involved in camel herding and sheep breeding. We had four or five shepherds. Camel transportation was an important business in those years. My father passed away in Antalya in 1994 and was buried there.

One of the memories that stuck with me from my life in Baharlı is the days I worked at the Civil Servants' Club. It must have been 1969 or 1970. Mecit Hun and Aziz Güney had jointly opened a Civil Servants' Club. I worked at this club along with Bayram Karatepe from Baharlı Neighborhood. It was a popular spot for well-known people of Iğdır and bureaucrats serving in the district.

However, the club had a deficiency: it had no garden. This problem was not much felt during the winter months. When the weather warmed up and summer arrived, the situation changed. It was not easy to sit indoors in the summer heat of Iğdır. Without air conditioning, people preferred places with gardens. Our club's regulars gradually decreased. Eventually, the club closed.

I also have unforgettable night walks from those days. When we closed the club around midnight, Mecit Hun would walk ahead, and Bayram Karatepe and I would follow about ten steps behind him. The streets were dark; it wasn't safe at night. That's why we would accompany Mecit Hun to his home.

The club closed, and those days are long gone. But I never forgot those nights when Mecit Hun walked ahead, and Bayram and I followed ten steps behind him.

 Families in Baharlı Neighborhood

In Baharlı Neighborhood, neighborliness and kinship are intertwined. Families not only share the same streets; they are also connected to each other's lives through lineage and marriage. Behind different surnames lie common roots, and within separate houses are intertwined family stories.

Ali Eşref Başaran's father, Sarı Bey, and Rüstem and Lazım's father, Sefer Başaran, were cousins. Some cousins within the same family circle had taken the surname Gülbaşaran. The İmdat and Emir Gülbaşaran families are examples of this kinship that continues despite different surnames. Emir Gülbaşaran's wife, Sandık Hanım, was also my paternal uncle's daughter. Therefore, the history of these families I am narrating also merges with the history of my own family.

When you start telling the story of one family in Baharlı, your path leads to the past of another family. While following one surname, you reach the door of another house, and from there, your own relatives. That's why it's possible to list Baharlı's families separately; but it's not easy to separate their stories.