105-year-old Turkish National Anthem
The poem written by the national poet Mehmet Akif was enthusiastically accepted as the national anthem in the parliamentary session on March 12, 1921. The national anthem of Turkey is 105 years old. The national anthem, which is a symbol of the independence of the Turkish nation, and was written by Mehmet Akif Ersoy as a tribute to our brave army, was adopted 105 years ago. The Turkish Parliament held a competition in which a prize of 500 liras was awarded for writing the "National Anthem". The then Minister of National Education, Reza Nur, who organized the prize money and the competition, also gave a composition award of 500 liras to the competition in addition to the lyrics. In order to maximize participation in the competition, the Parliament sent information to actively working newspapers and every place in the country, and 724 poems were sent in 6 months. To review these 724 poems, the Ministry of National Education formed a commission within Parliament.