Öz
The 19th century has been the period of dissolution for Ottoman Empire. The period of regression in all areas and defeats in wars has also brought about territorial losses. Hence, millions of Turkish who were living different territories started to migrate to Anatolia. The Island of Crete which depends as a province on Ottoman Empire was one of these territories that sending its citizens to Anatolia as well. Besides, the defeats in fronts, uprisings started by Christian citizens in island and their desire for annexation of island by Greece and almost completely loss of the Balkan Peninsula in 1912 affected in a negative way Cretan Muslims there. Eventually, the rest of Muslims in island left right after the population exchange agreement signed between Turkey and Greece in 1923.
It is inevitable that social events and changes are reflected in literature. The Turkish-Greek population exchange is one of the important sources that enriches Turkish literature in the last quarter century, it has also been the theme of many novels. The novel Kritimu (My Crete) by Sabâ Altınsay is one of these novels. Sabâ Altınsay who is also a member of an exchanged family, focuses on, how a family's life changed before and during the population exchange in her novel, which has some autobiographical feauters. In this article, the novel titled Kritimu which delivers some historical stories to the readers concerning the gradually change of power balances in the Island of Crete, the loss of safety of life and property of Cretan Muslims who become a minority and Muslims’ departure from their home town will be dealt with in terms of various themes.