Anatolian Folk Tales

Anatolian Folk Tales

The Yellow Ox — A Karaman Folk Tale

This tale was collected in the Karaman region of Turkey. It was told by Vahap Aras (born 1945 in Karaman, primary-school educated) and...

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Muş Folk Tales

Mirza Mıhemede — A Muş Folk Tale

A short folk tale from the Muş region: the youngest of three brothers stays awake to guard the family’s apple tree, follows a thief...

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Anatolian Folk TalesFolk Tales in Literature

A Şahmaran Tale from the Arabian Nights

An English translation of a long Şahmaran (serpent-queen) tale from the Turkish “Binbir Gece Masalları” (Arabian Nights)...

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Anatolian Folk Tales

The Dung Beetle — An Anatolian Folk Tale

A dung beetle sets out to find a husband, insisting on being addressed by her grand rhyming name. An Anatolian animal tale collected by Pertev Naili Boratav.

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Anatolian Folk Tales

Salt — A Turkish Folk Tale

A padishah asks his three sons how much they love him. The youngest answers: “as much as salt.” A Turkish folk tale collected by Naki Tezel.

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Anatolian Folk Tales

Keloğlan Goes to Buy Nothing — An Anatolian Folk Tale

Keloğlan is sent to buy hiç — a word meaning both “nothing” and “salt.” A wordplay tale from the Anatolian Keloğlan cycle.

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