Yunus Emre () also known as Derviş Yunus (Yunus the Dervish) (1238–1328) (

Old Anatolian Turkish Old Anatolian Turkish (OAT, tr, Eski Anadolu Türkçesi, ''EAT'') is the stage in the history of the Turkish language spoken in Anatolia from the 11th to 15th centuries. It developed into Early Ottoman Turkish. It was written in the Arabic ...

: يونس امره) was a Turkish folk poet and

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ma ...

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

mystic who greatly influenced Turkish culture. His name, ''Yunus'', is the Muslim equivalent to the English name '' Jonah''. He wrote in

, an early stage of Turkish. The UNESCO General Conference unanimously passed a resolution declaring 1991, the 750th anniversary of the poet's birth, International Yunus Emre Year.

Biography

Yunus Emre has exercised immense influence on Turkish literature from his own day until the present, because Yunus Emre is, after Ahmed Yesevi and Sultan Walad, one of the first known poets to have composed works in the spoken Turkish of his own age and region rather than in Persian or

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

. His diction remains very close to the popular speech of the people in Central and Western

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. This is also the language of a number of anonymous folk-poets, folk-songs, fairy tales, riddles (''tekerlemeler''), and proverbs. Like the Oghuz ''

Book of Dede Korkut The ''Book of Dede Korkut'' or ''Book of Korkut Ata'' ( az, Kitabi-Dədə Qorqud, ; tk, Kitaby Dädem Gorkut; tr, Dede Korkut Kitabı) is the most famous among the epic stories of the Oghuz Turks. The stories carry morals and values signifi ...

'', an older and anonymous

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

n epic, the Turkish folklore that inspired Yunus Emre in his occasional use of ''tekerlemeler'' as a poetic device had been handed down orally to him and his contemporaries. This strictly oral tradition continued for a long while. Following the Mongolian invasion of

, facilitated by the

Sultanate of Rûm fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = B ...

's defeat at the 1243 Battle of Köse Dağ, Islamic mystic literature thrived in Anatolia; Yunus Emre became one of its most distinguished poets. The poetry of Yunus Emre — despite being fairly simple on the surface — evidences his skill in describing quite abstruse mystical concepts in a clear way. He remains a popular figure in a number of countries, stretching from

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

to the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, with seven different and widely dispersed localities disputing the privilege of having his tomb within their boundaries. Yunus Emre's most important book is ''Risaletu’n Nushiyye''. His poems, written in the tradition of Anatolian folk poetry, mainly concern divine love as well as human destiny: and

''Araya araya bulsam izini'' ''İzinin tozuna sürsem yüzümü'' ''Hak nasip eylese, görsem yüzünü'' ''Ya Muhammed canım arzular seni'' ''Bir mübarek sefer olsa da gitsem'' ''Kâbe yollarında kumlara batsam'' ''Mâh cemalin bir kez düşte seyretsem'' ''Ya Muhammed canım pek sever seni'' ''Ali ile Hasan-Hüseyin anda'' ''Sevgisi gönülde, muhabbet canda'' ''Yarın mahşer günü hak divanında'' ''Ya Muhammed canım pek sever seni'' ''"Yunus" senin medhin eder dillerde'' ''Dillerde, dillerde, hem gönüllerde'' ''Arayı arayı gurbet illerde'' ''Ya Muhammed canım arzular seni'' (Poem about
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...
, Ali, Hassan and Hussein.)

In popular culture

Yunus Emre was the focus of '' Yunus Emre: Askin Yolculugu'', a two-season 44-episode fictional drama based on the his life, premiering in 2015 on Turkish National Television (

TRT The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish : ) is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio provider in Turkey. Before the introduction of commercial radio i ...

), created by

Mehmet Bozdağ Mehmet Bozdağ (born 1 January 1983 ) is a Turkish screenwriter, film producer, and director. He is also the founder and owner of production company Bozdağ Film. Early life Bozdağ was born in Kayseri, Turkey and educated at Sakarya Univ ...

, and starring Gökhan Atalay as Yunus Emre. Yunus Emre has also been the focus of a film and a song; his representations in popular culture include: * '' Yunus Emre: Askin Yolculugu'' - A two-season 44-episode fictional drama based on the life of Yunus Emre, premiering in 2015 on Turkish National Television (

). * ''Yunus Emre: Aşkın Sesi'' - A 2014 Turkish film based on Yunus Emre's life starring Devrim Evin in the lead role. * ''Adımız Miskindir Bizim'' - A 1973 psychedelic folk-rock song by Mazhar ve Fuat, with lyrics belongs to Yunus Emre.

Gallery

File:200 Türk Lirası reverse.jpg, Reverse of the 200-

lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...

banknote (2009) File:Image-Yunus-Emre-Brunnen Wien-02.jpg, Detail of the Yunus Emre Fountain in the ,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

File:Yunus Emre Memorial, Karaman, Turkey.jpg, Yunus Emre Memorial,

Karaman Karaman, historically known as Laranda ( Greek: Λάρανδα), is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the capital district of the Karaman Province. Accordin ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

File:Yunus Emre.JPG, Yunus Emre Statue in

Büyükçekmece Büyükçekmece is a district and municipality in the suburbs of Istanbul, Turkey on the Sea of Marmara coast of the European side, west of the city. It is largely an industrial area with a population of 380,000. The mayor is Hasan Akgün ( ...

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, Turkey

References

Sources

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External links