Çetin

Çetin is the driver and loyal attendant who accompanies Kemal through two turning points: the 1984 departure for Europe with Füsun, and the later recovery of the family Chevrolet after her death. He is defined less by biography than by action. In moments when Kemal’s longing or grief makes him impractical, Çetin supplies care, caution, and an unshowy understanding of what the past means to him.

Role in Kemal’s Household

The account identifies Çetin through the work he does: he parks the car, loads luggage, prepares for a long drive, and later accompanies Kemal to retrieve a wrecked vehicle. He is addressed as Çetin Efendi and Çetin Bey, forms of address that mark deference, while his familiarity with the family’s routines places him close to Kemal’s domestic life. The narrative gives no separate account of his background; instead, his character emerges in small acts of service and in the respect he shows at moments of strain.

That respect has a history. When Kemal takes the car keys from him one night, Çetin straightens and bows in an exaggerated gesture that he had once reserved for Kemal’s father. The gesture suggests a household hierarchy carried across generations, but its timing also makes it personal: Çetin is responding to Kemal, not merely handing over a set of keys. His conduct combines formality with sustained attention to the man he serves.

The Journey with Füsun

On August 27, 1984, at a quarter past twelve, Çetin parks outside the Keskin family home in Çukurcuma, ready to drive Kemal and Füsun toward Europe. The departure comes exactly nine years and four months after Kemal and Füsun first met at the Şanzelize Boutique. Kemal is eager to leave, but the start is delayed by his mother’s tears and advice, traffic, and the loading of Füsun’s and Nesibe the seamstress’s suitcases. Çetin handles the practical preparations while neighbors wave and children gather around the car.

As they set off, the family moves through Tophane and across the Galata Bridge, with Füsun and Nesibe the seamstress seated in the back and Kemal beside Çetin. The arrangement recalls Kemal’s dreams, though the scene is now real: he turns to give Füsun a contented smile and imagines that they will soon have a child like Ali, a boy returning from football practice. Çetin is present at the threshold between Kemal’s long years of waiting and the journey he hopes will begin their shared future.

Later, after drinking and dancing, Çetin announces that he should go to bed because the group faces a long drive; he intends to check the engine in the morning, and asks whether they are leaving early. When Kemal asks for the keys, Çetin warns him not to touch the steering wheel because everyone has been drinking. Kemal says that one of his bags, containing his book, is in the trunk. Çetin hands over the key, making the respectful bow that recalls his former deference to Kemal’s father. The exchange sets practical responsibility against Kemal’s impulsive wish to return to the car, while showing that Çetin’s caution does not erase his attentiveness to Kemal’s request.

After Füsun’s Death

Years later, Çetin accompanies Kemal to the garage of Şevket Usta, behind Maslak, where the wrecked 1956 Chevrolet sits in an empty lot beneath a fig tree. Chickens wander through its open trunk and children play nearby. Some components—the gas cap, gearbox, and rear-window handle—have already been sold for use in other Chevrolets. Seeing the remains overwhelms Kemal, who touches the steering wheel and breaks down.

Çetin responds without embarrassment or impatience. He asks what has happened, invites Kemal to sit, and calls for water. After they drink tea, Kemal and Çetin bargain and buy the car back. When Çetin asks where it will go, Kemal explains that he wants to spend the rest of his life under the same roof with it and gather the things stored in the Merhamet Apartments together. Unlike those who would urge Kemal to move on, Çetin understands that he is serious. His response gives the scene its quiet distinction: he does not dismiss Kemal’s attachment as an obstacle to life, but recognizes the resolve behind it.

Narrative Significance

Çetin links service to witness. At the departure, he helps make possible a future Kemal imagines as a life with Füsun; after her death, he helps recover the car that holds the memory of that lost future. The same practical competence—preparing a vehicle, managing keys, accompanying Kemal—therefore acquires a different emotional weight across the two scenes.

His importance lies partly in what he does not do. He cautions Kemal when drinking makes driving dangerous, but does not turn that warning into a rebuke; he sees Kemal’s collapse at the garage, but offers a place to sit and water rather than advice. His quiet recognition of Kemal’s intention to live among the recovered car and other possessions makes him a witness to the beginnings of the collection as a form of remembrance.