Gülşehri is one of our troubadours writing and
speaking in Turkish like Sultan Veled, Yunus Emre, Aşık Pasha, in late Anatolian
Seljukian State period. The real name of Gülşehri, whom we know to have lived in late
13th century and in the first half of 14th century, is Ahmed. It is said that he was born
in Kırşehir, which was known as a science and mysticism city in these ages and that he
lived there until his death. Since Kırşehir's name was Gülşehir then, he used the
penname Gülşehri, and was known with this name.
We find out that Gülşehri chaired and became one of the disseminators of Ahi
(Trade-Guild) organization after Ahi Evran in Kırşehir, being influenced by his master
Ahi Evran.
In one of his poems, he says:
Elli yıl ben ansız durmadım
Yazı yaban durgun görmedim
and depicts that he
could not be without Ahi Evran since he stayed with him for fifty years, and praises him
in many of his poems. Apart from a booklet by Gülşehri about Ahi Evran, his book making
him known as a pro-Turkish language powerful troubadour was Mantıku't-Tayr. Mantıku't-Tayr,
meaning bird language, is the verse translation of Persian book known with the same name
by well-known Sufi Ferideddin Atar into Turkish. He embellished this book with stories
from other resources and Mesnevi of Mevlana in particular, and turned it into an original
work by adding his Sufi ideas. Gülşehri adores Turkish language in this book. He says
that he wrote this book because Turkish had a sweet adaptation capability superior to
Persian and Arabic languages and he wanted to show that.
In periods when
Turkish language was despised and Arabic writing and speaking was considered as a skill, a
scientist and troubadour's crying out "Turkish" in the middle of Anatolia, his
love for Turkish, is a great stouthearted behavior and patriotism. Gülşehri showed such
nobility together with Yunus Emre and Aşık Pasha, a contemporary poet and his
compatriot, respectively.
It is not definitely
known for how long Gülşehri, who is known to have one more book named Felekname lived
and when he died. What we know is voices and breath on pale pages from him. The following
poems describing his love for rose gardens of Kirşehir and that he wanted to talk about
roses apart from all words like a nightingale are his:
Her gülü kim kendime yar eylerim
Her gice vasfını tekrar eylerim.
Her seher kim gül çemende açıla
Kamudan ilkin bana karşı güle.
* *
Nevbahar oldu kim bülbül söyleye
Aşkını maşukuna şerh eyleye
Kamu sözü gel ki terkeyleyelim
Bülbül gibi gül sözü söyliyelim...
So much that another
troubadour from his path of Turkish language, Dadaloğlu, who would live 500 years after
him, would speak looking at unfinite rose gardens of Kirşehir, as follows:
Biter Kırşehir'in gülleri biter
Çağrışır dalında bülbüller öter
Ufacık güzeller hep yeni yeter
Güzelin kaşında keman görünür.
Gülşehri did never
claim being a sheik or sultan during his negotiations with ahis around him to whom he
spoke in his native language pure Turkish in Özbağlari of Kirşehir, full of longing,
but made them speak by being one of them:
Ne derviş isteriz, sahip, ne sultan,
Ne dert işimize gelir, ne derman.
Although we cannot
deem this pro-Turkish language troubadour grown up in Anatolia in the middle of 14th
century as pure and powerful as Yunus, we have to give him an important place among the
first pro-Turkish language troubadours. Gülşehri would always take his preceding place
among the intellectuals illuminating Anatolia as a conscious and idealist pro-Turkish
troubadour.
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