Özet:

Popular science journals first appeared in Turkey in the second half of the 19th century. During the early decades which followed the proclamation of the Turkish Republic in 1923, strong emphasis was given to science education. Science was regarded as the most necessary tool for the future development of Turkish society. Popular journals introducing inventions and scientific discoveries were published with Arabic characters until 1928 when the Turkish alphabet became Latinised. The present paper, will first introduce the popular science journals published in Turkey in early decades of the 20th century, and then focus on the short lived journal Maddiyat (Physical world) issued from January 1925 to January 1926 by Ahmet Tevfik Göymen (1885/1886-1949). Göymen was trained as an agriculturist in Turkey, and had spent 9 years in France and Switzerland where he had studied natural sciences. Göymen was also the founder of the General Directorate of Meteorological Service, Turkey. The analysis of the articles, will try to expose the efforts of the publishers and authors in introducing the new scientific discoveries to the Turkish reader. A comparison with the two formerly published popular science journals such as Fen Âlemi (World of Science) and Tabiat Âlemi (World of Nature) in Turkish will also allow a better discussion of its role in popularizing science in Turkey.

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