Diplomats, academia gather to remember poet, writer and Türkiye’s 1st envoy to Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan

Diplomats, academics, politicians, and journalists gathered in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on Sunday to pay homage to renowned poet, writer, diplomat, and Turkiye’s first ambassador to the South Asian nation, Yahya Kemal Beyatli.

The huddle was organized by the Arts Council of Karachi, the country’s largest cultural hub, at the opening ceremony of a three-day portrait exhibition to highlight the work of one of the leading representatives of Turkish poetry in the Republican period, whose poetry and prose inspired generations.

Scores of portraits highlighting Beyatli’s work as a diplomat in different periods of his age were displayed at the exhibition, which attracted a large number of art and poetry lovers on the first day.

Beyatli served as Ankara’s top diplomat to the then-newly-born Pakistan from 1947 to 1949. He had been stationed in Karachi, the country’s then-capital.

One of the portraits contained the message from the country’s founding father Mohammad Ali Jinnah to Beyatli at the time of his appointment as ambassador to Pakistan in 1947.

“We hope that with your excellency’s assistance and cooperation, we may be able to build up closer political and diplomatic ties with your state, and thus contribute our share to the attainment of peace and prosperity throughout the world,” the message read.

Addressing the ceremony, provincial Law Minister Omer Soomro said that Beyatli’s work highlights his love not only for Türkiye but the humanity, bringing different cultures together.

He pointed out one of his poems that particularly depicts his love for Istanbul.

Turkish Consul General in Karachi Cemal Sangu thanked Arts Council Karachi for arranging the exhibition and providing an opportunity for the younger generation to dive into the rich history of diplomatic, and cultural relations between the two countries.

The two countries, which are one nation, have always stood beside each other in testing times, he maintained.

Arts Council President Ahmad Shah observed that although diplomatic relations between the two countries are spread over 75 years, their association based on similar cultural, and religious values, is centuries old.

Love for Türkiye

Born in December 1884 in Skopje, present-day Macedonia and an Ottoman city at that time, Beyatli published his poems of his juvenile years with the pen name Mehmet Agah, which was his real name.

He also used the pen names Agah Kemal and Suleyman Sadi.

Beyatli attended primary school in Skopje and was sent to the Istanbul Vefa High School in 1902.

During his days in Paris from 1903 to 1913, he carefully examined the works of famous representatives of French literature, Victor Hugo, De Banville, Paul Verlain, Jose Maria Heredia, and particularly Charles Baudelaire. He wrote his ballad-like poems such as Nazar (The Evil Eye) and Mehlika Sultan (Sultan Mehlika) in this atmosphere, under the influence of the French poets.

After returning to Istanbul in 1913, he gave lectures on history, and Turkish and Western literature at the High School for Orphans (1913), the Madrasah Muslim School of Preachers (1914), and Istanbul University (1916-19). After the national independence war began, he wrote articles supporting the national struggle.

He was appointed as an ambassador to Poland in 1926, Spain in 1929, and Portugal in 1931.

In 1947, he was appointed as ambassador to Pakistan.

He retired when he was in this office and returned home in 1949. He went to Paris for the treatment of his aggravated illness in 1957. He died the next year. His grave is at the Rumelihisarı Graveyard in Istanbul.

Beyatli examined Ottoman history and literature and got an outstanding place in Turkish literature with his poems.

He expressed his pain for losing the Balkan cities, where he had spent his childhood, and reflected on the spiritual climax and natural beauties of Istanbul, which he regarded as a mirror of Ottoman history and culture.

• Yahya Kemal Beyatli.