Turkish National Anthem (İstiklal Marşı)

In 1921, in the hardest days of the War of Independence, the Ministry of Education announced a competition for a national anthem and received hundreds of poems. Mehmet Akif Ersoy did not want to enter because of the cash prize; friends persuaded him, and he donated the prize to charity.

The Grand National Assembly adopted the poem on 12 March 1921. It opens with the line "Fear not; the crimson flag that proudly waves in these dawns shall never fade" and has ten stanzas, of which the first two are sung at official ceremonies.

A competition was held for the music too: Ali Rıfat Çağatay's setting was adopted in 1924, and since 1930 the melody by Osman Zeki Üngör has been used. In Türkiye 12 March is the Day of the Adoption of the National Anthem and Commemoration of Mehmet Akif Ersoy.