This study aims to examine the tradition of the Âmin Alayı and the rituals of beginning formal education in the Ottoman Empire through literary memoirs. The memoirs of Ahmet Rasim, Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil, Halide Edib Adıvar, Yahya Kemal Beyatlı, Ercüment Ekrem Talu, and Hasan Âli Yücel are analyzed with regard to their depictions of the Âmin Alayı and their first school experiences, both in terms of individual impressions and within the framework of social and pedagogical dimensions. Data for the study were collected through document analysis of the authors’ memoirs. The findings reveal that the Âmin Alayı was not only viewed in Ottoman society as an initiation into academic learning but also as an important ritual of social acceptance, belonging, the transmission of religious values, and the construction of cultural identity. The descriptions in the memoirs show that these ceremonies could evoke complex emotions in children—ranging from pride, joy, and a sense of belonging to feelings of shame, anxiety, and exclusion. The pedagogical approach is shown to have been shaped by the social structure, class distinctions, and traditional values of the period; the figure of the educator/teacher, in turn, is perceived at times as a symbol of compassion and warmth, at other times as an embodiment of discipline and trust, and occasionally as an authoritarian and intimidating character. The Âmin Alayı and school entry ceremonies are thus depicted as practices that reinforced social solidarity and transmitted cultural heritage, yet also contained aspects that could be critically questioned by the authors in terms of educational equity. In this context, adapting traditional school-entry rituals to contemporary child-centered educational approaches is suggested as a means of building a bridge between historical heritage and modern pedagogical principles.

Education in the Ottoman Empire, Neighborhood Primary School (Mahalle Mektebi), Âmin Alayı (School Commencement Procession), Memoirs, Kral Şakir.