György Hazai – Turkology in Cyprus

György Hazai, who passed away ten years ago this year, is still well known throughout Europe among those involved in Turkology. As a professor at Humboldt University, a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Turkish Language Association (Türk Dil Kurumu), and rector of Andrássy Gyula German Language University in Budapest, he effectively built international relations for Hungarian science all over the world. He also played an active role in the establishment of the Hungarian-Turkish Friendship Society in 1988. His scientific organizational skills were also recognized in Ankara, as in 2014 the President of the Republic of Türkiye awarded him the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a foreigner.

In addition to his academic work, which focused largely on publishing Ottoman-Turkish linguistic sources and compiling Turkological bibliographies, he played a prominent role in leading the Turkological Institute established at the first state university in Nicosia, which had several connections to Hungary. It should be noted that at that time, not only was there no Turkish department in Nicosia, but there was also no adequate basis for university education. Not to mention that the division of the island between Turks and Greeks had been causing serious political crises since the 1960s, therefore the establishment of an institution dealing with Turkology in Nicosia caused particularly big waves in politics. The Hungarian Turkologist therefore had to work in a particularly sensitive political climate. However, based on his experiences in Germany, where the Iron Curtain also divided people, this may have been a familiar environment for him.

Quoting the words of Georgios Vassiliou, the third president of the Republic of Cyprus (1988–1993), Hazai recalls the establishment of the institute and what partly explained his appointment: “We must avoid having a Greek nationalist at the head of this department. It should be led by someone who is also accepted by the Turks.” (György Hazai, Ellenszélben Szélárnyékban. Memoár. Vámbéry Polgári Társulás, 2018, pp. 152)

Vasziliu and his family fled civil war-torn Greece and settled in Hungary, where they lived for almost a decade. He also studied in Budapest, graduating from the Karl Marx University of Economics in 1955. So, the other Hungarian connection in the establishment of Turkish studies in Cyprus can therefore be traced back to this as well.

But why did we highlight György Hazai's work in Cyprus, where he headed the Institute of Turkology at the University of Cyprus for about eight years (from 1992 to 2000)? Perhaps because his work in supporting science and scientific cooperations serve as a good example for us today. The study of Turkic peoples is not only interesting from a Hungarian or Turkish point of view. In a broader sense, there is also a need for knowledge among the neighbors of these peoples. For instance for the British Empire, Tsarist Russia, and later the Soviet Union, it was important (and perhaps still is nowadays as well) to know as much as possible about the Turkic peoples. Similarly, Austrian (and later Hungarian) Orientalists did a great effort to better understand the functioning and the system of the neighboring Ottoman Empire. In addition, György Hazai, who was committed to strengthening and preserving Central European relations, knew how to find a compromise between different perceptions and interpretations that was acceptable to everyone.

Author: Péter Kövecsi-Oláh, advisor - LCTS, LUPS