Turcologist, Writer, Poet and Thinker Hüseyin Nihal Atsız Commemorated in Keçiören

A commemoration event was organized by Keçiören Municipality for the 47th anniversary of the death of Turcologist, Writer, Poet and Thinker Hüseyin Nihal Atsız. In the commemoration program at Yunus Emre Cultural Center in the district, a talk on 'History of Turkism, Nihat Atsız' was held by Turkish Linguist, Turcologist and Writer Ahmet Bican Ercilasun. Later, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Turkish World and Folk Dance Music Ensemble took the stage and sang beautiful pieces.

Keçiören Mayor Turgut Altınok, Former Minister of Justice Mehmet Seyfi Oktay, Chairman of the Turkish Hearths Prof. Dr. Mehmet Öz, Head of the Ankara Branch of the Turkish Hearths Türkan Hacaloğlu, Nationalist Movement Party Keçiören District President Arif Aksu, representatives of political parties and non-governmental organizations attended.

Keçiören Mayor Turgut Altınok, in his speech at the program, stated that Hüseyin Nihal Atsız has provided important services to the Turkish society and understanding of Turkism, and said:

“Nihal Atsız was born in 1905. As Âşık Veysel said, "I walked at the same time as I was born" is also valid for Nihal Atsız. He has been fighting since his birth. 'You are strange in your homeland, pariah in your homeland; Necip Fazıl says, 'You crawled on your face, get up, O Sakarya.' In this respect, the whole struggle of Hüseyin Nihal Atsız has been to explain and remind our nation of Turkishness. During his struggle, he was expelled from the Military Medical Academy, university and teaching. But he did not give up his case. Atatürk says, 'Let my existence be a gift to the Turkish existence'. And at the end, he says, 'How happy is the one who says I am a Turk'. Nihal Atsız has paid the price of saying "I am a Turk" in her own land, of saying "we are a Turkish nation", "that is our origin, our generation, our culture, our lineage, our ancestors, our identity". He is a hero who says, 'Whether you are thrown in the dungeon, crucified, thrown from the military medical school or cut off my head, I will not return from this holy path and this cause'. A big heart is a monument of great courage. It has educated thousands of students and lit the light. We commemorate Nihal Atsız with mercy and gratitude on the 47th anniversary of her passing to mercy. We wish God's mercy to all our martyrs and all our martyrs, especially Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who made these lands our homeland."