Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoğlu, former Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, gave a lecture on Turkish cultural heritage in Egypt on Tuesday night at the residence of Turkish Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen in Cairo.
The talk was based on his book The Turks in Egypt and their Cultural Legacy on the influence of Turkish culture on Egypt during the Ottoman period.
Ihsanoğlu, 80, expressed his joy at the re-establishment of Egyptian-Turkish relations and spoke of his deep affection for Egypt, where he lived and attended university.
It had been 60 years since his last visit to Egypt, he said, and spoke passionately about the strong and strategic relationship between the two countries.
Prefaced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the book deals with the Turkish presence in Egypt, their writings and their cultural impact, which is evident to this day.
The book highlights the rise of Turkish culture in Egypt under Muhammad Ali Pasha (1805-1848) and the formation of an Egyptian Ottoman cultural identity. It also explores how Ottoman Turkish culture was disseminated by educational institutions and the Bulaq Press, which was set up during the reign of Mohamed Ali in 1821.
Published in 2006, the book is the result of 40 years’ research and is a valuable resource for Turkish history, literature, language, music, books, printing, journalism, military service, culture, politics, and the history of translation during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The book also provides a unique perspective on female poets and writers who were raised in the palace and its surroundings.
The seminar concluded with a documentary on the life of Princess Kadriye (1888-1955). A prominent figure of Ottoman descent and born in Cairo, she was the daughter of Hüseyin Kamil, who became Egypt’s first sultan (1914-1917) after the country seceded from the Ottoman Empire.
This documentary, made by Ambassador Mutlu Şen, looks at Princess Kadriye’s undertakings in Egypt, Türkiye, and beyond as one of the eminent poets and writers in Turkish literature of the 20th century. Her contributions are highlighted both in this documentary and in Ihsanoğlu’s book.
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