Bir yandan kamp ocağını hazırlarken bir yandan da katlanır masayı kurduk.

This is a very common Turkish pattern:

• bir yandan ..., bir yandan da ...

It means something like:

• on the one hand ... while on the other hand ...
• or more naturally in this sentence, while doing X, we also did Y

So here:

• Bir yandan kamp ocağını hazırlarken = while preparing the camping stove
• bir yandan da katlanır masayı kurduk = we also set up the folding table

The second da adds the sense of also / at the same time.

The suffix -ken means while doing, when doing, or as.

So:

• hazırlamak = to prepare
• hazırlar-ken = while preparing

In this sentence:

• kamp ocağını hazırlarken = while preparing the camping stove

It connects one action to another and shows that they happened at the same time.

Because -ken usually attaches to a verb stem or tense/aspect form, not directly to the dictionary form -mak/-mek infinitive.

So:

• hazırlamak = infinitive, to prepare
• remove -mak
• use the stem/form that works with -ken
• hazırlarken = while preparing

This is just the normal way Turkish forms this kind of clause.

There are two things happening here.

1. kamp ocağı is a compound noun meaning camping stove

   • ocak = stove
   • in compounds, it often appears as ocağı

2. It takes the accusative ending because it is the direct object of hazırlamak

   • kamp ocağını hazırlamak = to prepare the camping stove

So ocağını contains:

• the compound form ocağı
• plus the accusative -nı

Also notice the consonant change:

• ocak → ocağ-

This kind of softening is very common in Turkish.

That ending is the accusative case, used for definite direct objects.

Here both objects are specific things:

• kamp ocağını hazırlarken = while preparing the camping stove
• katlanır masayı kurduk = we set up the folding table

Compare:

• masa kurduk = we set up a table / table(s), less specific
• masayı kurduk = we set up the table, specific

So the accusative often corresponds to the in English, though it does not match perfectly in every situation.

Kurduk comes from kurmak.

Here it means:

• we set up
• we assembled
• we put up

So:

• katlanır masayı kurduk = we set up the folding table

The ending -duk here marks:

• past tense
• we

So:

• kurdum = I set up
• kurdun = you set up
• kurdu = he/she/it set up
• kurduk = we set up

No. Kurmak is a very common verb with several meanings depending on context.

Some common uses:

• masa kurmak = to set the table / set up a table
• çadır kurmak = to pitch a tent
• sistem kurmak = to install/set up a system
• hayal kurmak = to dream

In this sentence, because the object is katlanır masa, the meaning is clearly to set up or assemble.

Katlanır means folding or foldable.

It comes from the verb katlanmak = to fold / to be folded, and in this form it works like an adjective:

• katlanır masa = folding table
• katlanır sandalye = folding chair

So:

• katlanır masayı kurduk = we set up the folding table

This is very normal in Turkish.

The first part:

• Bir yandan kamp ocağını hazırlarken

is a subordinate clause, meaning while preparing the camping stove.

The main verb comes in the second part:

• bir yandan da katlanır masayı kurduk

So Turkish does not need to repeat a full finite verb for both actions here. The -ken clause already tells you the first action was happening at the same time.

A more literal structure would be:

• While preparing the camping stove, we also set up the folding table.

Good question. Hazırlarken by itself does not explicitly mark the subject here. The subject is understood from the main verb:

• kurduk = we set up

So the natural interpretation is:

• While we were preparing the camping stove, we also set up the folding table.

In Turkish, it is very common for the subject of a -ken clause to be understood from the main clause if it is the same.

Here da means also / too.

So:

• bir yandan ... bir yandan da ...

gives the sense of:

• on the one hand ... and on the other hand also ...
• more naturally, while doing one thing, we were also doing another

Without da, the sentence would still make sense, but da makes the parallel structure feel more natural and complete.

Turkish word order is flexible, but this version is the most natural and standard.

Current order:

• Bir yandan kamp ocağını hazırlarken bir yandan da katlanır masayı kurduk.

This puts:

1. the while clause first
2. the main clause second
3. the main verb kurduk at the end, which is very typical in Turkish

You could rearrange parts for emphasis, but the given sentence is a very natural way to say it.

Because kamp ocağı specifically means a camp stove / camping stove, not just any stove.

• ocak by itself can mean stove, heater, or even January in another context
• kamp ocağı makes the meaning specific to camping

So the full phrase is the natural choice if you want to say camping stove.

Yes, very strongly.

The combination of:

• bir yandan ... bir yandan da ...
• and -ken

clearly suggests the actions were happening at the same time, or at least overlapping in time.

So the idea is:

• We were preparing the camp stove and at the same time setting up the folding table.

That sense of simultaneity is one of the main functions of this structure.