A research on the life of Mehmet Akif Ersoy in Egypt

Mehmet Âkif Ersoy who has titles such as "Poet of the Nation" or "Poet of the Country" is also an idea man who is always memorialized by the Turkish Nation with great respect. He was patriotic, frank, virtuous and sensitive to social issues and always defended the values he held dear. While he had led his nation with his poetry he had also never neglected his art with his poetic nature. Mehmet Akif Ersoy was born in Istanbul in the year 1873. He received his primary education from his father. He had taken various jobs in various regions. One of these locations is Egypt where he placed great importance. Mehmet Âkif Ersoy, went to Egypt as an invitee of Abbas Halim Pasha in years 1923-1924 to spend winter. Soon after he visited Egypt again in the year 1925, he decided to stay for more than 10 years. During his first few years, he had lived off the provision of Abbas Halim Pasha. Afterwards he brought his family along and moved to Hilvan near Cairo. However, it was evident from his poetry and correspondence with his close friends that he was in hardship. Mehmet Âkif worked as a Turkish educator in Cairo University in the department of Turkish Language and Literature of "el-Câmiatü'l-Mısriyye". Moreover, he was offered with the directorship of Religious Affairs Administration and the project of official translation of Qur'an by the decision taken during the budget discussions in Grand National Assembly. Mehmet Âkif returned to Turkey after he was fallen ill in 1935 and passed away here. Lifetime he had spent in Egypt, individuals he spent time with, hardships he had to undergo and especially worktime he spent while translating Qur'an had a tremendous impact on him. The context of this study is based on research about lifetime the poet had spent in Egypt.