Love in Symi is a nouvelle that flows in the background of the hopeless love
between the “X” generation and the “Y” generation people, the heartsore love held
captive by technology in an original architectural setting. The author is Hikmet Temel
Aksu, a writer who has studied architecture. With its main story reflecting the emotions
of the chivalry era, set in the Greek Dodecanese Islands of Kos, Symi, and Rhodes,
Love in Symi occurs on a plateau with Mediterranean architecture as the background.
The protagonist of the story is Elsa and the author himself. The work tells a bittersweet
love story, as well as the architecture of the Greek islands, with a touristic feeling and
journey. The journey starts from the island of Kos, across from Bodrum. The
uniqueness of Hippocrates's living here, the island finds its place with beautiful
beaches, monasteries built on high hills, gastronomic restaurants, and intense
architectural descriptions. The second island, Symi, is considered the most striking in
architecture and the most unique among other islands. It is one of the most beautiful
examples of island architecture, with the settlement of the city on steep volcanic hills,
its houses with white window pediments painted in orange and yellow on the outside,
and its characteristic stone architecture. The island of Rhodes, the last island mentioned
in the novel, immerses the reader in the atmosphere of the place with intense
architectural depictions. Two or three of the giant cruise ships can simultaneously
anchor in the port of Rhodes, which is surrounded by a medieval castle, and on the
UNESCO cultural heritage list. Since it is one of the main attractions of such a busy
tourism industry, the criticism regarding the brutal mistreatment of Rhodes's historical
architecture is also notable in the nouvelle.
Keywords: Blue sorrow, Bodrum, Datca, Dodecanese, Elsa, Generation X, Greek, Generation Y, Hikmet temel akarsu, Hippocrates, Kos, Mediterranean architecture, Marmaris, Nouvelle, Rhodes, Symi, Stone architecture, Tourism, Technology, UNESCO.
