Burhan Felek (May 11, 1889, in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

– November 4, 1982, in Istanbul) was a Turkish journalist, columnist,

sportsperson An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including trac ...

and writer. He was born on May 11, 1889, in Istanbul. After graduating in 1910 from Istanbul Law School, later the Faculty of Law at

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

, he worked as a legal consultant at the

Ministry of Commerce A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

, a high school teacher, and an independent lawyer. Burhan Felek died on November 4, 1982, at the age of 93 in Istanbul. He was buried in the

Karacaahmet Cemetery The Karacaahmet Cemetery () is a 700-year-old historic cemetery located in Üsküdar, on the Asian side of Istanbul. Karacaahmet cemetery is the largest and second oldest in Istanbul at , and the largest burial ground in Turkey by number of interr ...

Sportsperson

During his youth years, Burhan Felek practiced sports including wrestling, athletics and football. He took part in

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

middle distance running Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

events and played football. In 1907, he co-founded the Üsküdar Anadolu Sports Club. After retiring from active sports, he continued to involve in national and international sports activities. SHe served as a football referee, and was among the founders of the

Balkan Games The Balkan Athletics Championships or Balkan Games () is a regional athletics competition held between nations from the Balkans and organized by Association of the Balkan Athletics Federations. The first games were held in Athens in 1929, and th ...

and

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

. He served from 1938 to 1952 as the secretary general of the

Turkish Olympic Committee Turkish National Olympic Committee (TNOC; , TMOK) is the governing Olympic body of Turkey. It is based in Istanbul. History As one of the oldest National Olympic Committees in the world, TNOC was founded in the era of the Ottoman Empire in 1908 ...

, and between 1960 and 1964 and then between 1965 and 1982 as its president. In 1922 he founded, with

Ali Sami Yen Ali Sami Yen, born Ali Sami Frashëri (20 May 1886 – 29 July 1951) was an Albanian-Turkish sports official best known as the founder of the Galatasaray SK, Galatasaray Sports Club. Life Ali Sami Yen was born in Üsküdar, Constantinople v ...

and Yusuf Ziya Öniş,

Turkish Athletic Federation The Turkish Athletic Federation (, ) is the governing body for athletics in Turkey. Presidents Events National * Turkish Athletics Championships * Istanbul Marathon * Istanbul Half Marathon Balkan * Balkan Athletics * Balkan Athletics Champio ...

(Türkiye İdman Cemiyetleri İttifakı). He served until 1936 as the president of the federation.

Journalist

Burhan Felek's journalism career started in 1909 as an amateur by writing in the periodical "''İdman''" (Athletics). His professional career began the next year when he wrote for the periodical ''Donanma'' (The Navy). He worked in 1918 as a sports editor and photo reporter at the daily ''

Tasvîr-i Efkâr ''Tasvîr-i Efkâr'' (, ) was a long term Ottoman Turkish newspaper which existed between 1862 and 1925 with some interruptions. The paper was one of the early privately-owned publications in the Ottoman Empire. It is known for its founder İbrah ...

''. After writing a column and humorous stories at various publications such as '' Tan'', ''Vakit'', ''Vatan'', ''Yeni Ses'', ''Alemdar'', '' Dün ve Bugün'' and ''Tetebbu'', he continued to write at ''

Cumhuriyet ''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: "Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Press ...

'' 29-years long. On September 1, 1969, Burhan Felek transferred to ''

Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950 ...

'', where he wtote until his death in 1982. He wrote a humor column, "''Recebin Kahvesi''" (Recep's Café), published on Sundays. Felek served for 26 years as the president of the "Association of Journalists in Istanbul" (İstanbul Gazeteciler Cemiyeti), the forerunner of the Association of Turkish Journalists (TGC). His last column was published in ''Millyet'' on November 5, 1982, the day following his death.

Recognition

For his contribution to the Olympic Movement, he received the certificate " Diplome de Merite Olimpic" from the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

. In 1974 Burhan Felek was awarded with the honorific title "Şeyh-ül Muharririn" (Leader of the journalists). The "Association of Turkish Journalists" (TGC) awards every year "Burhan Felek Prize" to honor journalists for their distinguished service. On May 8, 1980, he received an

honorary Doctor An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

degree from Istanbul University. The French government awarded him posthumously with the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. A sports complex comprising indoor arenas and swimming pools, situated in Altunizade neighborhood of Üsküdar district in Istanbul, is named

Burhan Felek Sports Complex Burhan (, ) is an Arabic male name, an epithet of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. It is especially popular in Turkey, as it respects Turkish vowel harmony and the end syllable "-han" can be interpreted as the Turkish variant of "Khan". Origin ...

. A street In

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...

and

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

is named after him.

Bibliography

* ''Hint Masalları'' (travel notes,1944) * ''Felek'' (1947) * ''Vatandaş Efendi'' (humorous story, 1957) * ''Eski İstanbul Hikâyeleri'' (1971) * ''Yaşadığımız Günler'' (1974) * ''Nasrettin Hoca'' (1982)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Felek, Burhan 1889 births 1982 deaths Writers from Istanbul Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni 20th-century Turkish lawyers Turkish sports journalists Turkish columnists Turkish humorists Turkish male writers Cumhuriyet people Milliyet people Turkish referees and umpires Burials at Karacaahmet Cemetery Prisoners and detainees of Turkey