Turkish Traditional Fashion
The Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures offers beginning and intermediate courses in Turkish that support our Turkish and Central Asia Studies Minor.
The following poems were submitted by members of our community participating in the NELC Poetry Project. We hope you will consider participating in the NELC Poetry Project!
Beni Bu Güzel Havalar Mahvetti by Orhan Veli Kanık (Chosen and read by OSU undergraduate student,Nil Kocaoglu)
Beni Bu Güzel Havalar Mahvetti by Orhan Veli Kanık
Beni bu güzel havalar mahvetti,
Böyle havada istifa ettim
Evkaftaki memuriyetimden.
Tütüne böyle havada alıştım
Böyle havada aşık oldum;
Eve ekmekle tuz götürmeyi
Böyle havalarda unuttum;
Şiir yazma hastalığım
Hep böyle havalarda nüksetti;
Beni bu güzel havalar mahvetti.
These Beautiful Days Have Been My Ruin (translation by Nil Kocaoglu)
These beautiful days have been my ruin,
In this kind of weather I resigned
From my job in the Foundation’s office
In this kind of weather I got addicted to tobacco In this kind of weather I fell in love
I forgot to bring home bread and salt
In this kind of day
My addiction to poetry
Surged in this kind of weather
These beautiful days have been my ruin.
“I chose this poem because I’ve always liked how melancholy it is, without even talking about anything particularly sad. I liked the simplicity of it and how the words flow. I wanted to use background music because when I was younger, whenever we recited poetry in class at my school in Turkey, my teacher would always play some music in the background.” – Nil Kocaoglu
Hak Cihana Doludur by Yunus Emre (Chosen and read by recent OSU graduate, Aya Abdulrahman)
Hak Cihana Doludur by Yunus Emre
Hak cihana doludur,
Kimseler Hakk’ı bilmez.
Onu sen senden iste,
O senden ayrı olmaz.
Dünyaya inanırsın,
Rızka benimdir dersin.
Niçin yalan söylersin?
Çün sen dediğin olmaz.
Ahret yavlak ıraktır,
Doğruluk tek azıktır
Ayrılık sarp firaktır
Hiç varan geri gelmez.
Dünyaya gelen göçer,
Bir bir şerbetin içer,
Bu bir köprüdür geçer,
Cahiller onu bilmez.
Gelin tanış olalım,
İşi kolay kılalım,
Sevelim sevilelim,
Dünya kimseye kalmaz.
Yunus sözün anlarsan,
Ma’nisini dinlersen,
Sana bir amel gerek.
Bunda kimse ne kalmaz.
English Translation
The world is filled with the truth (God),
No one knows the truth (God),
Ask yourself for Him,
He cannot be separated from you.
If you believe the world,
You say that bread is mine.
Why do you lie?
Because what you say did not happen.
Afterlife is very far,
Here on earth we must live upright,
Separation is hard and distant,
No one comes back once he is gone.
Those who come to the world will go (die),
Drink his sherbet one by one,
This is a bridge, it passes,
Ignorants do not know it.
Come, let us meet,
Let us make the job (life) easier,
Let us love and be loved,
The earth shall be left to no one ( No one stays here forever).
If you understand the words of Yunus,
If you understand the meaning,
You need an action (a deed),
No one stays in this world.
“Yunus Emre (1238–1320) was an Anatolian poet and mystic who greatly influenced Turkish literature and culture. He spent his life sharing his message of divine love, hope, peace and tolerance. One of the themes of this poem is his request for the brotherhood of mankind—a message that matters in today’s world.” – Aya Abdulrahman
Great Humanity by Nazim Hikmet (Chosen and read by History PhD student, Yeliz Cavus)
Büyük İnsanlik by Nazim Hikmet
Büyük insanlık gemide güverte yolcusu
tirende üçüncü mevki
şosede yayan
büyük insanlık.
Büyük insanlık sekizinde işe gider
yirmisinde evlenir
kırkında ölür
büyük insanlık.
Ekmek büyük insanlıktan başka herkese yeter
pirinç de öyle
şeker de öyle
kumaş da öyle
kitap da öyle
büyük insanlıktan başka herkese yeter.
Büyük insanlığın toprağında gölge yok
sokağında fener
penceresinde cam
ama umudu var büyük insanlığın
umutsuz yaşanmıyor.
Great Humanity by Nazim Hikmet **
Great humanity sails on ships as deck passengers
Rides trains third-class
Travels highways on foot
Great humanity goes to work at the age of eight
Marries at twenty
Dies at forty:
Great humanity.
There is enough bread for everyone except great humanity
Rice too
Same with sugar
And cloth
Books as well
There is enough of them for all except great humanity.
There is no shadow on the ground of great humanity
No lamps in its streets
No pane in its windows
But great humanity has its hopes
There can be no life without hope.
**Translated by Talat Sait Halman
“I chose this poem by Nazim Hikmet, the greatest poet of the Turkish Language, because it cherishes the ordinary people and the working class in the simplest way possible
.” – Yeliz Cavus
All Of A Sudden by Orhan Veli Kanik (Chosen and read by NELC Turkish Language Coordinator, Ceyda Steele)
Birdenbire
Şair: Orhan Veli Kanık
Her şey birdenbire oldu.
Birdenbire vurdu gün ışığı yere;
Gökyüzü birdenbire oldu;
Mavi birdenbire.
Her şey birdenbire oldu;
Birdenbire tütmeye başladı duman topraktan;
Filiz birdenbire oldu, tomurcuk birdenbire.
Yemiş birdenbire oldu.
Birdenbire,
Birdenbire;
Her şey birdenbire oldu.
Kız birdenbire, oğlan birdenbire;
Yollar, kırlar, kediler, insanlar…
Aşk birdenbire oldu,
Sevinç birdenbire.
All Of A Sudden
By Orhan Veli Kanik
Everything happened all of a sudden.
All of a sudden daylight beat down on the earth;
There was the sky all of a sudden;
All of a sudden steam began to rise from the soil.
There were tendrils all of a sudden, buds all of a sudden.
And there were fruits all of a sudden.
All of a sudden,
All of a sudden,
Girls all of a sudden, boys all of a sudden.
Roads, moors, cats, people…
And there was love all of a sudden,
Happiness all of a sudden.