[RARE SPECIAL ISSUE OF AFGHANISTAN] بویوک غزته / Büyük gazete: Her persembe günleri çikar, medeniyet mefhumu içine giren bütün seylerden bahseder en seri gazetedir. Afghanistan nüshasi. [i.e., Big newspaper. Special issue: Afghanistan]. No. 82. Year: 2

CEMÂL ZEKI [BÂKIÇELEBIOGLU] (Owned by) (1902-1959).

Matbaa-i Ebüzziya, Istanbul, 17 May 1928.

Original illustrated wrappers. Folio. (31,5 x 23,5 cm). In Ottoman script (Old Turkish with Aravic letters). 19 p., richly illustrated with reproduced photographs and drawings. The front cover is age-toned, with slight chipping along the extremities and wear to the spine. A stamp by the newspaper’s office in Istanbul is on the rear cover. Otherwise, a very good copy.

A special issue published by Büyük Gazete in honour of the Afghan King's visit to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the first President of Turkey, on May 20, 1928. This historic visit by King Amanullah Khan of Afghanistan, accompanied by his wife, Queen Soraya, marked the first official state visit by a foreign head of state to Turkey following the proclamation of the Republic. During this visit, Turkey signed its first technical assistant agreement with Afghanistan.

This rare 82nd issue of the newspaper, which was published 110 issues between 1926 and 1928, is almost entirely dedicated to Afghanistan.

The newspaper contains detailed accounts and numerous visuals from the Afghan King’s and Queen’s visits to European countries such as Germany and France. It includes images of the Afghan Royal Family and their activities, scenes of the King hunting with his entourage, his speeches in Afghanistan, his photographic portrait, and a watercolour portrait of him, and various views of the country. Describing Afghanistan as "the most beautiful country in Asia," the newspaper also presents black-and-white photographs of Amanullah Khan’s grand visit to India, the King playing billiards, and others.

The final pages contain an instalment of a serialized story about a Kastamonu reserve officer named Ahmed, who was captured by the Soviet Army and later escaped, as well as a Turkish translation of a Sherlock Holmes adventure. The coloured front cover illustrates King Amanullah Khan and Queen Sureyya side by side, while the back cover displays six black-and-white photographs from the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1922).

As a young nation, Turkey signed its first international treaty on March 1, 1921, in Moscow with Afghanistan, then under the rule of Amanullah Khan. After the establishment of the Republic, Afghanistan viewed Turkey as an elder brother, and inspired by Atatürk’s reforms, Amanullah Khan initiated a series of modernization efforts in his own country.

However, his initiatives, including legislative reforms and granting political rights to women, faced strong opposition from conservative religious leaders. In November 1928, an uprising broke out, leading to Amanullah Khan’s overthrow by a tribal leader and forcing him to flee Afghanistan. Nearly ten months after his first visit to Turkey, Amanullah Khan returned to Ankara, where Atatürk personally welcomed him at the same train station, accompanied him in his car, and hosted him at the Palace Hotel. To honour the deposed king, Atatürk also held a banquet at the Çankaya Pavilion. (Sources: Inönü Vakfi online, Wikipedia, Çelikbilek: Afgan Krali Amanullah Han’in Türkiye Ziyareti in 1928).

Duman 0277.