El Turco is a work located at the intersection of historical novel and documentary narrative genres. In this work, Dr. Orhan Yeniaras focuses on a narrative that developed around the Siege of Vienna (1683) but is rarely addressed in historical writing. The work presents the life of Balaban Ağa, an Ottoman intelligence officer who took refuge in the Moena region of Northern Italy during the siege, and his interaction with the local population, blended with fictional elements.
Historical Background
One of the novel's main points of reference is the traces of Turkish culture observed in the village of Moena, located in the Trentino-Alto Adige region of Italy. The author constructs the Balaban Ağa narrative based on cultural symbols in this village such as place names like "Turkish House" and "Turkish Street", crescent and star busts, and the traditional devotion of the people to their "Turkish ancestor". In this context, the work draws attention to a historical fact and offers an alternative interpretation to the gaps in historical writing.
The Balance Between Fiction and History
Yeniaras’s narrative prefers to revive historical events in novel form rather than using academic-level documents and sources. In this respect, the work aims to impart historical awareness to the reader and at the same time offer a literary experience by establishing a conscious permeability between historical accuracy and fiction. The narrative language used in the work is geared towards popular historical writing rather than academic.
El Turco, while it might be criticized for its limited use of sources from an academic history writing perspective, it raises important questions in areas such as cultural memory, collective identity, and folk narratives. The construction of Balaban Ağa as a folk hero in Moena is noteworthy for questioning the boundaries between history and myth. In this regard, the work is aimed at researchers interested in historical fiction and history enthusiasts.
