I was born in 1959, in beautiful Istanbul. My parents nicknamed me "Dean," which is short for Taxhedin (Albanian Pronunciation: Tah.Jedd.dean). They originated from the Balkans and resettled in Turkey soon after WWII. The paternal side of my family had deep roots in Skanderbeg's (King of Albania) kinfolk, but following his death in the 15th century, most of them served as high ranking military commanders for the ensuing Ottoman Empire, in fact, until the very last emperor. My father too, continued along the same family career, but instead he served as the Army General for the Highland Volunteers aka the Volunteer Army of Albania under King Zog I, during WWII. The experience was a real case of 'riches to rags' for my folks, like another version of 'Gone With The Wind!' Lots of heartache, pain and suffering for my family as well as for many Albanians before, during, and after that bloody war. Istanbul was my family's last refuge, and the Turkish nation allowed them to breathe free once again, as their homeland of Albania was first largely carved up by her neighbors and the remainder sunk into what later became half a century of dark communist abyss.
I grew up in a small but scenic Turkish village, which was then called Soganlik (Onionville) near the town of Kartal, until I was thirteen years old. Subsequently, I moved to America and made USA my new home since about the fall of 1972. I became a proud American citizen in 1981!
I have been a lifetime supporter of various humanitarian issues around the world, e.g. U.S. based American-Albanian Volunteer Organizations, which helped Albania transition into a democratic form of government in the early 1990s; such grass roots groups also helped the Kosovar Albanians make their case for freedom and democracy to the world, that, by the way, resulted in today's Independent Nation, the Republic of Kosova!
Interesting tid-bits about my names: "Tacettin" is a Turkish name that is now rarely used; pronounced: Todd.Jett.Tin; meaning: Ancestry, Lineage, Origin, Crown of Faith, etc. By contrast, "Fidan," pronounced: Fee.Done is a very common name meaning "Young Tree" in Turkish. Whereas in Albanian, which is an offshoot of the ancient Illyrian language once prevalent in Europe, its variant "Fide" stands for my father's larger family (tribal) name much similar to its Italian variants, meaning "faithful and trustworthy."
* P.S. I grew up in a bilingual world where, Alexandrian, that is, Western Macedonian Albanian language was spoken at home and Turkish elsewhere. I developed a strong love for them, and that admiration continues to this day as I still keep fluent in both. I've lived in the U.S.A. most of my life, so its my home in every way, and English is a language I've come to love and cherish. Educated in Ancient Philosophy, I remain to this day a Classicist with an undying respect for the Illyrian, Greek, and Latin history. However, this outlook has never diminished my interest and appreciation for the rest of the Native American, Aboriginal Australian, European, Semitic, African, Russian, Chinese, and Indian story of our mankind. Therefore, in spirit, I remain a citizen of humanity!
Visit some of my links and you'll see that I have an eclectic taste in music, along with other things in life, I guess, that's because I am a product of contrasting worlds, cultures, faiths, and languages.
* My pen names: Dean Fidan, T. Dean Fidan, and Kent Bayburt.
I was born in 1959, in beautiful Istanbul. My parents nicknamed me "Dean," which is short for Taxhedin (Albanian Pronunciation: Tah.Jedd.dean). They originated from the Balkans and resettled in Turkey soon after WWII. The paternal side of my family had deep roots in Skanderbeg's (King of Albania) kinfolk, but following his death in the 15th century, most of them served as high ranking military commanders for the ensuing Ottoman Empire, in fact, until the very last emperor. My father too, continued along the same family career, but instead he served as the Army General for the Highland Volunteers aka the Volunteer Army of Albania under King Zog I, during WWII. The experience was a real case of 'riches to rags' for my folks, like another version of 'Gone With The Wind!' Lots of heartache, pain and suffering for my family as well as for many Albanians before, during, and after that bloody war. Istanbul was my family's last refuge, and the Turkish nation allowed them to breathe free once again, as their homeland of Albania was first largely carved up by her neighbors and the remainder sunk into what later became half a century of dark communist abyss.