Turkish president commemorates poet of national anthem

By Meryem Goktas

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s president on Thursday honored the poet who penned the lyrics of the national anthem, 82 years after his passing.

Speaking at a meeting of village and neighborhood heads at the presidential complex, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: "I commemorate Mehmet Akif Ersoy, who immortalized the [Turkish] people’s love of the flag."

Ersoy, a Turkish-Albanian poet, was born in Ottoman-era Istanbul, in 1873, in the Fatih district.

In 1921, in the wake of World War I, during Turkey’s War of Independence against foreign occupation, Ersoy wrote the Istiklal Marsi (Independence March).

With music by Zeki Ungor, it was written to encourage the army and motivate the nation. The new republic, founded two years later in 1923, adopted the poem as its national anthem.

In addition to being a poet, Ersoy was an author, academic, and member of parliament. He passed away in 1936.

Ersoy, known in Turkey as the “national poet,” is also known for his 1911 poetry collection Safahat. His poetry explored themes of numerous problems faced by society, as well as faith-related issues.