General Spirituality: The Turkish Lifestyle at the Tatar Literature of the Late 19th – Early 20th Centuries

In the 19-20th centuries the most progressive Tatar intellectuals and writers in one way or another kept in touch with Turkey and Istanbul, in particular. They also expressed their thoughts and feelings regarding this country in their fictional works and memoirs. In this respect, along with the works by Sh. Marjani, G. Iskhaki and I. Bikkulov, the ‘Möhäžirlär’ (Immigrants) story by M. Galyau is one that deserves attention as well. Despite the geographical distance, the Tatar-Turkish literary and cultural relationships, as well as economic, trace back deep into the history. Some extant documents prove that the Golden Horde, later the Kazan Khanate, and the Ottoman State were connected on a political-diplomatic level, as well as cooperated in business and trade back in the early 15th century. Speaking of cultural, academic and literary relationships between the peoples of Turkey and Tatarstan, the authors of academic research works primarily refer to the 19 – early 20th centuries, the time when Istanbul was known as a cultural and academic centre and home for publicistic, academic literature and literary fiction. The relevance of this paper can be explained by how poorly this topic – representation of Turkish realia in literary fiction, publications and travel writing of the 20th century Tatar academics and writers – is explored. The literary, publicistic and travel writings of Sh. Mardjani, G. Iskhaki, M.Galau, K.Bikkulova have given us materials proving the close relationships between two kindred nations, Tatars and Turks, in the late 19– early 20th centuries.