ARTS AND CULTURE
Most recognize Cem Kozlu as a prominent business leader and a prolific author. His oldest book, Uluslarararası Pazarlama (International Marketing; İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları) is now in its 15th edition, expanded and co-authored by Kozlu and Bosphorus University Assistant Professor Hüseyin Karaca.
Bir Tıp Şehidi - Cumhuriyet’in İlk Röntgen Profesörü (A Martyr of Medicine - The Republic’s First Radiology Professor; Remzi Kitapevi) constitutes his latest work and is based on letters and postcards Kozlu’s maternal grandfather, Dr. Salâhattin Mehmet Erk, sent his wife from the battlefronts of World War I, and later from Austria and Germany where he did his medical residency in the field of radiology. After his return to Turkey in 1923 he established the first department of radiology in Istanbul and became the first professor of radiology of the nascent Turkish Republic. The book covers various battlefronts, two cities under Allied occupation, Istanbul and Vienna, news from the War of Independence, and finally the efforts, under Atatürk’s leadership, to battle the various infectious diseases that were ravaging Anatolia.
Kozlu states that he seeks to satisfy his curiosity, learn, and also share things that he feels would be useful to others through writing: “What motivated me to write this book is its very personal nature. What is striking about my grandfather is that throughout several incredibly hard years of war, occupation, and separation from family he never feels despondent or depressed but remains hopeful for Turkey's future. His love of family and country sustains him through dark times. He takes huge risks as a pioneer in radiology in order to establish this new branch of medicine in Turkey, exposing himself to unknown levels of X-rays from early X-ray equipment. I was moved and inspired by his example as a physician, a patriot, a husband and a father.”
Published July 2022
