On September 7, an event celebrating Prof. Halil İnalcık’s 99th birthday took place at the Bilkent Hotel. Guests included faculty and students of the Department of History, Provost Adnan Akay, Vice Rector Kürşat Aydoğan, Dean Talat Halman, family members and friends, among whom were Hasan Celal Güzel, Mustafa İsen, Prof. Heath Lowry, Murat Bardakçı and Şükrü Elekdağ.
The event began around 7 p.m. with a cocktail hour and a mini-slideshow on Halil Hoca’s life. After speeches by Prof. Akay, Prof. Halman, Mr. Bardakçı, Mr. Güzel, Prof. Nurhan Atasoy and Prof. Lowry, Prof. İnalcık blew out the candles on his cake and then spoke briefly to thank the guests.
Prof. İnalcık was the founder of the Department of History and has held the position of professor of Ottoman history at Bilkent since 1993. He has received numerous awards and honors, not only in Turkey but from international academies and universities as well. These include 23 honorary doctorates and membership in many academic associations, among them the Turkish Academy of Sciences and academies in the US, the UK, Serbia and Albania.
Prof. İnalcık has published more than 500 scholarly articles and over 60 books, some of which have been translated into languages including English, Greek, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Polish, Russian, Arabic, Persian and Romanian.