What an unforgettable and sorrowful day it was. I was with him in the car when professor Ahmet Haluk Dursun, then Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, was killed in the crash in the eastern Van province’s Erciş district on Aug. 19, 2019.
Dursun was an idealist and dedicated to the country's cultural development. It was a real honor for me to be his assistant.
He will be remembered as a man with a mission who believed in a cultural ideal for Turkey.
As an academic and a bureaucrat, Dursun always said "the youth is the one who would lead the country's cultural developments" to me and Töre Üst, his other assistant and my colleague, who also lost her life in the same crash, succumbing to her injuries two months after the horrible incident. May God bless them both.
Dursun was always on the road in Turkey's southeastern region to better introduce the region's historical and cultural heritage as part of "Anatolian Historical and Cultural Union." A historic, difficult yet inspiring mission with youth taking centerstage.
A short biography
Born in the Hereke district of the northwestern Kocaeli province in 1957, Dursun devoted his life to raising awareness about Turkish culture and history, contributing to the cumulative cultural knowledge and passing it down from generation to generation.
He started his academic career at the department of last age and history of the Republic of Turkey at Istanbul University. He received both his master's degree and Ph.D. from Marmara University and his doctorate title from the university's department of contemporary history.
Dursun became an associate professor in the field of Ottoman institutions and civilization history and a professor in the field of contemporary history at the same university.
He gave lectures on a number of topics, including founding leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's principles and the history of the Turkish revolution, the political, cultural, civilization history of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, the history of Byzantine and Europe, the historical places of Istanbul and the role of museums in teaching history.
Dursun is commonly known for his studies on the cultural richness and political history of the Ottoman geography and Istanbul's history, architecture, culture and arts.
His seminar, titled "Our Political and Cultural Presence in the Balkans," at the diplomacy academy of the Foreign Ministry was also closely followed.
Academia was not the only area where Dursun served the country. He also worked as a bureaucrat, the head of the Hagia Sophia Museum, the director of the Culture and Tourism Department in Istanbul, the director of Topkapı Palace Museum, the undersecretary of the Culture and Tourism Ministry and a board member of the Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Awards.
In addition, he was a consultant in the preparation of the "Miniatürk project." His extensive restoration works in Hagia Sophia and the conservation/repair works of Ottoman artifacts in and around the historic structure were significant.
The late Turkish bureaucrat gave lessons on the Hagia Sophia at Topkapı Palace and continued the publication of the famous Müze (Museum) magazine after a 17-year break.
In the holy month of Ramadan, he used to organize traditional events and in the month of Muharram, his Ashura programs at the palace’s sacred relics section were a call for social unity.
"The culture of death is significant to pay attention to," he used to say while explaining why he insisted on opening the Ottoman sultans’ tombs to visitors.
During his term as the deputy minister in the Culture and Tourism Ministry, he personally conducted the project titled "City-Human Civilization Bridge: The Project for Exemplary Personalities."
Dursun helped found the "Directorate of Battle of Gallipoli and History of Gallipoli." When a fire broke out in the historical Gallipoli area during the Eid al-Adha some years ago, Dursun immediately went to the region and planned what the ministry and presidency could do to restore the region.
The notable awards
In 1989, Dursun received the Press Expertise Award from the Istanbul Chamber of Architects for a series of articles entitled "Elveda Boğaziçi" (Farewell to Bosporus). In 2002, he was awarded by the Turkish Writers’ Union for his book "Nil’den Tuna’ya" (From the Nile to the Danube).
In 2010, Dursun was awarded the annual "Premio Rotondi ai salvatori dell'Arte" (Rotondi Prize 2010: Savior of the Art) for his works on the Hagia Sophia.
For the events he organized on the Hagia Sophia and presentations he made on the Hagia Sophia, Golden Horn and Bosporus, he was recognized at the 2011 Istanbul Tourism Awards.
Dursun wrote articles about culture and art for many newspapers. He prepared and presented a number of documentaries including "Moğolistan'daki Göktürk Anıtları ve Türk Kültürü Mirası" (Göktürk Monuments and Turkish Cultural Heritage in Mongolia), "Mustafa Kemal'in Rumelisi-Selanik, Manastır, Üsküp, Sofya" (Mustafa Kemal's Rumelia – Thessaloniki, Bitola, Skopje, Sofia), as well as documentaries on Jerusalem and Damascus.
He also consulted on documentaries such as "Tuna" (The Danube), "Evliya Çelebi Hac Yolunda" (Evliya Çelebi on Road to Pilgrimage) and "Mimar Sinan: The Architect."
Dursun authored nine books: