Abstract:

The first letter examples in the Turkish literary langauge are the letter parts and fragments of Old Uigur Turks, which were written in the period Old Turkic (7th-13rd centuries) of the Turkish language. In the Karakhanid period, the letter was brought to a stage, which could be written in verse to establish the plan of a work and the style of the writer, and so the letter was acknowledged as a genre that including all the literary specialities. In Kutadgu Bilig which is the first essential work in Turkish literature effected by the religion Islam. 4 examples of long poetical letter from the main characters called Kuntogdı, Aytoldi & Odgurmiş in the work, were presented by the pen of the writer Yusuf Has Hacib, with an elegant literary style and flavour. These letters are the first letters written in verse and having the effects both Old Turkic letter tradition and Islamic style coming from Arabic and Persian literatures. Additionally, these are the examples of the Turkish literature in the period of cultural transition. In this article, the letters in Kutadgu Bilig are represented and the important place of these in Turkish language, litarature and culture is pointed out.

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