News stories, interviews and archive newspaper clippings about Behzat Böke and his work. Most articles are in Turkish; follow the links to read them at the source.
Speaking to DHA, Behzat Böke described the hard times facing classic furniture carving: few new apprentices, and cast imitations sold as hand-carved wood. He noted that much of the furniture seen in Turkish TV series is the work of carvers like him.
Also reported by: Memurlar.net
At the “Veterans of the Century of Türkiye” event at the Presidential Complex, Behzat Böke presented President Erdoğan with a portrait of his late mother, Tenzile Erdoğan, carved in linden wood over about 20 days. The President was visibly moved. Böke also recounted reopening his workshop within a month after the February 2023 earthquake destroyed his home and workshop.
Also reported by: İHA, Sabah (video), Antakya Gazetesi, Memurlar.net, Gazete Vatan, Diriliş Postası, Gazete Virgül
In an interview with Atayurt, the master spoke about his wooden statues of Atatürk and Hacı Bektaş Veli, his decor and model work for the state palace of Azerbaijan, and his works in Sweden, Germany and the USA. The biggest problem, he said, is that young people are not entering the craft.
Levent Hakkı Yılmaz, chairman of the İskenderun Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the chamber's board visited the workshop and presented Behzat Böke with a plaque. “We do our work, our craft, with love,” said the master.
In 2021, the 850th anniversary of Ahi Evran's birth, the Ministry of Trade named Behzat Böke “Türkiye's Ahi”, and he received the Ahi kaftan from President Erdoğan in Kırşehir on 16 September 2021. He explained that about 80% of his work is for mosques (kündekari panels, mihrabs, minbars, pulpits, muezzin galleries and calligraphy) and that he has taught the craft to his son Sezer, to open-prison inmates and to apprentices with disabilities.
Also reported by: T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı
A Ulusal Kanal TV report in which the master talks about his workshop and the art of carving.
Click a clipping to enlarge it.
A profile of Behzat Böke, then a wood carver for 30 years in İskenderun, whose ten-person workshop was training four young people with disabilities.
Behzat Böke, who received an honourable mention for “Dream and Power”, at work on a relief of the façade of the 39th Infantry Brigade Command building.
Works by Behzat Böke were shown alongside those of 13 local artists at a group exhibition organised by the İskenderun Culture and Art Association.