The sixth of the Talent Talks program organized by the Republic of Turkey Presidency, Human Resources Office was held at the Nation's Library on November 12, 2021. The program was organized with the contributions of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Yunus Emre Institute for the Year of Yunus Emre and Turkish.

"WE NEED DEEPER KNOWLEDGE"

The program hosted by Pelin Çift started with the pianist Gök Çiçek Cihan and violinist Ece Caney's performance of Yunusnâme by the musician Can Atilla. The guests of the program in which the theme of "Yunus' Word Is the Essence of Turkish" was Prof. İlber Ortaylı and musician Can Atilla.

Ortaylı answered the questions of Pelin Çift regarding Yunus Emre and said the following on the inadequacy of the studies on Yunus Emre even though he was the person classicized the archaic Turkish:

"When Yunus Emre is mentioned, everyone remembers his name with Salawat, everyone internalizes him and interprets him in their own way. This is quite clear. This means that he is a monument of the Turkish language, culture and history. However, was this monument researched well? I have doubts. There is always a bottleneck in the Yunus Emre studies outside of the world of Turcology, in other words, in the studies of important orientalists abroad. When you look at the bibliography within the country, there is an interim generation that draws the attention; they have completed their work. They cannot talk about anything new. We need deeper knowledge."

A JOURNEY THAT STARTS WITH AHMAD YASAWI 

Can Atilla mentioned that Yunus Emre was still being read 700 years after his death and was a great thinker who appeals to humans' minds, hearts, feelings and souls and said that he released the album Can-ı Yunus taking inspiration from Yunus Emre. Atilla touched upon the fact that Yunus Emre was also an Anatolian Sufi and said that Ahmad Yasawi, who had a great influence on Central Asian Turks' religious-Sufist life and who was also known as pîr-i Türkistan (Sage of the Land of the Turks), was the key in understanding Yunus Emre.

Atilla mentioned that Yunus Emre could be understood through Hodja Ahmad Yasawi and continued his speech as follows:

"The one who interpreted Hodja Ahmad Yasawi's Divan-ı Hikmet (Book of Wisdom), wrote it through poetic verses, and who is his representative in these lands, is my dear Yunus, Yunus Emre. The unity, submission, innocence, compassion and the universal ethics of all human beings in Anatolian enlightenment were equipped in Yunus Emre's works through the spirit of Ahmad Yasawi. Yunus Emre and others have become not only the beacons for their own times and us but for also the entire world.

IPEK NISA: SPECIAL GUEST OF THE PROGRAM

 There was also a special guest at the Talent Talks program, which included interviews on Yunus Emre with Ilber Ortaylı and Can Atilla as well as participants from abroad. Ipek Nisa, the seven-year-old young talent, showed everyone how to overcome obstacles with belief and the value of exploring and knowing oneself through her speech, piano performance and her joy of life.

Many video messages where shared with the audience during the program. During the special night in which the thoughts of young talents who contributed to promotion of Turkey, Turkish culture and language in the international arena were shared, Architect Gergo Mate Kovacs from Hungary and Ahmet Osama Awad Satti, the Anadolu Agency Reporter in Sudan, made various evaluations.

Kovacs mentioned that there were many Ottoman works in Hungary and said that the restoration works for many works continued through the collaborations between Hungary and Turkey and one of the best examples of this was the Gülbaba Türbe. Kovacs highlighted that Yunus Emre was known in Hungary and there were many studies on the famous Sufist and mentioned that the works of Budapest Yunus Emre Institute were especially reciprocal in Hungary. Kovacs mentioned that Yunus Emre Institute was successful in promoting the Turkish culture and said, "Yunus Emre Institute protects and promotes the heritage of Yunus Emre."

Awad Satti, participating in the program from Sudan, mentioned that he started to learn Turkish due to his admiration of the Turkish people's heroism on July 15, during the night of the coup attempt, and earned the Turkish Competency Certificate within three years thanks to the courses of Yunus Emre Institute and said that he is a Turkish teacher at the Turkish Graduates Association and has been providing Turkish lectures for about 100 students throughout the year.

Anadolu University Rector Prof. Fuat Erdal and scholars Prof. Haşim Şahin and Prof. Erdoğan Boz provided valuable information to the audience about the life, works and controversial grave of Yunus Emre.

WORKS OF YUNUS EMRE WERE GIFTED

A quiz was also held at the program that was shared live on various platforms. The quiz was participated by many people and the highest ranking 100 people were awarded Yunus Emre Anthology and Risâletü’n-Nushiyye (Book of Counsel), published by Yunus Emre Institute for the 700th anniversary of Yunus Emre's death.

The program hosted the Republic of Turkey Presidency, Human Resources Office President Assoc. Prof. Salim Atay and Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Serdar Çam and ended with the performance of Gök Çiçek Cihan and Ece Caney.