by Patricia Diehm
The literature of Turkey has been influenced by numerous cultures which have during the
centuries exerted influence on the country and its people. The earliest known literature
is comprised of creation myths, tales, and legends of the Babylonians, Assyrians,
Hittites, Greeks and Romans. About a thousand years ago the Turks brought their Central
Asian culture rich in oral poems, tales, lullabies and epics. Many of the stories popular
during the Ottoman empire were adapted from Arabic, Persian, and Indian traditions and
from Islamic sources.
LIST OF SOURCES
 | And, Metin. Karagoz: Turkish Shadow Theatre. 3rd ed. Istanbul: Reyo Ofset, 1987. |
| Andersen, Hans Christian. A Poet's Bazaar. Trans.Grace Thornton. New York: Michael
Kesend Publishing, 1988. |
| Askin, Mustafa. Troy. Rev.ed. Istanbul: Keskin Color Kartpostalchilik,1998. Halman, Talat S. Suleyman The Magnificent Poet. Istanbul: Reyo Ofset, 1987. |
| Turkish Legends and Folk Poems. Istanbul: Dost Yayinlari,1992. |
| Kabacali, Alpay. Nasreddin Hodja. Istanbul: Net Turistik Yayinlar A.S., 1998. Korfman, Manfred, et. al. A Guide to Troy. Istanbul: ege press, 1997. |
| Lewis, Bernard. Istanbul and the Civilization of the Ottoman Empire. Norman and London: University of Oklahoma Press, 1963. |
| Nicholson, Reynold A. Rumi: Poet and Mystic. Oxford: One World,1995. Ozalp, Mehmet. Marsyas'in Ilinden. Tesisleri, Turkey: Akin Ofset,1997. |
| Rumi, Mevlana. Selected Poems. Trans. Annemarie Schimmel. Ankara,Donmez Offset, n.d.
Runciman, Steven. Byzantine Civilization. Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing
Company, 1933, repr. 1967. |
| Silay, Kemal, ed. An Anthology of Turkish Literature. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Turkish Studies, 1996. |
| Walker, Barbara. The Art of the Turkish Tale. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press, 1990. |
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