27 September 2026 · Ümraniye There are some people; Their professions are written in front of their names, but their professions are not enough to describe
27 September 2026 · Ümraniye
There are some people; Their professions are written in front of their names, but their professions are not enough to describe them.
"Captain" is written in front of Refik Akdoğan's name.
But when you get to know Captain Refik, you will understand that being a captain is only his profession. The words that actually describe it are different:
Nobility, kindness, elegance, curiosity and knowledge…
I met Refik Kaptan in the early 2000s, while searching for his book, Maritime Trade.
When I think about it today, I realize how beautifully our first meeting described his character. I was looking for your book. He took his book with him and came to the office where I worked.
A captain, writer, researcher, teacher who spent years on the seas... He buys his book because a younger person has shown interest in his book, goes to him, signs it and gives it to him.
Without expecting anything in return.
Perhaps there is no need for long sentences to describe the nobility of Refik Kaptan. He was a person who, when he saw a person who was interested in knowledge, did not wait for the person to come to him, but took the information and brought it to him.
In 2014, I had the opportunity to exhibit my bill of lading collection at the Maritime Museum in Beşiktaş, Istanbul. Two of the very special guests of this exhibition, which I believe was the first exhibition in the world consisting only of bills of lading, were the late Captain Ferit Biren and Captain Refik Akdoğan.
Captain Refik has arrived.
He traveled, examined and gave speeches.
Today, when I think about that day, I better understand the meaning of his presence there for me. Because I wasn't just seeing an old captain visiting the exhibition. One of the living memories of Turkish maritime was looking at maritime trade documents dating back hundreds of years.
On one side was the maritime memory in the papers I was trying to collect, and on the other side was the experienced maritime memory carried by Captain Refik.
In the same year, 2014, I had a long video-recorded interview with him at our home.
Nine years later, in 2023, I went to his house this time.
We turned the camera on again.
Years had passed, but Captain Refik had not changed.
We think that as people get older, they withdraw from the world a little. On the contrary, he remained curious about the world. He was reading, researching, writing, asking. Because for him there was no retirement from learning.
We see this when we look at Refik Akdoğan's life. His life, which started in Ordu in 1926, extended to the Higher Maritime School, merchant ships, rescue captain, Gazi Alemdar, maritime education, dictionaries and books.
But I think it would be incomplete to measure his legacy only by how many ships he worked on, how many years he was a captain, or how many books he wrote.
His real legacy lay elsewhere.
He believed that knowledge was valuable when shared.
He wasn't hiding what he knew. He did not use his professional seniority to create a wall between himself and the other person. When he saw someone who was sincerely approaching knowledge, he would talk to him regardless of his age, title or rank. Maybe this is real teaching. This is what true captaincy is all about. Because the captain is not just the person who takes the ship to the port. He leaves a route for those who come after him. There was no ostentation in Refik Kaptan's route.
There was no arrogance. There was no "I know" attitude at all. There was curiosity, there was working, there was reading, there was writing. And above all this there was a beautiful humanity.
Now Captain Refik is in intensive care. He is not allowed to talk to anyone. At times like these, one realizes that there are many things one wants to say. What I want to say is actually very simple:
Dear Captain Refik, you entered my life with a book. But you left me something much more valuable than a book: You showed how a person can become more humble as his knowledge increases.
Years ago, I was a young seaman looking for your Merchant Marine book. You took your book and came to me. Years later, I came to your house. We turned on our camera and talked about the seas, ships, people and the past again. Now that I think about it, maybe the summary of all those years that have passed is this: The acquaintance that started with a book turned into a friendship. The friendship turned into a living witness of Türkiye's maritime history for me.
Today I have the book you signed. You have images from 2014. There is an interview we did at your home in 2023. But most importantly, I remember Refik Kaptan, who was elegant, kind, knowledgeable and never lost his enthusiasm for learning.
In maritime, we call the white foamy trace left behind by the ship as wake. After a while, the sea erases that trace. But some captains' wake is indelible. Because their traces remain in people's memories, not on the sea.
The sea has seen many captains, Many ships passed through the Bosphorus. Some people's names remained on the registry, Some are in an old photo.
You crossed the sea in a different way, Captain.
Book in one hand, pen in one hand, with endless questions in your pocket
Now you're in a quiet cabin, Captain, We are waiting with hope.
But know Your shift isn't over yet.
Your books are on the tables, Your words are in memory, your voice in our recordings, We have permission.
Ships' wake disappears at sea, that of wise men is not lost.
Because some captains bring ships to the port;
Some captains leave routes to people.
You left us a route, dear Captain Refik.
Pruvan neta, may the sea be calm.
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
