Akhisar Carriages
During my travels in Istanbul I made a stopover at Ramiz Köfte Hall in Akhisar. The first products that come to mind in Akhisar are Ravika olive oil and Keskinoglu products. There is the “exhibition village” example of the Ravika village, where the late İsmail Keskinoğlu was born and raised before the “exchange”, on an individual scale, so it is not possible to find such heart and beauty of nostalgia elsewhere.
Now we know Akhisar with a new face. Turkey’s first inaugurated in Akhisar Carriage Factory has gained about seven months ago to measure the economic size and efficiency to meet orders from various countries of the world.
Since 1928, the company has been producing phaetons now reached the aesthetic and technical level ordered by the countries of the world. Bülent Güneş, a partner of the company, conveys this pride with the modest language of a proud businessman.
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The phaeton is one of the symbolic values of Greek mythology’s divine light car. Every morning he is the son of Helios, who sets the sun behind him and brings bright days.
The phaeton is no longer the vehicle of our day. But it is the most delicate and influential thing that reflects the traces of the past.
It is a four-wheeled, horse-drawn carriage with phaetons. In the Ottoman tradition these were called “Kupa”. Later, varieties called talika, kinto, koda, landon were made. They were only made to carry human beings. Today we use vehicles that we call “horse cart” to carry goods.
The phaeton was produced in two types as single horse or double horse. The seating areas called Landon and Kupa were completely closed. With the automobile industry, the phaeton fell from the eye. Because the transportation economy has undergone very radical changes. The phaeton is used only in the islands prohibited by motor vehicles.
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Fifty years ago, in front of the Diyarbakır High School, all of the city’s phaetons went to the train station behind each other and carried the passengers descending from the Kurtalan Express to their homes. The convoy, which resembles a vuslat café, accelerates with the whip shrieks that do not touch the horses’ hairs, and this long-suffering convoy will melt … I watched with admiration.
Now I look at the phaetons of Izmir; It feels like a grieving souvenir tasted like a sadness …
A month ago, ITO Chairman Demirtaş called for 40 volunteer businessmen to renew the old Izmir Faytonları. Then he was forgotten … I think he found what you were looking for, or he hopes you will find it. It’s nice to have a quiet and patient wait …
