Coruh river which originates in Mescit Mountain near Bayburt, first flows west, than North and finally eastwards and empties into the Black Sea in Georgia after 410 kilometrs of journey. It is a beatiful river with huge canyons and areas where rafting is a hobby not only for the local people but for many visitors from around the world. Unfortunately, the river is under assault with the construction of over 10 dams on Coruh river plus 20 in the tributary rivers that run into Coruh (1). Luckily, the Baksı Museum high on a hill overlooking Coruh will not be inundated when Yusufeli HEPP is completed and completely submerge the town with the same name, not too far from Bayburt and Bayraktar.
Baksı Museum is located in Bayraktar village 45 kms from central Bayburt. The Museum is the creation of Prof. Husametttin Koçak and a gift to the village where he was born. Bayraktar used to be known as Baskı ‘’healer, hepler, protector’’ in Central Asia. The Museum brings modern art and traditional crafts under the same roof in a modern structure that is different from any other museum in Turkey or the world (Photo 1.) The Museum also has a large library with over 7,000 books, the reason why I added ‘’Library’’ to the name of the Museum, which I hope will be taken into account.
I visited Baksı Muesum back in October, 2004 when the construction of the Museum was just starting (2). Today the complex consists of a Guest House, a large exhibition hall (50,000 square meter), conference hall, workshops and a beautiful library with over 7,000 volumes. During a meeting at Baskı, attended by governors, mayors, civil servants from Erzurum and the village people, Koçak has stated that this Project could neither be called a social responsibility or a museum; it must have a different name. He added tha Baskı will hold the inventory of the past and the future.
Before my long drive along the Çoruh River on my way to Ikizdere and Artvin to visit the hydroelectric power plants under construction, I went to Baksı Museum and to Bayraktar. The Museum was closed but when one of two guards who saw me wondering around came and opened the doors for me. There were exhibitons of modern art as well as the creations by 30 artists who spent 6 months at the Museum, celebrating the opening with their own work. Than he took met o the library, which was quite a surprise. There were many books donated by the Ministry of Culure and Tourism, among them a large book on the life of Prof. Dr. Idris Küçükömer, edited by Ahmed Güner. This was a moving experience since Küçükömer was married to one of my nieces, Meral Küçükömer, before he died in 2007. There was also a book on trains, ‘’Trenler Anılardan Geçer’’ by Aykut Tankuter and published by Novartis.
Bayraktar is less than a mile from the Museum where I met Muhtar Nabi. He invited me to his brother’s house where he was staying after his house had burned down a month ago. I met his wife and 2 of his daughers and 2 sons. His 5th daughter was outside playing. His wife prepared lunch for me, which I ate alone since it was Ramadan and all of them were fasting. One of his daughters was a table tenis champion at her high school in Bayburt and her composition on Tachers Day had won the first place. Below is her composition which is filled with admiration to her teacher.
Notes.
(1) For an in-depth study of hydro-electric power plant developments and their impact on the Coruh valley and the environment, please see ‘’Kusursuz Enerji (!), Inanılmaz Bir Mel’anetin Anatomisi’’ by Yurtdaş Mazlum Çoruh, (www.yusufelim.org.tr)
(2)Baksı Museum and Research Center for Folk Art, Bayraktar, Oct 30, 2004. Article by YO
Yuksel Oktay
18 August 2010, Erzurum
