Trace of the Years (Book)

Yılların İzi, teacher, the memoirs of thinker and author Mahir İz (1895–1974), recount his life, the events he experienced, the incidents he witnessed, and the personalities he knew. memorial was published in 1975.

The memoirs compiled in Yılların İzi were requested by Mahir İz’s students, friends, and close relatives. Concerned that his words and memories might be forgotten, they repeatedly urged that his experiences be preserved for future generations. Under the diligent supervision of his brother, Professor Fahir İz, the book Yılların İzi emerged after years of persistent effort. Mahir İz organized his memories into four sections: 1) Personal Memoirs, 2) Literary Memoirs, 3) Social Memoirs, and 4) Professional Memoirs. The title itself was suggested by his friend Muhiddin Akçor Lord.

Mahir İz offered the following remarks on the process of writing Yılların İzi:

“My friends and relatives encouraged me to write my memoirs. Whenever I recounted an event from my life in class or at any gathering, those present would insist that I record it. I began writing, then paused for eight years. I resumed, only to pause again for two years. My brother, Professor Fahir İz, began closely monitoring my progress. He showed me examples, wrote letters asking where I had reached, and ultimately compelled me to continue working. (...) My dear friend Muhiddin Akçor Bey, who abandoned commerce due to the erosion of commercial ethics and was deeply admired by his father-in-law Mehmet Akif Bey as a model of moral virtue, suggested replacing my original title ‘Yılların İzleri’ with ‘Yılların İzi.’ I accepted his suggestion as the book’s naming patron.”^【1】

Yılların İzi is a multi-layered narrative that encompasses not only Mahir İz’s personal recollections but also the cultural, political, and social transformations experienced by Türkiye. Spanning from the final years of the Ottoman Empire to the establishment of the Republic and the intellectual climate that emerged in its wake, these memoirs offer insightful clues about the era through Mahir İz’s personal observations. He does not merely recount historical events—he interprets, evaluates, and contextualizes them. Thus, the book transcends the genre of memoir to become both a period panorama and a cultural memory artifact.

Yılların İzi is a work in which Mahir İz recounts, in his own distinctive style, the personalities, events, and social atmosphere he encountered during his approximately sixty-year career in education. He maintained contact with leading figures in religion, literature, and politics of his time, meticulously portraying their personalities, thought worlds, and roles in society.

Some of the prominent personalities featured in Yılların İzi include Mehmet Akif Ersoy, Fethi Okyar, Rauf Orbay, İsmet İnönü, Dr. Adnan Adıvar, Omar Ferid Public, Rıza Tevfik, Midhat Cemal Kuntay, Yahya Kemal Beyatlı, Nihad Sami Banarlı, Celal Bayar, Ahmet Süheyl Ünver, and Hüseyin Cahit Yalçın.

At the end of the book, there is a section containing elegies composed upon Mahir İz’s death and articles published in the press. Additionally, numerous photograph related to the individuals and events described in his memoirs are included at the conclusion of the volume.