Daughter of İlber Ortaylı responds to criticism over selling his belongings: 'I am being accused of being ungrateful'

According to claims brought to the agenda by Habertürk columnist Oray Eğin, some items belonging to İlber Ortaylı, such as cups and vases, were offered for sale at prices ranging from 200 to 800 TL. While some social media users reacted to the situation, others argued that a museum should be established in İlber Ortaylı's name.

"There were a lot of leftover objects"

Following the reactions, Tuna Ortaylı shared an explanation in the WhatsApp group where the sale took place.

In her statement, Ortaylı said, "I would not have wanted to occupy the group with my own personal nonsense, but I see that it was not considered a problem to take screenshots of the posts I made here and turn them into news. So, I will provide an explanation. My father has seven houses in Istanbul alone that need to be closed down; apart from his desks and books, which I consider sacred, and items that he bought himself or were gifts and distributed among family/close friends as keepsakes/heirlooms, there were a lot of leftover objects."

Sales proceeds will contribute to a memorial forest

Stating that she did not want the items put up for sale to go to waste, Tuna Ortaylı expressed that she aimed for the proceeds to contribute to a memorial forest to be opened by the TEMA Foundation. In her statement, she said, "I had put these up for sale here thinking that since the TEMA Foundation will soon open a memorial forest in his name, it would be better for them to contribute to such a cause rather than going to the trash. Of course, in our country where no good deed goes unpunished, I am now being accused of being an ungrateful daughter who sells her father's belongings left and right."

"My father would want to be remembered for his books, not his tea cups"

Addressing the criticisms directed at her, Tuna Ortaylı stated that she would not sell any more items in the group and thanked those who had previously made purchases.

In her statement, she included the following: "Anyway, that is not important. I will not sell anything else from the group on this occasion. I would like to thank everyone who bought something before once again for their contributions to the memorial forest, and I greet Mr. Oray, who wrote the article, with love and respect for his superior journalism. We will establish a library in my father's name, because as an academic, he would want to be remembered not for his tea cups, but for his books."