Kalkan Turkish Local News is working (slowly, but surely) on a history project.

The project will take a few years, but every now and then we aim to publish the odd article, to give you a flavour of what we are doing.

In this article, we tell you a  little about a famous Kalkan resident Mustafa Kocakaya.

Mustafa Kocakaya Caddesi runs from the taxi rank, past the PTT, turning right down the hill towards the Ottoman House restaurant.

There are only three other streets in town named after people: Atatürk Caddesi, (after the founder of the Republic of Turkey), and Hasan Altan Caddesi, and Süleyman Yılmaz Caddesi, named after two Kalkan residents.  More on the latter two in later articles.

Mustafa Kocakaya was a merchant in Kalkan in the 1930s, when the Republic of Turkey was just a few years old.  At that time Kalkan was a busy trading port, and Mustafa Kocakaya became a wealthy individual through this trade.

He did not have a family of his own - he was married, but had no children.  However, he was seen by many as a patriarchal figure within the village.  He had a social conscience, and his wealth enabled him to make a significant contribution to his community.

For example, he recognised the importance of education for the next generation, and at a time when there was limited state funding, following the First World War, and the Greek - Turkish War, Mustafa Kocakaya designed and built a primary school.  Children from Kalkan and many surrounding villages attended.

The building that bears his name, Mustafa Kocakaya İlkokulu, is no longer used as a school.  You can see it in the town centre, next to the main car park. 

It can be clearly seen from the KTLN Town webcam.  Its future is uncertain, but some people would like to see it become a cultural centre, showcasing Kalkan's history.

Another example of his philanthropy was the renewal of the old Greek church in the centre of town, which was transformed into a mosque in 1934.

Here are a few more photographs of the man himself.

Below: Taken in 1945, an older Mustafa Kocakaya can be seen at the front, with his walking stick.

Below: Mustafa Kocakaya and the school that bears his name.

Kalkan Turkish Local News would like to thank Ergun Duran and the Kalkander Association, for their contribution to this article.

Please respect copyright, and do not copy these images.

Would you like to help us with our history project? 
Working with local people, and others interested in the subject, we are pulling together facts and photos from Kalkan's history.

Do you have local stories from the last century, or old photos?  Click here for more details: KTLN Kalkan History Project

Kalkan Turkish Local News - right up your sokak.