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Turkish national anthem’s 89th year celebrated in Zaman exhibition
The Zaman daily is hosting an exhibition displaying memories of the “İstiklal Marşı.” Titled “İstiklal Marşı Hatıraları” (Memories of the İstiklal Marşı), the exhibition showcases a selection of items from the collection of Yusuf Çağlar and Zaman’s archive.
“The anniversary of the ‘İstiklal Marşı’ has always been commemorated since it was adopted on March 12, 1921, but Ersoy himself has now begun to be honored, especially within the past three years, so March 12 has become a day to celebrate Ersoy, too. We also wanted to display memories of the ‘İstiklal Marşı,’ the different publications of the anthem, the edition of the Official Gazette in which the anthem was published for the very first time and similar memorabilia,” the curator of the exhibition, Çağlar, who is also a well-known art collector, told Sunday’s Zaman.
Çağlar explained that the idea of an İstiklal Marşı exhibition developed naturally as a result of another of his dreams -- making a book about the anthem after beginning to collect items about Ersoy. He also said that the items on exhibit may be the source of a new book to be written on the “İstiklal Marşı.”
“Mehmet Akif Ersoy is a name that cannot be ignored by individuals who are interested in the famous figures who have affected our intellectual life. He is highly regarded not only for his literary work, but also as the writer of the ‘İstiklal Marşı.’ If you are familiar with the book dealers in Taksim or Üsküdar [in İstanbul] and if you are interested in stores with old books and documents and if you are an art lover, you would happily purchase documents of or about Ersoy and documents related to the ‘İstiklal Marşı’ as well.”
Parallel project with exhibition: Ersoy with photos from family album
Çağlar has also recently published a book with Zaman Kitap about the “İstiklal Marşı” poet called “Aile Albümünden Fotoğraflarla Mehmet Akif Ersoy” (Mehmet Akif Ersoy with Photos from his Family Album). A single photograph of Ersoy and his family inspired the book. The people in the photo were noted as the poet’s grandsons in a book about Ersoy’s family by Mithat Cemal, in 1939 but they were actually his sons. The wrong information, according to Çağlar, shows how weak Turkey’s memory is.
The book features documents including letters and news stories about the photo and Ersoy’s family. Stressing that the book’s only goal is to correct that single piece of information, Çağlar said: “We wanted to put the memorabilia the Feza Media Group has about Ersoy under the spotlight. We wanted to correct the misinformation [about Ersoy] in our heads. We all know about Ersoy’s work, but this time we wanted to get to know his family.”
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