MADRASA BOOK SELLERS IN DIYARBAKIR: THE TRANSFORMATION OF A TRADITION FROM PEDDLERS TO BOOKSELLERS.

In Turkey, the Tevhid-i Tedrisat Law (March 3, 1924), which came into force with the establishment of the Republic and aimed at bringing education completely under the control of the state within the framework of a common curriculum, and the process of transition from the Arabic to the Latin script, the so-called 'Letter Revolution" in 1928, led to radical changes in book printing and literacy. This paper analyzes the basic characteristics and changes in the practice of selling books in Arabic script from peddlers to booksellers. The study is limited to Diyarbakır. For the study, in-depth interviews were conducted with three booksellers in Diyarbakır, with people who worked in bookselling at different times, and with madrasa teachers who visited the bookstores. As places of religious and, to some extent, literary education, madrasas were one of the most important institutions that contributed to the formation of an literate community. Bookstores were one of the places where this community socialized. They served as a place where madrasa teachers could exchange ideas about books and, in case of disagreement, take the relevant books from the shelves and discuss them. For this reason, changes in the book trade will also make important contributions to the analysis of changes in the literacy tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]