Writer (b. 17 April 1890, Crete /
Greece - d. 13 October 1973, İzmir). His real name was Musa Cevat Şakir
Kabaağaçlı. He chose Halicarnas, the name of Bodrum in ancient times as his
nickname with which he gained recognition. He was a son of Afyonlu Kabaağaçlı.
His father was Mehmet Şakir Paşa, the brother of Grand Vizier Müşir Ahmet Paşa.
He learnt English in lectures given by private teachers on Büyükada, where he
came after living in Athens (Faleron) between the years 1890 - 95. He graduated
from Robert College in İstanbul (1904) and Oxford University Department of
Modern History, the United Kingdom (1908). He drew and wrote in magazines such
as Resimli Hafta, İnci, Kirpi after
he came to Turkey. Because of a column he wrote using the pen name
"Hüseyin Kenan" in Resimli
Hafta on 3 April 1925 after the establishment of the new Turkish republic,
he was subjected to an investigation which accused him of “alienating the
public from military service and that he was against mobilization" and was
arrested on 24 April 1925 together with Zekeriya Sertel, the owner of the
magazine. Sertel was exiled and imprisoned in Sinop and Cevat Şakir was exiled
and imprisoned in Bodrum for three years. After being exiled in Bodrum for one
and a half years, he was pardoned. After being released from the prison, he
first settled in Bodrum and then in İzmir. He made a living mainly by being a
tour guide, drawing and writing. He assisted in bringing the historical works
of art of Bodrum, dating from the Hellenistic Age, to public attention. In his
books, the same sympathetic effort in his writing is seen. His columns and
stories were also published in the papers and magazines Servet-i Fünun, Cumhuriyet, Demokrat İzmir and Yeni Ufuklar. His collected works were prepared for publication by
Şadan Gökovalı, whom he called his spiritual son while he was alive.
WORKS:
SHORT STORY: Ege Kıyılarından (From the Bays of the Aegean, 1939), Merhaba Akdeniz (Hello Mediterranean,
1947), Ege'nin Dibi (The Bottom of
the Aegean, 1952), Yaşasın Deniz
(Long Live the Sea, 1954), Gülen Ada (The
Smiling Island, 1957), Ege'den (From
the Aegean, selections from previous and more recent books, 1972), Gençlik Denizlerinde (At the Seas of
Youth, 1973), Parmak Damgası
(Fingerprint, 1986), Dalgıçlar (The
Divers, 1991), Denizin Çağırışı (The
Call of the Sea, 2002), İmbat Serinliği
(The Coolness of the Aegean Breeze, edited by Şadan Gökovalı, 2002).
NOVEL: Aganta Burina Burinata (Haul out the Bowlines, 1956), Uluç Reis (Uluç Reis, 1962), Turgut Reis (Turgut Reis, 1966), Deniz Gurbetçileri (Those Away at Sea,
1969), Ötelerin Çocuğu (The Child of
the Other Side, 1969).
MYTHOLOGY: Anadolu Efsaneleri (Anatolian Legends, 1954), Anadolu Tanrıları (Anatolian Gods, 1955), Anadolu'nun Sesi (The Voice of Anatolia, 1971), Hey Koca Kurt (You Big Wolf, 1972).
OTHER WORKS: Mavi Sürgün (The Blue Exile, recollection, 1961), Düşün Yazıları (Thought Articles, essay,
1982), Altıncı Kıta Akdeniz (The
Mediterranean, the Sixth Continent, 1982), Sonsuzluk
Sessiz Büyür (Infinity Grows Silently, essay, 1983), Çiçeklerin Düğünü (The Wedding of the Flowers, 1991), Arşipel (Archipelago, 1993).