In the book published with the title The July 15 Martyrs, there are stories of 239 martyrs based on the interviews made with their family members. The texts in the book were written by author M. Davut Göksu. The photographs of the families of martyrs were shot by Nevzat Yıldırım. Yasemin Kondolot is the graphic designer of the project coordinated by Gülizar Sönmez. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Culture Inc., dedicates the book The July 15 Martyrs to the martyrs who defended these lands with their lives that night and to freedom.
FACE-TO-FACE INTERVIEWS
More than two hundred martyrs’ families were interviewed for the book The July 15 Martyrs. The houses of families of the martyrs in Istanbul and Ankara were visited, and interviews were held face-to-face. Based on the interviews held, the stories of the martyrs’ were written individually. The lives of the heroes, how they went on the streets that night, how they resisted the coup attempt, and how they were martyred were explained in detail.
A SPECIAL CONCEPT
The photographs of the wives, sons, parents and siblings martyrs left behind were taken by famous photography artist Nevzat Yıldırım with permission from families, and with a special concept. A photographic language was created by using the same light, the same shooting distance, and by placing the martyr’s family in the middle of the frame. Since there were also families who did not want to give interviews and had pictures taken, those pages were left blank in the book. In the book, sections about the families who did not want to give interviews were kept brief. The statements of the martyrs’ families, as well as the images, interviews, statements and news from the media were also assessed in writing the texts. Up-to-date information was featured in the book supported by field work.
EVENTS EXPLAINED
The chronology of the events on the night of July 15 can also be followed in the book which depicts the story of areas where there was resistance. In the book, featuring photographs of July 15 night martyrs and their families that will be imprinted in memories, there is also the chronology of the night and areas where there was. The 24-hour period, the official statements, the events area by area are in the foreword section as a documentary.
Nevzat Yıldırım (Photography Artist)
“July 15 was an event that deeply affected Turkish society. We took the photographs of the wives, sons, parents and siblings martyrs left behind with permission from families, and with a special concept, by creating a photographic language by using the same light, the same shooting distance. Since there were also families who did not want to give interviews and had pictures taken, those pages were left blank in the book. When we visited martyr families, we allocated about 1.5-2 hours each.”
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