Mehmet Âkif Ersoy (1873, Istanbul - 27 December 1936, Istanbul) | Redux

Ersoy's portrait was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 100 lira banknotes of 1983-1989.

Mehmet Akif Ersoy earned himself his significant place in the history of the Republic of Turkey as the composer of the lyrics of the Turkish National Anthem. During the session of 12 March 1921, the Turkish Grand National Assembly officially designated his ten-quatrain poem as the lyrics of the national anthem.Widely regarded as one of the premiere literary minds of his time, Ersoy was further noted for his command of the Turkish language, as well as his patriotism and piousness and his support for the Turkish War of Independence. As a gesture of gratitude, a framed version of the national anthem typically occupies the wall above the blackboard in the classrooms of every public as well as most private schools around Turkey, along with a Turkish flag, a photograph of the country's founding father Atatürk, and a copy of Atatürk's famous inspirational speech to the nation's youth. 

Mavi Boncuk | 

 Mehmet Âkif Ersoy (1873, Istanbul - 27 December 1936, Istanbul) was a Turkish poet, author, academic, member of parliament, and the poet of the Turkish National Anthem. 

He was of Albanian descent on paternal side and Uzbek descent on maternal side. Ersoy was born as Mehmet Ragif in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire in 1873 to a conservative family, the son of İpekli Tahir Efendi, an Albanian from Peć, in modern day Kosovo and tutor at the Fatih Madrasah, at a time when all institutions of the state were in terminal decline, and major crises and regime changes were underway. 

His mother, Emine Şerife Hanım, was of mixed Uzbek and Turkish descent. As he was about to complete his education at the Fatih Merkez Rüştiyesi, his father’s death and a fire that destroyed his home, forced Ersoy to interrupt his education and to start working to support his family. He wanted to start a professional career as soon as possible, and he entered the Mülkiye Baytar Mektebi (Veterinary School), and graduated with honors in 1893. In the same year, Mehmet Akif Ersoy joined the civil service and conducted research on contagious diseases in various locations in Anatolia. During these assignments, in line with his religious inclination, he gave sermons in mosques, and tried to educate the people and to raise their awareness. Along with fellow men-of-letters Recaizade Mahmut Ekrem, Abdülhak Hamit Tarhan and Cenap Şahabettin, which he had met in 1913, he worked for the publication branch of the Müdafaa-i Milliye Heyeti. 

He soon resigned from his government position and other occupations, and wrote poems and articles for the publication Sırat-ı Müstakim. During the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmet Akif Ersoy was a fervent patriot. He made important contributions to the struggle for the declaration of the Turkish Republic, and advocated patriotism though speeches that he delivered in many mosques in Anatolia. On 19 November 1920, during a famous speech he gave in Kastamonu’s Nasrullah Mosque, he condemned the Treaty of Sevres, and invited the people to use their faith and guns to fight against Western colonialists. When the publication Sebilürreşat, which was then operating out of Ankara, published this speech, it spread all over the country and was even made into a pamphlet distributed to Turkish soldiers. Mehmet Akif Ersoy is an important national figure in the history of modern Turkey and has left an immortal trace in its history. 

During the republican period, Mehmet Akif Ersoy taught history and literature at various universities. Ersoy temporarily relocated to Cairo due to a family-related matter in 1925, and taught the Turkish language at the University there during his 11-year stay. He caught malaria during a visit to Lebanon and returned to Turkey shortly before his death in 1936. He was interred in the Edirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery in Istanbul. Mehmet Akif Ersoy is the first person in the history of the Republic of Turkey to have the national anthem performed at his funeral ceremony. He currently has a university in his name in Burdur. 

1908-1925 arasında haftalık yayınlanan İslami dergi. Kurucuları Ebulula Mardin, Eşref Edip'tir. İstanbul, Ankara, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Trabzon'da yayınlandı. Derginin fikir babası Mehmet Akif'tir. Dergi sık sık kapatıldı, yazarları yargılandı. 641 sayı çıktı, 183. sayıdan sonra Sebilürreşad adını aldı.

Yazarları arasında Mehmet Akif, Muhammed Abduh, Abdülaziz Çaviş, Bereketzade İsmail Hakkı, Babanzade Ahmet Naim, Ferit Kam, Mehmet Fahrettin, İzmirli İsmail Hakkı, Tahirül Mevlevi, Aksekili Ahmet Hamdi, M.Şemseddin, Manastırlı İsmail Hakkı, Bursalı Mehmet Tahir, Akçuraoğlu Yusuf, Ahmet Ağaoğlu vardır.

Derginin genel politikası İslam Birliği, İslam ahlakı, Kuran ve Sünnete dönüş, Avrupa'nın sadece teknolojisinin alınması üzerinedir.


See also:
Istanbul Under Allied Occupation, 1918-1923 By Bilge Criss
Mavi Boncuk |
Sırât-ı Müstakîm 1326
Din, felsefe, edebiyat, hukuk ve ulûmden bahs haftalık risaledir.
Birinci sene/ 20 Teşrînsânî 1324- 9 Zilkade 1326 Pencşenbe / Aded: 10 

 Turkish National Anthem 

The İstiklâl Marşı (Independence March) is the Turkish National Anthem, officially adopted on 12 March 1921 - two and a half years before the 29 October 1923 establishment of the Republic of Turkey, both as a motivational musical saga for the troops fighting in the Turkish War of Independence, and as an anthem for a Republic that was yet to be established. Penned by Mehmet Âkif Ersoy and ultimately composed by Osman Zeki Üngör, the theme is one of affection for the Turkish homeland, freedom, and faith, of sacrifice for liberty, and of hope and devotion, explored through visual, tactile and kinesthetic imagery as they relate to the flag, the human spirit and the soil of the homeland. 

The manuscript by Ersoy, between the title line İstiklâl Marşı and the first text line, carries the dedication Kahraman Ordumuza – "To our Heroic Army", the army that won the Independence War. The lyrics reflect on the sacrifice of the soldiers during the War. The Anthem is regularly heard during state and military events, as well as during national festivals, bayrams, sporting events, and school ceremonies. Of the ten-stanza anthem, only the first two quatrains are typically sung. A framed version of the national anthem typically occupies the wall above the blackboard in the classrooms of every public – as well as almost every private – school in Turkey (accompanied by a Turkish flag, a photograph of the country's founding father Atatürk, and a copy of Atatürk's famous inspirational speech to the nation's youth). The composition has also been adopted as the National Anthem of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

 Other scores were submitted to the national anthem competition by prominent classical composers such as Abdülkadir Töre, İsmail Hakkı Aksoy, Halit Lem’i Atlı, Mehmet Zati Arca, Ahmet Yekta Madran and Mustafa Sunar.

 

2

 Turkish National Anthem [1]

 Modern Turkish Lyrics

 Korkma! Sönmez bu şafaklarda yüzen al sancak,
Sönmeden yurdumun üstünde tüten en son ocak.
 O benim milletimin yıldızıdır, parlayacak;
O benimdir, o benim milletimindir ancak.
Çatma, kurban olayım, çehreni ey nazlı hilal!
Kahraman ırkıma bir gül; ne bu şiddet, bu celal?
Sana olmaz dökülen kanlarımız sonra helal...
Hakkıdır, Hakk’a tapan milletimin istiklal.

 English Translation
 Fear not; For the crimson banner that proudly ripples in this glorious dawn, shall not fade,
Before the last fiery hearth that is ablaze within my homeland is extinguished.
 For that is the star of my people, and it will forever shine;
It is mine; and solely belongs to my valiant nation.
 Frown not, I beseech you, oh thou coy crescent!
Smile upon my heroic nation! Why the anger, why the rage?
 Our blood which we shed for you shall not be worthy otherwise;
For freedom is the absolute right of my God-worshipping nation! 34 ​ 35 ​ 36
 

riginal manuscript written by Mehmet Âkif Ersoy. 40


[1] The İstiklal Marşı (Turkish pronunciation: [isticˈlal maɾˈʃɯ]; English: Independence March) is the national anthem of the Republic of Turkey which was officially adopted on 12 March 1921 —two-and-a-half years before the 29 October 1923 establishment of the nation— both as a motivational musical saga for the troops fighting in the Turkish War of Independence, and as an aspirational anthem for a Republic that was yet to be established.

Penned by Mehmet Âkif Ersoy, and ultimately composed by Osman Zeki Üngör and Edgar Manas, the theme is one of affection for the Turkish homeland, freedom, and faith, as well as praise for the virtues of hope, devotion, and sacrifice in the pursuit of liberty, all explored through visual, tactile, and kinesthetic imagery as these concepts relate to the flag, the human spirit, and the soil of the homeland. The original manuscript by Ersoy carries the dedication Kahraman Ordumuza – "To our Heroic Army", in reference to the people's army that ultimately won the Turkish War of Independence, with lyrics that reflect on the sacrifices of the soldiers during the war.

Notable in a patriotic piece of this nature is the absence of specific national references, as the anthem does not contain the words 'Turk' or 'Turkey'.
The anthem is regularly heard during state and military events, as well as during national festivals, bayrams, sporting events, and school ceremonies. Visual depictions can also be found adorning state or public displays, such as in the form of a scroll displaying the first two quatrains of the anthem on the reverse of the Turkish 100 lira banknotes of 1983–1989.

 Of the ten-stanza anthem, only the first two quatrains are sung. 

March of Independence | İstiklal Marşı 
Composed by :Muallim İsmail Hakkı Bey to Mehmed Akif Lyrics
Makam | Maqam [*] :Rast   Link

Ottoman Imperial Marches: 
Download .rar file


The Ottoman Empire used anthems since its foundation in the late 13th century, but did not use a specific royal or national anthem until the 19th century. During the reign of Sultan Mahmud II, when the military and imperial band were re-organized along Western lines, Giuseppe Donizetti was invited to head the process. Donizetti Pasha, as he was known in the Ottoman Empire, composed the first Western-style imperial anthem, the Mahmudiye. Like in many other monarchies of its time, the anthem of the Ottoman Empire was a royal anthem, not a national one. Hence it paid homage to a specific ruler and a new anthem was composed at each imperial succession. However, in 1844, with the Tanzimat reforms, the Mecidiye March was recognized as the first official Ottoman national anthem. The first official Ottoman national flag (which was in essence identical to the present-day Turkish flag) was also adopted in 1844.

[*]Makam (from the Arabic word مقام) In Turkish classical music, a system of melody types called makam (pl. makamlar) provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance. Each makam specifies a unique intervalic structure (cinsler) and melodic development (seyir). Whether a fixed composition (beste, şarkı, peşrev, âyin, etc.) or a spontaneous composition (gazel, taksim, recitation of Kuran-ı Kerim, Mevlid, etc.), all attempt to follow the melody type.

The motivational anthem, adopted roughly two years before the founding of the Turkish Republic, celebrates the very essence of Turkish heritage, unquestionably appealing to the patriotism of the public. Marking the 90th anniversary of the anthem and coming as part of the 2011 year of Mehmet Âkif Ersoy commemorations, dedicated to the poet who composed the anthem. 

Mavi Boncuk | Turkish national Anthem Composed by Ali Rıfat Çağatay[1].

istiklal marşı’nın ilk hali - ali rıfat çağatay | izlesene.com

Ali Rıfat Çağatay (1867 – 1935) was a Turkish composer, oud virtuoso and academic, who served as the founding president of the Türk Musikisi Ocağı (The Institute for Turkish Music) and the long-term president of the Şark Musiki Cemiyeti (The Society for Eastern Music). He was noted for his efforts to harmonize Classical Turkish Music with elements of western musical heritage, his vocal abilities, as well as his talents on the oud, the violoncello, the tanbur, and the kemenche. Notable works include the original musical arrangement for the Turkish National Anthem, used between 1924-1930 until the acceptance of the new composition by Osman Zeki Üngör, as well as other national favorites. Born in İstanbul in 1867, Çağatay was the eldest of four sons, born to a family of musicians, poets, writers, soldiers and medium-rank government employees. He had three sons from his second wife, the eldest of which, Ali Cafer Çağatay, was a notable soccer player for Fenerbahçe. Çağatay died on March 3, 1935 in İstanbul. [edit]