Her tarafı giz ve gizem doludur İzmir’in.
Bundan dolayıdır ki başka şehirler için
zor söylenecek sözler
söylenmiştir İzmir için.
Izmir is filled with
mysteries. That is why
many things have been said about Izmir that
they haven’t been said about other cities..
şiir ve tiyatro mitolojiden beslenerek yazılmıştır. Benim başarım, bilgileri yerli yerinde vermemden kaynaklanıyor olsa gerek. Sevdiğim için, sevdirmeye çalışıyorum. Ustam Balıkçı gibi ben de, Anadolu anlatımında ‘kendimi ekonomize etmem!’ Deyim yerindeyse Denizli horozu gibi öte öte kendimden geçerim. Zaten sen severek anlatmazsan karşındaki dinlemekten zevk alır mı? Uzun yıllar bana “Anlattığın gibi bir mitoloji kitabı yaz” dediler. Sonunda oturdum “Söylence” kitabımı yazdım, yılın en başarılı mitoloji kitabı seçildi. Rehberliğimi bir yana bırakırsak ben bir iletişimciyim aslında. İletişimcinin işi de dinlenir kılmak, zevkli hale getirmektir. Bunun yolu da defalarca anlatmaktan ve şiirden geçer. Eğer o konuda bir şiir varsa ben zaten bilirim, yoksa da yazarım, sizden kıymetli mi? İzmir’in geçmişinden bugüne geçirdiği değişimi değerlendirdiğinizde nasıl bir tablo ortaya çıkıyor? GÖKOVALI: İzmir’in dünyada bir eşi daha yok. “Gökovalı olmasaydım İzmirli olurdum” diyorum ama ar-
all of his books, stories and articles. So, naturally, I have all the originals. I enrolled in the workshop of the Ministry of Tourism to know Anatolia better and to better converse with the fisherman. I became a professional tour guide after finishing first in my class. From that day on, I believe that you can’t love the place you don’t know and you can’t call a place home unless you love it. So you became a tour guide not to be embarrassed in front of the fisherman? GÖKOVALI: We used to get along famously with the fisherman but I was afraid that I’d say the wrong thing. After all, I was an amateur in many aspects. That’s when the topic of the workshop for tourism came up. First it was hard nut in time I loved it. Years later, I taught many classes there, mainly mythology. The fisherman used to takes us tour guides to Bergama. We used to go and after he had told us about the contributions of the Bergama kingdom to civilization, he’d say that I would fill in the technical details. So I improved myself so as not to be embarrassed in
situations like this. In those years, I received first place in a competition organized by the Selçuk Tourism Association and was named the best writer to define Ephesus. You are talking about old but not diminished values. You style is very popular. What is your secret? GÖKOVALI: A lot of people have asked me what mythology is. If you take out the mythology, there will be no artifacts in museums and structures in historical cities. Many poems and theaters were written based on mythology. I guess I am successful because I give information at the right place. I love it so I try to make other people love it. Just like my mentor, the fisherman, I go on and on when I’m talking about Anatolia. If you don’t tell it with passion, you audience will not enjoy listening to you. For many years, they told me to write a mythology book like I was telling the stories. Then I sat down and wrote “Söylence” which was elected the best mythology book that year. Aside from being a tour guide, I am a communicator. The duty
İZMİR Haziran - Temmuz / June - July 2012
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