What are the most famous folk, fantasy or fairy tale characters from
native children's literature in Turkey?

i.e. Asking random people on the street in Turkey, what Turkish
fictional characters would be mentioned again and again?

I don't mean currently popular, like Harry Potter in the United States
or the hero of the current children's best seller in Turkey. By
famous, I mean characters that truly span generations, will be
recognized by 60 year olds and 20 year olds alike. Characters with
long lasting fame equivalent to fictional characters "The Scarecrow
from the Wizard of Oz", "Peter Pan", or "Superman" in the United
States.

Thank you very much for accepting my findings as your answer. I've
reposted the link below, with some additional material.

New trends in children's literature in Turkey today
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3830/is_200201/ai_n9053218

You might be interested in these links, also:

KELOGLAN: The Bald Boy and 
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
http://www.lightmillennium.org/2004_14th_issue/hbpaksoy_keloglan.html

Republic of Turkey: Folk Literature
http://www.kultur.gov.tr/portal/kultur_en.asp?belgeno=1582

The Heart of the Turkish Tale
http://www.turkishculture.org/literature/folk_literature.html

This book sounds as if it might provide quite a bit of info:

"To catch the important cultural and literary aspects of Turkish
culture representing in the Turkish children?s books I read several
Turkish Folktales such as Padisahin Kizi (Sultan?s Daughter), Devoglu
(Giant?s Son), Beyaz Geyik (White Deer), and A Treasury of Turkish
Folktales for Children (translated by Barbara Walker), which contains
thirty-four tales for the telling such as Fables, Keloglan (Bald Boy) 
Nasreddin Hodja, Witches, Giants, Jins, and Dragons tales, etc. I
believe that A Treasury of Turkish Folktales for Children is a
excellent work of art, an unmistakable representation of Turkish
culture. Turkish characters, traditional dress, music are set in
exclusively in that book."

A Descriptive Study of Teaching Assistants Perceptions of
Multiculturalism in the Classrooms
http://plaza.ufl.edu/ise/research.html

"Thirty-four Turkish folk tales about jinns and giants, padishahs and
peasants, and beloved heroes such as Keloglan the bald boy."

Amazon: A Treasury of Turkish Folktales for Children
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0208022066

My Google search strategy:

Google Web Search: "children's literature OR books" "from turkey" OR turkish 
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22children%27s+literature+OR+books%22+%22from+turkey%22+OR+turkish+

Google Web Search: turkish tales OR folktales
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=turkish+tales+OR+folktales

I hope this helps!

Best regards,
pinkfreud

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Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 21 Mar 2005 14:40 PST

There are many links here that might be of interest to you:

http://www.cbel.com/folklore_tales

~pinkfreud

A prompt and excellent answer. Well done.

There's an interesting article about Turkish children's literature here:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3830/is_200201/ai_n9053218

That article was quite interesting, a great starting point for my own
research. Good enough for answer, post away pinkfreud. Thanks.

Thank you very much for the five-star rating and the nice tip!

~pinkfreud